About Us

The Moot Alumni Association of the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot (the “MAA”) was established in 1997 during the 3rd Willem C. Vis Moot Competition in Vienna. The MAA started with a handful of academics, students, and professionals and has expanded to over 5,000 members and continues to grow every year.

The purpose of the establishment of the MAA is to form an association to promote the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot (“Vis Moot”) and the Willem C. Vis (East) International Commercial Arbitration Moot (“Vis East”) and to achieve its goals of educating the general public on the topics of international arbitration and international trade law.

The MAA also preserves and strengthens ties among former, current, and future participants (students, academics and professionals alike) of the Vis Moot and Vis East worldwide, establishing an international network that facilitates the continuing exchange of professional, social, and cultural experiences amongst members.

People.

Executive Board

Sherlin Tung

President (outgoing)

Isabela Deveza

President (incoming)

Alicja Zielińska-Eisen

Vice President

Navin Ahuja

Vice President

Cristen Bauer

Secretary

Ipek Ince

Secretary

Vindobona Journal Team

Derya Durlu Gurzumar

Senior Editor-in-Chief

Oguzhan Samanci

Editor-in-Chief

Rinat Gareev

Technical Editor

Sneha Rath

Technical Editor

Aleksandar Milenkovic

Admin Editor

Marco Bottin

Admin Editor

International Liasons Team

Benedetta Meloni

Chair

Ramalingam Vallinayagam

Vice Chair

Dilara Duru

Team Member

Alexia Gkoritsa

Team Member

Media Team

Carolina Kresch

Chair

Nina Rasljanin

Vice Chair

Vitoria Kreutz Werle

Team Member

Wanyan Pan Jiang

Team Member

Aisha Bamahriz

Team Member

Mentor-Mentee Team

Evanthia Kasiora

Co-Chair

Anne Wang

Co-Chair

Begüm Yilmaz

Team Member

Shreya Nair

Team Member

Conferences & Events Team

Zach Li

Chair (Events)

Luciana Vigano

Vice Chair (Events)

Yashraj Samant

Chair (Conferences)

Emily Feigel

Vice Chair (Conferences)

Mariya Davis

Team Member

Charaine Ng

Team Member

Misra Yalcin

Team Member

Arijit Sanyal

Team Member

Compliance Team

Maja Šutalo

Compliance Officer

China Project Team

Vera He

Chair

Alice Wang

Vice Chair

Nan Shu

Team Member

William Wong

Team Member

Lucy Li

Team Member

Wenru Rui

Team Member

Diversity & Inclusion Team

Shashi Dholandas

Co-Chair

Tess Bens

Co-Chair

Hanna Shalbanava

Team Member

Serra Zoraloglu

Team Member

Isabela Godoy

Team Member

Regional Representatives Team (Americas)

Rob Warzel

Chair

Pushkar Keshavmurthy

Team Member

Gwenllian Kern-Allely

Team Member

Fernanda Nemr

Team Member

Ana Julia Schenkel

Team Member

Regional Representatives Team (EMEA)

Maciej Durbas

Chair

Aina Hannisa

Team Member

Christian Johannes Wahnschaffe

Team Member

Andrea de Biase

Team Member

Maja Šutalo

Team Member

Oleksandr Zablotskyi

Team Member

Rokaya Mosaad

Team Member

Victoria Ivasechko

Team Member

Spiros Batzios

Team Member

Regional Representatives Team (North Asia)

Matthew Suen

Chair

Chen LIang

Team Member

Dylan Jianwei Duan

Team Member

Alan Sham

Team Member

Regional Representatives Team (South Asia)

Akshit Vohra

Chair

Samaya Khanna

Team Member

Jayakumar Suryanarayanan

Team Member

Core Team Coordinator

Margarita Drobyshevskaya

Core Team Coordinator

Advisory Board.

The MAA is grateful for the advice and guidance that it receives from the members of its Advisory Board consisting of the following members, listed in alphabetical order:

Ms. Louise Barrington, JD, LLM, FCIArb (Chartered)
Professor Eric E. Bergsten
Mr. Arno Eisen
Mr. Björn Gehle
Professor Dr. Christopher Kee
Professor Dr. Stefan Kröll
Professor Dr. Ulrich Schroeter
Professor Jeff Waincymer

Legal Information.

