Law School hosts moot court

Debating a dispute over international trade restrictions, a team of five Law School students placed tenth in a international law competition held this weekend at the University for the first time. The team's poor showing was due mainly to a 60-point penalty the it incurred when it turned a written case brief in a day late. "I think it's too bad," said Law student Anne Lofaso, who coordinated the regional event. "If they hadn't been penalized, they would have come in third place." For the first time in its 23 years of participation, the Law School hosted the Jessup Moot Court Competition -- the largest international moot court competition dealing with problems of international law. This year's competition centered on a fictitious dispute between the corporations of two countries embroiled in a trade war. Each team was required to plead the cases of both countries before a panel of judges -- largely composed of members from the law community in and around Philadelphia. Law student and team member Larry Rosenberg won a second-place prize for his oral presentation. Rosenberg said that the mock case was very timely. "It was clearly analogous to U.S. and either Japan or Korea," said Rosenberg. "In the trading world, this is a major issue." Rosenberg added that the team had turned their case brief in late in part because of concern over the war in the Persian Gulf. "It was difficult to justify working on a computer instead of watching what was going on in the real world," Rosenberg said. Fordham University's team won first place, and the team from Villanova University won runner-up. "I hope we'll host it again in the next two or three years," said Lofaso. "It's a good sign that the University is committed to international law and that it is an international university."

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