NATIONAL AND REGIONALADMINISTRATOR WEBINAR

The Basics

The Basics – Structure of the Jessup Competition

The Basics – The ILSA Executive Office

The International Law Students Association is a non-profit organization of students and lawyers who are dedicated to the promotion of international law.

ILSA provides students with opportunities to study, research, and network in the international arena.

ILSA’s activities include organizing academic conferences, publishing academic works, globally coordinating student chapters, and administering the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition.

The Executive Office of ILSA is located in Chicago, Illinois, in the United States.

Registers Teams Creates Jessup Problem Authors Jessup Rules Serves as final arbiter of Jessup

Rules Appoints Administrators of

Qualifying Tournaments Collects Memorials Oversees Qualifying Tournaments Administers International Rounds

The Basics – Administrators

Regional and National Administrators are appointed by the ILSA Executive Office.

Plan and coordinate all aspects of qualifying tournaments

Act with authority of ILSA and as representative of ILSA

Enforce Jessup Rules Communicate with and support

regional or national teams List of registered teams to be

distributed, but is subject to change. Many teams have outstanding issues. Final version will be sent before your competition.

The Basics –Sketch of the Season (Team’s Perspective)

August Registration opens Official Rules Released

September Jessup Problem (Compromis) Released

November Registration Deadline

December Corrections to the Compromis Released

January Memorial Deadline

Mid-January thru Early-March Qualifying Tournaments

Late-March White & Case International Rounds

The Basics – Sketch of the Season (Administrator’s Perspective)

See Official Competition Schedule (http://www.ilsa.org/jessup/schedule.pdf)

Most important deadlines are registration, memorial submission, and late memorial submission deadline.

See Pre-Tournament Checklist and Timeline (pg. 5 of Administrator’s Guide, http://www.ilsa.org/jessup/admin.php)

See Tournament Checklist and Timeline (pg. 14 of Administrator’s Guide, http://www.ilsa.org/jessup/admin.php)

Ten Elements of a Qualifying Tournament

1. Teams2. Materials3. Venue4. Staff5. Judges6. Bailiffs7. Finances8. Rules9. Results10.Follow-up

1. Teams

Teams are the focal point of the Competition. Administrator Tasks relating to teams

Recruiting (registration is now closed, ask Executive Director if new team needs to register late)

Registration (many teams are still finalizing registration information, team members, payment)

Communication (schedule, logistics, team pairings, results, support for team(s) advancing to International Rounds (visa and fundraising letters)

2. Materials

Core Materials http://www.ilsa.org/jessup/index.php

Jessup Compromis and Clarifications Jessup Rules Official Schedule National Rounds Page Administrators’ Page

Judges Bench Memorandum is in the Password-Protected Section (updated frequently)

Materials Index See page 4 of the Administrator’s

Guide

3. Venue

Common Venues - We recommend February

Universities (competing schools or other school)

Law firms Hotels Court houses Bar Associations, Inns of Court

Don’t forget the specifics How many rooms you need and when Can the rooms be converted into a Jessup

courtroom with a podium and seats for team members, advisors, spectators and judges?

Is there space for judge’s lounge, competitor’s lounge, advancing teams announcement, awards reception, final round, place to print and copy?

4. Competition Staff

Every tournament will have different staffing needs.

Common Staff Positions Competition Coordinator Judges Coordinator Bailiff Coordinator Scoring Coordinator

5. Judges - Basics

Recruiting & Preparing judges are the most important and difficult task for most competitions

Offer and advertise incentives and thank-you’s Small gift, reception and food, continuing legal education

(CLE) credit, training in international law/ mooting culture, certificate of service, thank-you letter

Preparation Start recruiting & scheduling oral round, memorial, and

advanced round judges as early as possible Access to Compromis & Clarifications, Summary, Written

Training Guides, White & Case Judge Training Video, Scoresheets, Judges’ Bench Memorandum