The website maa.net is owned and operated by the “Alumni Association of the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot” (MAA).The MAA is a non-profit association (“eingetragener Verein”), established and existing under the laws of the Republic of Austria, registered with the competent Austrian authority at the Federal Police, District Vienna (“Bundespolizeidirektion Weien”) with its registered address at Semperit AG Holdings, Attn: Sherlin Tung, Modecenterstrasse 22, 1030 Vienna, Austria, and registry number ZVR 563556309. A registry excerpt can be obtained online from the Central Registry of Associations (“Zentrales Vereinsregister”) maintained by the Austrian Federal Ministry for Internal Affairs at https://zvr.bmi.gv.at/

The MAA is represented by the members of the Executive Board listed HERE.

A courtesy English translation of the MAA’s Articles of Association can be accessed HERE.

The German version of the MAA’s Articles of Association can be accessed HERE.

Our Date Privacy Statement can be accessed HERE.

General inquiries may be directed at: [email protected]

General inquiries: [email protected]
Membership inquiries: [email protected]
Vindobona Journal enquiries: [email protected]

Sherlin (董希琳) Tung

Sherlin (董希琳) Tung is a Partner in the International Litigation & Arbitration Team at Withersworldwide in Hong Kong. She is a specialist in cross-border disputes, international commercial arbitration, and multi-jurisdiction litigations. With over a decade of experience, Sherlin has advised clients in Asia, the Americas, and Europe on all phases and aspects of cross-border disputes (both litigation and arbitration). Sherlin is qualified as an attorney in California and New York (U.S.A.) and is a Registered Foreign Lawyer in Hong Kong. Sherlin herself is a mootie, competing with the University of San Diego School of Law and then coaching Stockholm University. In addition to her role in the MAA, she is the Deputy Director of the Vis East Moot Foundation.

Isabela Deveza

Isabela Deveza participated in the Vis Moot as a mootie, coach and arbitrator. She has completed her legal education in civil and common law jurisdictions, being admitted to practice law in Australia. She is a Senior Associate with White & Case in Sydney and a Board Member of the MAA.

Alicja Zielińska-Eisen

Program Coordinator, International Dispute Resolution (IDR) LL.M. | Of Counsel, Queritius, Warsaw, Paris, Budapest

Alicja Zielińska-Eisen, LL.M. is an Of Counsel with Queritius and an advocate (adwokat) admitted in Poland. She is combining her attorney practice with an academic career as Program Coordinator for the International Dispute Resolution (IDR) LL.M. at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.

Alicja is involved in numerous initiatives for legal professionals, including speaking engagements at seminars and conferences in Warsaw, Berlin, Vienna and Hong Kong, and lectures on arbitration and ADR subjects. She participated in the Vis Moot as a mootie, coach and arbitrator.

Alicja graduated from University of Silesia (Poland) and holds an LL.M. in International Dispute Resolution from Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin as well as a Postgraduate Diploma in Negotiation, Mediation and other ADR awarded by the Warsaw University, Centre for Dispute and Conflict Resolution.

Navin Ahuja

Dr. Navin G. Ahuja earned his doctorate concentrating on guerrilla tactics in international commercial arbitration. He is a Visiting Fellow at the City University of Hong Kong and has delivered several lectures there. He is an editorial board member of the International Arbitration Law Review, an accredited tribunal secretary, an accredited general mediator and Co-Chair of the MAA Conferences Team. Navin has contributed to several publications on the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) and ADR. He co-coached his team to amongst other achievements, winning the best memorandum in Vis East, receiving Honourable Mentions in Vis East and Vis Vienna for the written memorandum and individual oralists, and ranking fourth out of 147 teams in Vis East.

Cristen Bauer

Well-rounded professional with 10+ years of diverse international experience. Committed to developing better international trade and investment agreements, in order to strengthen the rule of law, enhance dispute resolution options, and promote sustainable trade and investment practices. Located in Washington D.C.

