Introduction

Joining law school and becoming a student of law provides us students with multiple opportunities beyond studying codes and being taught by well- known university professors. One such opportunity is participating in moot courts both on the national and international planes. Having the opportunity to take part in mooting experiences undoubtedly expands students’ skills – not only academically – but also socially: Mooting fosters the ability to present strong and logical arguments, the skill to argue in front of an audience, and finetunes students’ research and writing skills.

Why Mooting?

Mooting is a sort of practice drill in the legal field that enhances students’ researching skills, understanding and application of the law, and practical approach towards a problem. It is a way to challenge students’ thinking on the application of the law when arguing for and against a case. Furthermore, it boosts the confidence level and argumentation skills of students by providing a platform to develop the skill of answering and rebutting. Finally, it is an activity where students get to understand the fundamentals of arbitration room etiquette, drafting, presenting and of course, the art of oral advocacy.

In a nutshell, mooting enables students

To engage with and think deeply about interesting and topical legal issues;

To enhance their advocacy, legal research, and writing skills;

To work closely with and learn from their peers; To demonstrate their interest in advocacy and competence as an advocate to prospective

employers;
To exchange cultural interactions, education

systems, and to create networks in the legal profession;
To enjoy an intellectually rewarding, and fun experience.

Of course, despite these incalculable gains, mooting has its challenges. Such challenges do not simply comprise of overnight work. Rather, mooting requires hard work, stringent practice, and an overall tough time.

Pre-Moot Nairobi 2022

From 15 to 19 February 2022, we attended the Inaugural East African Pre-Moot in Kenya, Nairobi. It consisted of a series of lectures, trainings, and pre- moot competitions. The event was organized by Africa in the Moot (AitM). AitM was established to help unlock the potential of international commercial arbitration in Africa. It is a growing group of individuals and institutions using their individual skillsets and resources to support students from African universities in the field of arbitration and to support African universities who want to enhance teaching in the field of international commercial law and arbitration. In this year’s pre-moot, 8 teams from 7 African countries participated. These included teams from the universities of Addis Ababa, Eduardo Mondlane, Rwanda, Lesotho, Mzumbe, Pretoria, Nairobi, and Strathmore.

Team Addis Ababa University was among the teams that attended the event for 5 days in Kenya, at Strathmore University. Team AAU is composed of Awoke Mitku Tamrat, Bezawit Mesfin Jaleta, Hamrawi Kelemu Sinke, Naol Bayisa Meskela, Brook Leulseged Tadesse, and Bezawit Zerihun Olani. The team is coached by highly ranked legal professionals, namely, Stefan Thaler (main coach), Elizabeth Zoe Everson (assistant coach), and Fekadu Petros (on ground coach). Among the above-listed core student members of the team, the first four got the opportunity to attend the pre- moot training and competition program in Nairobi.

Schedules and Activities of the Pre-Moot Event

The first day was Tuesday, the day we arrived in Nairobi. After we safely settled at the Tamarind Tree Hotel, the founding directors of AitM gave the teams a warm welcome speech. During the evening, the organizers mapped out the schedule along with the activities taking place over the next four days.

On all four days, the schedule started at 6:00 AM. We would go to breakfast, conduct our daily self COVID testing and then commute from the hotel to Strathmore University. On the second day, we worked on summarizing the Vis problem: this was done through interactive workshops in larger groups and defining issues 1 and 2 of the problem. We also attended a lecture on the principles of effective oral arguments in international arbitration, workshops on developing the outlines of issues 1 and 3, a training on preparing for and managing unexpected questions from the arbitrators, and finally, student presentations of their arguments before the organizers. At the end of each day, we would go back to the hotel, where we would attend administrative meetings with our coaches.

The third day was devoted to interactive sessions on the summary of the Vis problem particularly issues 2 and 4, another lecture on the principles of effective oral advocacy tailored to a virtual moot environment, and a mini practice moot with only one participant from each team. In the practice moot session, two teams volunteered: my team (AAU) and the University of Nairobi. On behalf of my team, I represented the respondent against Rosemary Kihiko, a team member of the University.

gave us feedback and they were impressed by my – along with claimant counsel’s – advocacy skills, confidence, and ability to answer the arbitrators’ questions. That event inspired my team to have a successful journey for the next competition. Personally, this session increased my confidence for my next competition for the pre-moot. Later in the evening, we were invited to attend a networking and reception evening at Anjarwalla and Khanna, the largest and most well-known law firm in Kenya. At the event, Judge Williams (through zoom) gave an unforgettable speech. Her remarks were inspiring, motivational and with the features of an “I can accomplish anything” attitude.

The fourth and the hottest day was Friday, 18th, February 2022. This day was wholly devoted to the pre-moot competition. In the first round, my team competed against team Mozambique, team AAU representing the Respondent, and team Mozambique representing the claimant. It was an interesting argument session: the arbitrators were very friendly and all the parties proceeded in answering the arbitrator’s questions practically. Our teams’ confidence and time management skills were excellent and our opposing counsel’s advocacy skills were admirable. At the second round, our team went against the University of Nairobi. The argument session was heated and really inspiring for the audience and arbitrators. At the third session we went against Lesotho, and fortunately for our team, we transitioned to the semifinals!

Prior to the announcement of the semifinalists, I was telling my colleagues, Naol and Bezawit, that they should be prepared for the next step, as we certainly will pass to the semifinalist stage – and that proved to be true. The organizers announced that Addis Ababa passed to the semifinalist stage where we were scheduled to compete against Strathmore University. This was an absolute pleasure for us, and we tried to enjoy the time by capturing group pictures and dance our traditional mini dances during teatime.

