Qatar University College of Law (QU-LAWC) students won the award for Best Respondent Memorandum at the Sixth Annual Vis Commercial Arbitration Competition Middle East Premoot in Bahrain recently.

Atim Jamal Nasser al-Wahaibi, Sarah Abdollah Ahmadi, Buthaina Saleh Elgihani, Fajr Fareed A M al-Emadi, Fedaa Alsadah, and Mohamed Elohafiy competed among 17 teams from academic institutions in the Middle East.

They presented a client file, including court documents and reports related to a commercial dispute in front of a panel of judges and attorneys from both common law and civil law backgrounds.

Leading up to the pre-moot, the students researched the legal issues, and read hundreds of pages of English-language legal cases and commentaries, following which they wrote over one hundred pages of arguments, and practised arguing for one side and the other.

Al-Wahaibi said: "I learned a lot about how to present my oral argument, from appearance and style to being persuasive. I also learned to think on my feet and answer questions from judges. It was great to make so many new friends from different countries.”

QU-LAWC clinical assistant professor Dr Aaron Richard Harmon said the competition provided students with a unique opportunity to experience commercial arbitration and hear other arguments from other sides.

"They gain confidence in arguing in front of legal experts and against their counterparts from institutions around the world.”