Ipek Ince

İpek İnce is an associate at Gedik Eraksoy Attorney Partnership (in association with Allen & Overy). She participated in 24th and 25th Vis Moot as and coaching the Istanbul University team since then. Apart from her role as a regional representative, she is also a member of communications team at MAA

Derya Durlu Gürzumar

Mrs. Derya Durlu Gürzumar is an attorney-at-law registered to the Istanbul Bar Association, and is the current chair of the International Bar Association’s Alternative and New Law Business Structures Committee.

She holds LLB and LLM degrees from Bilkent University Faculty of Law, in Ankara, Turkey, and is currently a PhD candidate at the University of Neuchâtel, in Switzerland.

Being an ardent Vis-mootie since 2007, Mrs. Durlu Gürzumar has been one of the few law students to receive two successive Honorable Mentions in the Martin Domke Best Oralist Award in the 16th and 17th Willem C. Vis Moot competitions.

She has been coaching teams and arbitrating in many international and domestic arbitration competitions since 2010. Very recently, in 2021, Mrs. Durlu Gürzumar’s Vis moot team from Bilkent University became the highest-ranking Turkish university by reaching the semi-finals in the Vis East and the octo-finals in the Vis Moot.

Oguzhan Samanci

Oguzhan is a Research Fellow at Humboldt University of Berlin and the Academic Coordinator of its International Dispute Resolution (IDR) LL.M. program. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the Vindobona Journal of International Commercial Law and Arbitration. Having studied at Humboldt University of Berlin and King’s College London and after working in the dispute resolution department of an international law firm, he is currently pursuing his PhD in arbitration. Oguzhan has been part of the MAA Core Team since 2021. He participated in the 26th/16th Willem C. Vis (East) International Commercial Arbitration Moot and coached his university’s teams for the 28th/18th and 29th/19th Vis (East) Moots.

Rinat Gareev

Rinat Gareev is a US-qualified attorney (admitted in New York), holds civil and common law degrees. In his current role of a Legal Consultant at a New York based law firm, Rinat represents domestic and international entities on a variety of general corporate matters and cross-border transactions, as well as assisting clients in navigating complex compliance issues.

Prior to returning to legal consulting, Rinat has gained experience by working and training in leading arbitral institutions in Malaysia, South Korea, Russia, international organizations (UNCITRAL) and law firms.

Through Rinat’s professional and educational experience, he has developed expertise in trade law, aviation law, arbitration and cross-border dispute resolution. He has published several papers in international and local journals on issues relating to cross-border dispute resolution and also provides expert opinions on various domestic and international law-related issues.

Sneha Rath

Sneha is a penultimate year law student at National Law University Odisha, in India. She participated in the 18th Vis (East) Moot as a mootie. Apart from being a part of the Vindobona Journal Board, she is currently heading the Blog Division (Globally) of Ex Curia International, and working as a Junior Staff Editor at The Arbitration Workshop.

Aleksandar

Aleksandar is an administrative editor on the Vindobona Journal of International Commercial Law and Arbitration. He is currently completing his penultimate year in his LLB degree at Deakin University. He also represented Deakin University in the 18th Annual Vis East Moot. Today, Aleksandar is assisting in legal research on the CISG and international and domestic trade issues and volunteers his time as the website administrator and editor with Africa in the Moot, a global initiative assisting law students in Africa to compete in the Vis Moot. In his free time, Aleksandar enjoys reading and writing on various topics, including his experiences during the Vis Moot on Vis Moot Pillow Thoughts.

Marco Bottin

Marco has been involved with the Vis Moot since 2020, when he founded the Team that is now regularly representing the University of Padua (Italy). He participated to the 28th Vis Moot, winning an award for best memorandum at the AIAC Pre-Moot. Thanks to the MAA, he took part as an Observer to the 59th Session of the UNCITRAL Working Group V.

Benedetta Meloni

Benedetta is a young professional in the Oil & Gas industry, currently working as in-house counsel at Tecnimont S.p.A. in Milan.

