Last month in Paris, LSE’s team advanced to the semi-finals in the 2024 edition of the Cross Examination Moot, after ranking second in the general rounds. The team of four comprised Clarissa Wong, Shanaya Kapoor, Asia Campagna, and James Ma.
Hosted by Sciences Po Law School, the Cross Examination Moot is a competition for university teams with a focus on cross-examination in international arbitration. It was established in 2021 by an eminent group of practitioners and academics to educate the next generation of arbitration lawyers.
This year’s mock case concerned a dispute over the coding of software for the life sciences industry, including accusations of improperly using and misappropriating intellectual property rights. Participants had to cross-examine fact witnesses and economic experts.
‘It was an incredibly rewarding experience,’ the team said. ‘Reading a problem bundle of more than 300 pages was challenging at first, but working together to form case theories and script witness cross-examinations was incredibly satisfying. It was especially fun to examine genuine quantum expert witnesses, as that’s a role usually reserved for lawyers many years into their careers!”
LSE’s team was generously supported by the expertise of Richard Trinick, Counsel for Three Crowns LLP and a recommended lawyer for international arbitration in The Legal 500 UK’s 2023 and 2024 guides. Several other lawyers from Three Crowns support the LSE Law School by running a Masterclass on the Practice of International Arbitration, including a session on the art of cross-examination.
(from left to right) Clarissa Wong, Shanaya Kapoor, Asia Campagna, and James Ma.