International Moot Court Team Wins Competition in Mumbai

On its first trip outside U.S. borders, the Law School’s International Moot Court Competition team took first-place honors in the D.M. Harish Memorial Government Law College International Moot Court Competition, held February 9-11 in Mumbai, India. (The team, which focuses on issues in international law, typically competes in events held in the United States.) At the Mumbai event, the 19th annual D.M. Harish competition, 24 teams participated, including groups from Duke University, Northumbria University, Queen Mary University of London, Nepal Law Campus, Sri Lanka Law College, and many Indian institutions. The case theme for this year’s competition was a dispute concerning alleged acts of corruption in the hosting of a major international sports event and international tax fraud.

The members of the winning Law School team, all 2Ls, are Nicole Georgette Marling, Dante Cade Harootunian, and Li Xu. Marling and Harootunian argued, while Xu helped write the brief and took a research exam in India. After succeeding in the preliminary rounds, the team advanced to the semifinals, where they faced the highest-scoring team from the prelims. A victory there advanced them to the championship round, which was held in Mumbai University’s grand neo-Gothic Convocation Hall and presided over by five judges of the Honorable Bombay High Court.

In addition to winning the championship, members of the team garnered two individual honors: Marling was awarded Best Advocate in the championship round, while Harootunian was named Second Best Advocate in the nonchampionship rounds. The team is coached by adjunct faculty member Geoff Larson, who has served in that role for the past 10 years.