Convey and confirm schedules, tasks, and onsite information

5. Judges – Recruiting Sources

Bar Associations Large: ABA-IL, ABILA, ASIL, IBA, ILI, WJA Local: Country, State, Province, City, County Committees: International, Women, Minority,

Government, Litigation, Trial, Dispute Resolution, Immigration, Pro Bono Service

Government (Government Attorneys and Prosecutors, Public Defenders, Judges)

Law School Resources (Professors, alumni associations and listserves, LLM/advanced degree candidates)

Law Firms (Partners and shareholders for advanced rounds; ask managing/hiring partner, pro bono coordinator to circulate invitation; target litigation, international, trial, and immigration practice groups)

6. Bailiffs

The bailiff is the least appreciated but one of the most important positions

Tips Recruiting - Student organizations Training – Day before or morning of competition Materials (All available on administrator’s

webpage) Bailiff Instructions (training manual for bailiffs Bailiff Timekeeping Sheet (explains when to hold up

timecards) Bailiff Script (bailiff reads aloud at beginning of

round) Back-ups

7. Finances

A small qualifying tournament can be very cheap; a large qualifying tournament can be very expensive.

Common sources of funding (fundraising support letter from ILSA is on password protected administrator’s webpage)

Participating Schools Government agencies

Foreign ministries Embassies USAID

Foundations Private Industry

Law firms Airlines

Legal Trade Organizations Bar Associations International Law Societies

8. Rules

Rules National Administrators MUST know well

Eligibility requirements (Rules 2.1 and 2.2)

Registration requirements (Rule 3.0) Memorial submission process (Rule 6.1) Procedures for conducting oral rounds

(Rule 7.0) Scoring Method (Rule 10.0) Penalties (Rule 11.0)

National Rules Supplements

9. Results

Getting Results (Scoring) Announcing Results

Preliminary rounds Advanced rounds Final round

Explaining Results Celebrating Results

10. Follow-up

Notice to ILSA Executive Office Certificates of Participation Thank-you letters to Staff, Judges, and

Bailiffs Advancing Team(s) Support

1. Prepare, prepare, prepare. Plan the tournament ahead of time and in an efficient manner.

2. Effectively recruit and utilize volunteers.

3. Review the plan with your staff multiple times. Double-check that responsibilities are confirmed, understood, and remembered.

4. Read and respond to your email frequently and promptly.

5. Frequently interact with and seek the advice of the ILSA Executive Office.

Five Keys to a Successful Qualifying Tournament

Websites

ILSA’s Website Jessup Page www.ilsa.org/jessup Administrator’s Page

www.ilsa.org/jessup/admin.php Nationals Page

www.ilsa.org/jessup/national.php Materials Page

www.ilsa.org/jessup/materials.php Rules Page www.ilsa.org/jessup/rules.php Registration

www.ilsa.org/jessup/registration.php National Rounds Website

Phase I Planning (What to do now)

Read Administrator’s Guide Reserve Competition Venue and Important

Spaces within Venue (advancing teams announcement, awards reception, and final round spaces)

Prepare list of contacts to invite to judge preliminary oral rounds and grade memorials

Save the Dates Invite Final Round judges Draft complete schedule of events Obtain final list of teams from ILSA and start

to correspond with teams as a group

Phase II Planning (1or 2 Months until Competition)

Identify key competition staff (judge coordinator, bailiff coordinator)

Invite oral Round Judges to sign up to judge specific rounds

Plan each competition event (orientation, oral rounds, advancing teams announcement, awards reception, advanced rounds)

Reserve specific rooms for each event (don’t forget judges’ room, competitors’ lounge, etc.)

Confirm Final Round judges

Phase III Planning – Month of Competition

Finish recruiting all oral round judges, including back-ups, and CONFIRM schedules

Recruit bailiffs, CONFIRM schedules Receive memorials from ILSA, invite

memorials judges to grade memorials and assign memorials.