The semifinals were undoubtedly the most exhilarating sessions of all. In parallel to our session against Strathmore, University of Nairobi was competing against team Pretoria. Our round went well, and the audience and arbitrators appreciated our skills - particularly, those of answering arbitrators’ questions.

This was the last event of the fourth day. We transited back to the hotel, and in the evening, Jones Day had invited all the participants to a celebratory dinner at the Carnivore restaurant. The organizers announced that teams Strathmore and Pretoria were heading to the final round.

The fifth and final day was devoted to the final rounds and the announcement of the awards. The University of Pretoria won the moot! After announcing the winners, the organizers distributed the certificates of participation along with the certificates for the best oralists and the awards given to the winning team. The award ceremony was followed by closing speeches.

I believe that team AAU had a successful run at the pre-moot event for the following reasons: first, although we couldn’t go forward to the finalists’ stage, we passed three rounds of competitions and ranked among the four best teams (semifinalists). Second, my teammate, Hamrawi Kelemu Sinke landed an individual oralist award from the team. Third, we went home with multiple takeaways from the whole event such as advocacy skills, research and writing skills, knowledge on arbitration, cultural exchanges, and diversified interactions among many other skills.

The most difficult part for us as a team and for me individually was to say goodbye to the other teams and to leave Nairobi after our lovely stay here. Despite knowing that we will be staying in touch with our fellow participants again in future events, it was not easy to leave Nairobi in general and Strathmore University in particular. It will always remain an unforgettable memory in my mind!

Lessons on the Principles of Oral Advocacy

The following are some of the tips and advocacy skills that we learned during the training sessions at the event:
First, it is critical to engage with the tribunal. This requires counsels to bring many skills together including maintaining eye contact with the arbitrator, speaking at an appropriate volume and pace, responding directly and accurately to questions, and keeping the arbitrator interested. The trainings taught me a cardinal rule of mooting: never, ever talk while the arbitrator is talking.

Second, it is acceptable to ask a judge to repeat a question if you do not understand it, and that it is always best to say, “I regret I am unable to assist the tribunal on that point” when you really do not know the answer.

Third, mooting is not just about presenting propositions of law. An important aspect is applying those propositions to the facts in order to argue for the result that counsel is seeking. Counsels should be very familiar with the moot problem and be able to take the arbitrator to relevant paragraphs in it.

Fourth, participants should often make extensive use of authority in delivering their submissions. Counsels need to know what principle a given case stands for and whether a case is binding on the arbitral tribunal before which counsel is arguing.

Fifth, a critical aspect of mooting is time management. Counsels need to be able to expand or contract their submissions depending on how interventionist the arbitrator is.

Challenges

It was AAU’s great pleasure to be part of the event. Students face different challenges such as financial problems, internet challenges, time constraints, COVID 19 challenges, political instabilities, among many others. However, despite struggling with these challenges, the team attended the event by solving the problems through different means. In addition, we were warmly welcomed when we arrived in Nairobi and we saw love from teams who came from different law schools in Africa. What differentiates this program from others was that it was held during the time when COVID-19 was a problem for all nations in the world. Notwithstanding this fact, it was unexpectedly the most successful and most important program that I have ever seen and attended.

Key Takeaways from the Event

The event helped us mingle with people from different parts of Africa and learn about different cultures and education systems. Moreover, we exchanged ideas on numerous topics and were able to measure our strength as a team in comparison to the other teams.

Opportunities to gain experience in advocacy are difficult to come by for both lawyers and law students. The pre-moot provided us as law students a valuable opportunity to hone both our written and oral advocacy skills in this competitive field.

The competition included a robust training program that provided all participants with valuable training, experience, and feedback. Prior to beginning the competition, participants received training on written and oral advocacy. Teams then were practicing both procedural and substantive issues as claimant and respondent. Once the competition began, each competitor got the opportunity to argue their case before an arbitral tribunal that consisted of three arbitrators.

Furthermore, the experience competitors gain is not limited to advocacy: The pre-moot also boosted our confidence for a successful oral round in the main Vis Moot that will be held in Vienna in April 2022. Equally significant is the process of carefully researching, writing, and refining briefs for a competition which provides competitors with excellent writing samples for prospective employers.

Most importantly, the pre-moot helped every team to network with the other teams, the organizers of the event, the arbitrators who adjudicated the proceedings, and the law students of Strathmore University. Furthermore, we had the opportunity to visit the largest law firm in Kenya, Anjarwalla and Khanna, for a fun reception. At this event, we networked with the firm’s experts in arbitration.

I would like to thank the following individuals and groups. Without them, it would have been impossible to have such a great international experience:
1. My coaches: Stefan Thaler, Elizabeth Zoe Everson, and Fekadu Petros

2. The organizers of the Pre-Moot Nairobi 2022 and founding directors as well as staff of Africa in the Moot (AitM)
3. Sponsors of the Pre-Moot, such as Jones Day and GIZ

4. Team Addis Ababa University, for the strong commitments and dedications despite multiple political, financial, time, and internet challenges
5. Individual professors of law at my school who financially contributed to support our trip to the Pre- Moot in Nairobi

6. Teams who participated in the Pre-Moot Nairobi 2022, for sharing experiences, exchanging cultures and education systems, and the love you showed us during our 5 day stay.