She pursued her Dispute Resolution education internationally: Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Switzerland, and United States. She worked in Chicago as a mediator and then joined a small boutique in New York. Before moving to the US, Benedetta participated to the 24 th VIS Moot. Benedetta believes that the VIS Moot is the most enriching and stimulating experience that somebody eager to learn about DR could live. Thanks to the Moot, Benedetta had the possibility to connect all over the world and to participate as a delegate to the 68 th Session of the UNCITRAL WG II.

Ramalingam Vallinayagam

Ramalingam Va is an Indian qualified lawyer who just completed the LLM in International Dispute Resolution from King’s College, London. He has participated in the 25th Willem C. Vis Moot as an oralist and as an Arbitrator in the 16th Vis East Moot. He is currently an Associate with CIArb and a member of the editorial sub-committee, Asian Institute of Alternative Dispute Resolution, Malaysia. Ramalingam is also an alumnus of School of Excellence in Law, Chennai.

Dilara Duru

Dilara Duru has graduated from MEF University, İstanbul Turkey with a double major degree in Law and International Relations as high-honor student. She is working as a trainee lawyer in a law firm that specialized in corporate and commercial law within the arbitration and dispute resolution. She is a moot alumnus that participated as team member in both 28th and 29th Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot. Also, she has participated in local arbitration competitions with her team during university education. She says that, she has a big fire inside her towards arbitration and moot court.

Alexia Gkoritsa

Alexia is an EU (Greece) qualified lawyer, currently holding the position of a Legal Case Manager with the Arbitration and Mediation Center of WIPO.

Prior to joining WIPO, Alexia had been employed in one of the leading Greek law firms, especially in the areas of arbitration, IP and competition law. Subsequently, she took up a position at the Greek Competition Authority, which she held up until her arrival in Geneva to pursue the MIDS LL.M.

Alexia holds an LL.B. from the School of Law of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, an LL.M. in Civil Procedure from the same university and an LL.M. in International Dispute Settlement (MIDS) provided jointly by the University of Geneva and the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies. Moreover, she has attended arbitration training courses in various European and Latin American cities and has been very active in many ADR-oriented organizations.

Carolina Kresch

Carolina Kresch participated in the first Virtual Vis Moot in 2020, representing the Federal University of Santa Catarina, where she graduated from Law School, and since her participation on the moot, she became a coach of the team. Carolina currently works with arbitration in the dispute resolutions team of Padis Mattar Advogados, in São Paulo, Brazil. She has been a mentee in the Brazil Very Young Arbitration Practitioners (BRVYAP) Mentoring Program and represents the MAA within the Media Team since 2021/2022 term. This year Carolina has taken up the Chair role of the Media Team, to lead the group in the 2022/2023 MAA Core Team.

Nina Rasljanin

Nina Rašljanin is an LLM candidate at the University of Belgrade, Faculty of Law, specializing in international commercial law. She obtained her LLB degree from the same university.

Nina participated in the 28th Vis Moot, when she won an honorable mention for Martin Domke award for best individual oralist. She was also one of the assistant coaches to Belgrade Vis Moot team for the 29th Vis Moot.

Nina works as an associate at an international law firm, Schoenherr attorneys at law, in Belgrade.

Vitoria Kreutz Werle

Vitória Kreutz Werle is a law student at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil currently in a exchange program at the Roma Tre University, in Italy, where she is dedicating her time to study international arbitration and commercial law. She participated in the 27th and the 28th edition of the Vis Moot as an oralist and arbitrated in the VII AIA-CAM Pre-Moot.

Vitoria is the editor of the domestic arbitration case law platform Arbipedia and a member of the Brazilian Arbitration Students Association (ABEArb).

Wanyan Pan Jiang

Wanyan Pan Jiang (潘婉嫣) is extremely implicated in International Commercial Law and ADR. She studied her LL.B. in Valencia, Spain, where she had the pleasure to study in France for a year to specialise in her area of expertise. She holds a LL.M. degree in Globalisation and Law from Maastricht University and is currently based in Valencia.

Wanyan participated in the 29th Willem C. Vis Moot International Arbitration Moot Court and will be coaching the Maastricht University team for the next seasons.