Convey team pairings and final competition schedule to teams

CONFIRM all onsite logistics with host (venue hours, where to print and make copies, how to access internet, where materials will arrive, etc.)

Important Information

Will Patterson, Executive Director Mobile: +1 (312) 919-8057 Office: +1 (312) 362-5021 Skype name: wmjdpatterson

Ashley Walker, Jessup Competition Coordinator Office: +1 (312) 362-6115

ILSA Office Main line: +1 (312) 362-5025 Fax: +1 (312) 362-5073

Advanced Information

Memorial Submission

Each team must submit 1 Applicant and 1 Respondent memorial to jessup@ilsa.org by 11:59am local time on January 11th

Teams might send memorials to you directly as well National Supplements may change submission

rule in exceptional circumstances (Rule 6.1(c)): Set earlier submission deadline Require teams to email memorials to opposing teams Require teams to provide paper copies of memorials Require teams to bring memorials in print or on CD to

competition

Memorial Penalties

You are responsible for assigning penalties to memorials (See Memorial Penalty Worksheet at http://www.ilsa.org/jessup/admin.php)

Common penalties: Late submission, re-submission after deadline Violation of word count maximums Failure to include necessary information on cover

page Team appeals of penalties will be resolved

by ILSA Executive Director. Teams must be notified of memorial penalties and

appeals procedure prior to start of first preliminary oral round

Memorial Scoring

Each memorial graded by three Judges Set early deadlines Maintain anonymity (renumber memorials for

judges if necessary, e.g., if judge grades A and R memorials of the same team)

Judges will provide score between 50-100. Judges will fill out memorial score sheet Only number in Total Score box matters Penalty points you assess will be subtracted from

each Total Score These scores will be used throughout

preliminary rounds

Building a Preliminary Oral Round

Pairing Teams Random Draw, avoid “clusters” where sub-groups

of teams all compete against one another. Assigning a Bailiff Assigning Judges

Mix of Experienced and New Judges Ask Judges to report conflicts in advance and

onsite What is a conflict? Only if Judge feels they would

be unable to impartially Judge a round. Judges should not see the same team twice.

Judges cannot see the same side of a team twice.

Building an Advanced Oral Round

Pairing Teams (see Rule 8.2) and Pleading Option First Advanced Rounds – Power Seeding

Assume 8 teams: Match 1: Rank 1 v. 8, Match 2: 2 v. 7, etc.

Second Advanced Rounds Winner of Match 1 v. Match 4; Match 2 v. Match 3

Assigning a Bailiff Assigning Judges

Ideally experienced Judges Ask Judges to report conflicts Should not see the same team twice unless

necessary

Running an Oral Competition – Prep I

What is this going to be like? (Mentality: Think Ahead!)

Onsite Judges’ Room Materials: Competition schedule, Rules, team pairings, team travel forms,

memorial penalty worksheets, judge schedules, judge benches, judge conflict sheets

Compromis & Clarifications, Judge’s Bench Memo, Judge Training Guides, Team Memorials

Bailiff Materials (Instructions, Timekeeping Sheet, Script, Timers, Timecards)

Scoresheets (Prelims, Advanced Rounds, Memorials) CLE Info, Judge and Team Certificates, Awards Judges’ Robes (optional), Judge/Bailiff Nametags, Basic Office Supplies

Coordinate delivery, arrival, and storage of onsite materials; unpack, set up in judges room, and count; make last-minute copies

Running an Oral Competition – Prep II

Prepare Judges’ Room: Organize all Competition Materials in Judges room so everything is

accessible, consider the flow of traffic by judges and bailiffs Take home/lock up extra bench memos after rounds conclude for the day Space for coffee, snacks, confirm delivery time Space for judges to hang coats, store bags

Prepare Courtrooms: Podium/lecturn present in all rooms, faces space where three judges can

comfortably sit, space for both teams, space for spectators, is the room wheelchair accessible?,

Sample Diagram on Page 17 of National Administrators Guide Other Event Rooms:

Confirm with host/venue liaison when you have rooms, room set-up (e.g., tables, podium), audio-visual support (e.g., microphone), catering, etc.

