The International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and USCIB’s Arbitration Committee organized two educational events in New York last month—the fifth annual Proskauer Lecture on International Arbitration on February 21 and the Eleventh Vis Moot Practice Session on February 24.

The Proskauer Lecture is organized jointly by ICC, USCIB, Proskauer, and Columbia University School of Law’s Center for International Commercial and Investment Arbitration Law. As in previous years, the lecture featured a globally-renowned expert delivering a lecture to the international dispute resolution community in New York. This year’s expert lecturer was Emmanuel Gaillard, visiting professor at Yale Law School and head of International Arbitration at Shearman & Sterling LLP who spoke on the topic: International comity, ‎lis pendens, res judicata: Do the principles of judicial practice apply to international arbitration? “Emmanuel Gaillard gave a tour de force lecture on comity that has gotten people talking about the issue and even thinking about it in a different manner,” noted Peter Sherwin, Partner at Proskauer. “Through presentations like his, the Proskauer Lecture has become a must-attend event for the international arbitration community in New York and beyond.” A summary of Gaillard’s lecture will appear in the next issue of the Global Arbitration Review (GAR).

A few days later, Dentons LLP hosted eight universities in the eleventh annual ICC/USCIB Vis Moot Practice Session. Participating law schools included the University of Bucharest, Brooklyn Law School, Cardozo, Fordham University, New York University, Pace Law School, Rutgers Law School and St. John’s University School of Law. The practice session serves as an invaluable opportunity for teams to hone their arguments in front of mock arbitrators prior to The Annual Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot in Vienna (April 7-13) or Hong Kong (March 26 – April 2), during which times teams from around the globe will compete in a mock arbitration. John Hay, partner at Dentons LLP stated that “Events like this provide for all the participants a worthwhile learning experience where they see, firsthand, which presentation styles and techniques work, and which do not.”

Consistently growing since its inception eleven years ago, the Vis Moot Practice Session gathered nearly thirty arbitration practitioners who volunteered their time and expertise to serve as mock arbitrators and provide feedback to teams before the real competition commences in Vienna or Hong Kong. Speaking on the networking opportunities presented to law students and future arbitration practitioners, Soeun (Nikole) Lee, deputy director, head of ICC Young Arbitrators Forum North America Chapter, stated that “the VIS moot is the best introduction to international arbitration as a student.  It is intellectually challenging, fun, and a phenomenal opportunity to meet future colleagues and mentors.   ICC VIS moot practice session serves as a great “moot for the Moot”.  We were very impressed at the students’ level of preparation and quality of arguments.”