Three students from Católica Global School of Law — Fabian Krempel, Mara Erath and Maximilian Berger — represented the school at the 32nd edition of the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot, held in Vienna from April 10 to 18.
The Vis Moot is one of the world's most prestigious moot court competitions. It annually brings together over 300 teams from leading law schools around the globe, challenging participants to engage with complex legal issues in a simulated arbitration setting.
The performance of our team stood out throughout the competition, and their hard work was guided by their dedicated coach, Marta Vicente. In particular, Maximilian Berger received an Honourable Mention for the Martin Domke Award for Best Individual Oralist, an exceptional distinction. The team was the second ever team from a Portuguese law school to receive an award for Best Oralist.
Reflecting on her experience, Mara Erath said that what stood out the most to her was the sense of community: "I especially appreciated the international spirit and diversity of perspectives throughout the competition. Mooties and arbitrators from different jurisdictions approached the same legal problem through the lens of their own backgrounds, which made it very inspiring.”
For Maximilian Berger, “it was the arbitrators challenging us on every spoken word and the amazing people we got to meet in Vienna that made the Vis such an incredibly fun experience. I am really looking forward to coming back next year as a coach.”
Fabian Krempel also reflected on the personal impact of the experience: “It gave me a real sense of what it’s like to work in international arbitration – the collaboration, the intensity, and the global perspective. It confirmed for me that this is a very interesting field that gives me the opportunity to work in different countries of the world.”
We congratulate Fabian, Mara and Maximilian on this remarkable experience and for brilliantly representing Católica on the international stage.