Running an Oral Competition – Arrival

Team Orientation: Day before or day of, distribute penalty worksheets, go over building

logistics, event schedule, and key Rules

Judges Greet judges as they arrive, check-off bench list, give team

memorials/other materials as necessary, introduce to fellow judges and bailiff

Give brief announcement/round over view just before each round begins

Bailiffs Greet bailiffs, check off round assignment list, give training/training

materials as necessary, give round materials, 10 mins before round send to courtrooms to complete teams’ info on scoresheets/fill out timekeeping sheet, upon return introduce to judges to escort to rooms.

Running an Oral Competition – Preliminary Rounds

Before Rounds Send out each group of judges + bailiff with necessary round

materials 5 mins before round begins Immediately after each round concludes

Receive team appeals from bailiff, go to courtroom to discuss with teams, intervene in judge deliberations as necessary to discuss problem

Retrieve scoresheets from bailiff, make sure they are signed Catch judges as they return to recycle memorials, confirm

next round, ask them to substitute/grade memorials, sign unsigned scoresheets, take CLE form/judge certificate

Between rounds Enter scores in scoring spreadsheet Make judge benches for next round, plan substitutions Take stock of missing materials, make copies, clean up room

Running an Oral Competition – Advanced Rounds

After Preliminary Rounds Conclude Enter last set of scores, double-check all scores, calculate

results, make copies of memorials of advancing teams and other materials, prepare judge benches for advanced rounds if they begin soon (if possible prior to pleading option), give team memorials to judges to read

Advancing Teams Announcement (Bring results, advanced round room assignments, and

memorials with you) Congratulate teams, announce advancing teams, announce rooms top-seeded advancing teams will compete in, explain pleading option after announcement to advancing teams, exchange memorials

Advanced Rounds Same as preliminaries, but substitute advanced rounds

scoresheet and give judges memorials early to consider more thoroughly

Running an Oral Competition – Final

Between Competition Days Make extra copies, get needed materials, clean up room and prepare it

for next day as much as possible, make judge substitutions and judge benches for the first round of each day, enter any scores (oral, memorial, penalties) not entered during the day, arrive early the next day to finish setting up and greet judges

Awards Reception Prep room, bring all results and awards, participation certificates,

oversee catering set-up, arrival of guest speakers, etc.; ensure judges’ room is secure during reception; as awards presented, note absences, duplicates, corrections

After Final Round Explain logistics of advancing to the International Rounds to winning

team(s) Write results summary and convey to ILSA, prepare list of award

duplicates and corrections to make and unclaimed awards to mail, clean up judges’ room, pack up/mail remaining supplies

Oral Round Scoring – Preliminary Rounds

Each Oral Round Judge is worth 2 Round Points Each Memorial Judge is worth 1 Round Point The Winning Team is the team with the most

Round Points Judges may take into account memorials in

addition to oral pleadings Judges should not announce the winner at the

end of the round, they should just give performance-based feedback

Oral Round Scoring – Preliminary Rounds

Oral Round Points (2 Round Points for each Judge)

Memorial Round Points (1 Round Point for each Judge)

Judge 1 Judge 2 Judge 3 Round Points

Team 1 – First Oralist

80 80 90

Team 1 – Second Oralist

75 90 90

155 170 180 4

Team 2 – First Oralist

70 90 85

Team 2 – Second Oralst

90 60 90

160 150 175 2

High Medium Low

Team 1 A 90 70 55 2

Team 2 R 85 65 59 1

Oral Round Scoring – Advanced Rounds

Each Advanced Round has three Judges Each Judge worth 1 point Judges should consider oral argument &

memorials Each Judge awards his or her point to

the team he/she believes won the match

Judges can announce winner at the end of the round