Aisha S. Bamahriz

Aisha graduated from Dar Al Hekma University, where she majored in Law and minored in Diplomacy and International Relations. She is currently a trainee solicitor and is pursuing the SQE route to qualify as a Solicitor in England and Wales.

Being part of the 29th Vis Moot, Aisha was an oralist that helped spearhead her team into breaking two regional records in the qualifying rounds.

She is also an associate member at the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) and is currently part of the Media team at the MAA.

Evanthia Kasiora

Evanthia Kasiora participated in the Vis Moot as a mootie and arbitrator. She has studied and worked in Greece and the UK, and is a Greek qualified lawyer. Evanthia is an Associate in the International Arbitration Practice of White & Case in Paris.

Anne Wang

Anne Wang participated in the first Virtual Vis Moot in 2020, representing Stockholm University while on exchange. She is a graduate of the University of New South Wales and is admitted to practice in Australia. Anne is a Deputy Counsel at the International Chamber of Commerce International Court of Arbitration in Hong Kong and previously worked as a tribunal secretary and solicitor in Sydney. She has been a mentee in the MAA Mentor-Mentee Programme and represented the MAA at the 73rd session of the UNCITRAL Working Group II (Dispute Settlement).

Begüm Yilmaz

Begüm Yılmaz will graduate from MEF University, Turkey in September 2022. Begüm has participated as a team member and an oralist in the first Virtual Vis Moot, 27th Vis Moot, representing MEF University. She has acted as a Jr. Coach for her University’s 28th Vis Moot Team. Also, she has been acting as a volunteer arbitrator for pre-moots. She has been a mentee in the 2021-2022 MAA Mentor-Mentee Programme. After graduation, she will start working as a trainee lawyer at a law firm.

Shreya Nair

Shreya is a member of the MAA Mentor Mentee Team. She is currently an LLM Candidate at National University of Singapore, specialising in International Arbitration & Dispute Resolution. Shreya is also a former Vis participant and her experience strengthened the belief that community building and networking are the core tenets of international law. Previously, she was engaged with the MAA in the capacity of a mentee for the 2021-22 MAA Mentor Mentee Program. Her areas of interest are International Arbitration, International Dispute Settlement & Public International Law. Her interest in the subject of Arbitration since her second year of law school has led her to travel to the cities of Paris, Dubai and now Singapore, which is why her passion for the field of law is always on the rise. In her free time, you would find her watching “Debating 101” or some other skill development video

Zach Li

Zach advises on valuation, economic loss and accounting issues, primarily in the context of litigation, arbitration and expert determinations. His range of experience includes investor-state disputes, post-acquisition disputes, shareholder disputes, valuation of businesses and loss of profit claims. Over his career, Zach has prepared reports for submission to Cayman Islands, Hong Kong and US courts, as well as to HKIAC, ICC, ICDR, LCIA, ICSID, and UNCITRAL under their arbitration rules. His industry experience spans automotive, aviation, construction, crypto, education, energy, financial services, gaming, hospitality, insurance, metals and mining, oil and gas, pharmaceuticals and real estate. Zach is a member of the Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada and a member of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Business Valuators. He is also fluent in English and Mandarin.

Luciana Vigano

Luciana participated in the 14th/24th Vis Moot for the University of Basel. Since graduating she worked for a small law firm inn Zurich as well as for CMS Switzerland as a legal intern.

Now she is working at the University of Zurich as a research assistant with Prof. Heiss as well as writing her PhD in “International Commercial Courts” with Prof. Schroeder at the University of Basel.

Yashraj Samant

Yashraj is the Co-Chair (Conferences) of the Conferences & Events Team at the Moot Alumni Association (MAA) and at present, is practicing as a Counsel before the Supreme Court of India and various High Courts in India.

He has previously served as a Judicial Law Clerk to Hon’ble Mr. Justice B.R. Gavai (Judge, Supreme Court of India) and also has prior experience of working as an Associate at Advani & Co., New Delhi, working in their dispute resolution team representing clients before the courts of India and before international and domestic arbitral tribunals under the ICC Rules, SIAC Rules, etc.

