Practice of International Litigation & Arbitration

There has been a dramatic rise in complex global disputes, often between private parties and sovereign states.  These cases carry significant political, economic, and legal consequences, and the legal regime governing these disputes is both complicated and underdeveloped.  This reality create both pitfalls and strategic opportunities for creative counsel. 

This course provides students a unique opportunity to explore the evolving area of cross-border disputes, while obtaining substantial stand-up advocacy experience that translates to any dispute-resolution setting.  Based upon a realistic simulation of a cross-border dispute between a U.S. company and a foreign state-owned entity, students will prepare submissions that they will then argue to mock panels comprised of prominent arbitrators, corporate counsel and leading practitioners.  Reflecting the reality of global disputes, roughly 30% of the class is dedicated to transnational litigation, 50% is dedicated to international arbitration, and 20% focuses on mediation.  Students will leave with first-hand experience in the substantive and procedural aspects of international litigation and arbitration, with the additional overlay of complex and delicate facts involving foreign sovereigns.

The focus of the course is on practical skills and strategic considerations, and the lectures are designed to provide sufficient context and background to make the simulations accessible for students with little prior exposure to this area of law.  In this way, the course is as useful to student who might be taking the course to primarily to hone their advocacy skills as it is for those students with a background and interest in international disputes and international law.