Over the past few years, Miami Law's International Arbitration LL.M. program has started to offer specific scholarships (currently $25,640 each) to current or past participants of certain International Arbitration Moot competitions, including students, coaches and volunteer arbitrators. 2019 marks the first year that Miami Law awarded three such scholarships to participants of the Vis Moot, FDI Moot and Moot Madrid.
“As Miami Law has continued to expand the breadth of our moot participations internationally, the students have raised the bar through their successes,” says Sandra Friedrich, director of the International Arbitration program. “The caliber of our applicants has kept pace as well. These top and deserving scholars are indicative of that achievement.”
Vis Moot Scholar
Mariafiore Miniussi is Miami Law's second Vis Moot Scholar. The Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot and the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot East, also known as the “Vis Moot” and “Vis Moot East,” are held annually in Vienna, Austria, and Hong Kong.
Miniussi, who started her studies at Miami Law in August 2018, is an Italian national, who obtained her law degree from the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan in 2015 with a specialization in international law.
As a law student, Miniussi worked as a legal intern with Hogan Lovells in Milan and participated in the Vis Moot as an oralist earning an honorable mention. Before her LL.M. studies, Miniussi was a legal trainee with the Geneva-based international arbitration boutique law firm Patocchi & Marzolini, where she worked on several international arbitration matters.
Last semester, Miniussi completed the for-credit International Arbitration LL.M. Practicum Program with the Miami office of a prominent international law firm, where she worked on several international arbitration cases and helped prepare arbitration-related publications and lectures. She also will be attending the New York Job Fair for International Students in New York City this month to interview with various international law firms for post-graduation positions.
“Thanks to the Vis Moot scholarship, I was able to attend extremely interesting courses taught by some of the most renowned international arbitration practitioners in the world. I was impressed not only with their teaching skills but also that the professors meet with students outside of class to answer questions and often give real-life career tips that are extremely helpful for our job search,” says Miniussi.
Moot Madrid Scholar
Anna-Maria Riemer is Miami Law's first Moot Madrid Scholar. The Spanish-language Competición Internacional de Arbitraje y Derecho Mercantil in Madrid, Spain is also known as the “Moot Madrid.”
Riemer, who also started her studies at Miami Law in August 2018, is a German/Russian dual national, who holds two law degrees from Miami Law's partner school, Instituto de Empresa University, in Madrid and the University of Law in London. As a law student, Riemer competed in the Spanish-language Moot Madrid, where she advanced to the quarter-finals. She will be attending the New York Job Fair for International Students in New York City as well.
FDI Moot Scholar
Ishaan Madaan is Miami Law's first FDI Moot Scholar. The Global Rounds of the Foreign Direct Investment International Arbitration Moot also called the “FDI Moot,” will be hosted by Miami Law this November.
Madaan, who just started his studies at Miami Law this Spring, is an Indian national, who obtained his law degree from the University of Pune in 2011. He has handled several arbitration matters in India and most recently was appointed as arbitrator by the Delhi High Court in a commercial dispute. For the past two years, Madaan served as volunteer arbitrator at the FDI Moot in Boston and Stockholm, where he met several Miami Law faculty members and students before deciding to apply to the LL.M. program.
Miami Law participates in these three international moot court competitions (and several others) every year under the direction of International Moot Court Director Paula Arias. Notable successes include advancing to the quarter-finals of the FDI Moot, to the semi-finals of the Moot Madrid, and winning multiple honorable mentions and best speaker awards at the FDI Moot, Moot Madrid and Vis pre-Moot events around the globe in 2017 alone.
Arias has the support of other several members of the Miami international arbitration community in coaching the students for these moots. Friedrich, who teaches courses on Drafting Complex Arbitration Clauses and Transnational Litigation and International Arbitration with a European Nexus in the International Arbitration LL.M. Program, also serves as a coach to the Vis and FDI Moot teams.
Miami Law Adjunct Professor John Rooney, who teaches a seminar on International Commercial Arbitration from a U.S. Perspective in the LL.M. Program as well as a course on International Business Transactions, is another coach for the Vis Moot, while Miami Law Adjunct Professor Luis O’Naghten, who teaches a course on the Federal Arbitration Act in the LL.M., serves as a coach for the Moot Madrid.
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The White & Case International Arbitration LL.M. Program, under the leadership of Professor Jan Paulsson, holder of the Michael Klein Distinguished Scholar Chair, provides a unique individualized educational opportunity for a small group of top-quality students from around the globe, wishing to acquire an in-depth grounding in the field of international arbitration as a platform for a successful career. The program - the only one of its kind in the United States - is open to U.S. and foreign-trained law graduates, and is ideal for newcomers to the field or experienced practitioners looking to enrich their skills and knowledge.
The scholarship offer applies to all of Miami Law's LL.M. programs. In addition to the available scholarship opportunities, the $50 application fee is waived for all former Vis, FDI and Moot Madrid participants using Miami Law’s online application system.