A former Vis Mootie and an attendee of the prestigious Cologne Academy on International Commercial Arbitration (Germany), he is an alumnus of the renowned National Law University Mumbai.

He is the Co-Editor of two books – ‘Specialized Arbitration: Emerging International Trends and Practices’ and ‘Commercial Arbitration: International Trends and Practices’ published by Thomson Reuters in 2021.
He can be reached at: [email protected].

Emily Feigel

Emily Feigel is a PhD candidate at the University of Münster, Germany, and research assistant to Professor Dr. Gerald Mäsch. She specializes in the fields of Private International Law and International Procedural Law. Prior to her graduation in 2021, she gained practical experience working for Professor Dr. Giesela Rühl and two international law firms. Emily participated in the 24th/14th Willem C. Vis (East) Moot and coached the University of Münster Vis Moot team in the 26th/16th Vis Moot. In the 29th/19th Vis (East) Moot she acted as a senior coach for the University of Münster and served as an arbitrator. Emily joined the MAA Core Team in June 2021.

Mariya Davis

Mariya Davis is a U.S.-qualified attorney practicing in complex commercial and construction litigation.

Mariya has completed clerkships at the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia and the Metro Atlanta Business Case Division. Additionally, during law school, Mariya completed an internship at the Supreme Court of Georgia. Mariya participated in the 23rd and 24th Vis Moot, has been a member of the MAA since 2017.

Charaine Ng

Charaine is a vice president at AlixPartners in Hong Kong, and specializes in valuation, accounting issues and forensic investigation. Her projects include shareholder disputes and valuation of business, with clients in various industries such as healthcare, telecommunication, aviation and forestry in Greater China and the US.

Misra Yalcin

Mısra Yalçın has completed her LL.B at Bahçeşehir University Faculty of Law and she has participated in the 28th Vis Moot in Vienna as well as other international moot court competitions during her studies. At present, Mısra is registered to the Istanbul Bar and works at a law firm based in Istanbul specializing in dispute resolution and commercial law. Mısra is currently coaching the Vis Moot team of Bahçeşehir University and is a member of the MAA Core Team, Conferences & Events.

Arijit Sanyal

Arijit is an undergraduate law student at New Law College, BVDU, Pune. He has participated in the 18th Vis Moot in Hong Kong and 29th Vis Moot in Vienna. Arijit has been a mentee for the MAA’s Mentor Mentee Program 2021-22 and is now a student coach for New Law College, BVDU, Pune’s Vis Moot team. At present he is associated with the publications team of CyberArb, an organisation dealing with cybersecurity and data protection issues in international arbitration proceedings.

Apart from his studies, he has attended the prestigious specialised training course in International Arbitration offered by the Arbitration Academy in Paris where he won the Laureate of the Academy Award, 2022. He is a member of the MAA Core Team, Conferences & Events.

Maja Šutalo

Maja is Croatian qualified attorney at law specialized in commercial law and data protection and a holder of Certified International Privacy Professionals/Europe certificate accredited by ISO and ANSI.

She is a founder of Law Office Šutalo since 2018. Maja Šutalo was Vis Moot participant in 2011./2012. She graduated from the Faculty of Law in Zagreb, Croatia.

Vera He

Vera He is the Deputy Director of ICC Arbitration and ADR for North Asia region. She specializes in international law, especially international arbitration. She joined the ICC International Court of Arbitration in 2019 to promote dispute resolution services of ICC in North Asia. She also has working experience in international organizations and international law firms.

Vera was a former mootie and continues to support the Moot by undertaking roles of arbitrator and mentor. She was the Executive Director of Moot Shanghai 2020 and 2021, responsible for organizing Vis international pre-moot in China.

Alice Wang

Alice is a senior associate in Pinsent Masons’ global international arbitration practice group. Alice is qualified in Queensland Australia and has extensive experience in a wide range of industry sectors. Before joining Pinsent Masons, Alice worked in Australia and Hong Kong with top tier international law firms, as well as with the in-house legal teams of multinational companies. Her practice area focuses on the contentious aspects of projects, acting for main contractors, sub-contractors and employers in arbitration and court proceedings on oil and gas, building and other civil engineering projects. Alice advises large infrastructure and energy projects located in Asia-Pacific, Europe, and South America. In particular, she represents clients in international arbitrations conducted in HKIAC, ICC, SIAC, LCIA, and other major arbitral institutions.

Nan Shu

Nan Shu currently works as assistant legal counsel in Shanghai Arbitration Commission to promote the management of commercial arbitration cases. During 2022-2021, Nan served as a member of the organizing committee of Moot Shanghai and assisted in organizing this Vis international pre-moot in China. She also has working experience in an international law firm and international organization.

William Wong

William Wong is a PCLL student at the University of Hong Kong. He intends to practice as a barrister in Hong Kong, with a focus on commercial litigation and arbitration. He recently completed master’s degrees at the University of Oxford and Harvard Law School, specialising in commercial law and dispute resolution. He participated in the Vis Moot (Vienna) in 2019 and 2020.

Lucy Li

Lucy Li is an attorney-at-law registered to the New York State. She currently practices with King and Wood Mallesons in Hong Kong.

Ms. Li holds B.S. degrees in Economics and Political Science from University of California, Berkeley, J.D. degree from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and LLM degree from Northwestern University.

As a mootie, Ms. Li participated in the 27th Vis Moot as a member on the Chinese University of Hong Kong team and the 28th Vis Moot as a member of Northwestern University team. She also participated in other international moot competitions such as the Nuremberg Moot Court in 2020. She also helped coordinate moots like the Moot Shanghai in 2021.

Wenru Rui

Ms. Wenru Rui is a postgraduate student in East China University of Political science and law. Wenru is a former mootie, participating in the 26th Vis Moot and several Vis Pre-moot in China. She was inspired by the spirit of moot and continues to support the moot by coaching and organizing moot competitions. From 2020 to 2022, She was the member of the Organizing Committee of pre Vis Moot in Shanghai and promoted the organization of the competitions.

She also had two internships related to arbitration. She had an internship in ICC in 2020, and she is now an intern in Shanghai Arbitration Commission. She accumulated a lot of experience about the organization of legal seminars, trainings and conferences during the internships.

Shashi Dholandas

Shashi K. Dholandas is Co-Chair of the MAA’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee, and participated as a “mootie” in the 17th and 18th Vis Moot as a member of the Rutgers Law School team. He thereafter continued his participation with the Vis Moot as a coach and as an arbitrator. Professionally, Shashi is a litigation and arbitration practitioner with the firm of Bailey Duquette P.C. where he provides counsel to clients in both international and domestic matters. He is experienced in all aspects of commercial dispute resolution, including acting as counsel in international and domestic arbitrations under the rules of the AAA/ICDR, ICC and JAMS. He previously served as a Director and as International Case Counsel with the AAA/ICDR and ICDR Canada. Prior to joining Bailey Duquette P.C., Shashi was Associate General Counsel with an international specialist broker of litigation and arbitration third party financing and risk insurance.

Tess Bens

Tess Bens is a Research Fellow in the Department of European and Comparative Procedural Law at the Max Planck Institute Luxembourg. She holds an LLB in Dutch Law, an LLB in International and European Law, as well as an LLM (research) in Business and Law from Radboud University. During her studies at Radboud University, Tess participated in the 22nd Vis Moot and attended summer courses at National Taiwan University, Bucerius Law School and The Hague Academy for International Law. She also worked as a Student Trainee at NautaDutilh and as a Legal Assistant for the Arbitration Practice Group of De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek, both in Amsterdam.

Before joining the Institute in August 2022, Tess worked as Lecturer in Private International Law at Radboud University (2018-2021) and Tilburg University (2022). She regularly publishes on topics in the field of private international law, international commercial sales law and international arbitration.

Hana Shalbanava

Hanna is an international lawyer specializing in international arbitration and dispute resolution. She gathered her professional experience working with leading national and international law firms in Belarus and Germany. In addition, she gladly organizes arbitration-related events and participates in other projects, such as developing instruments of soft law, making contributions to books and magazines, mentoring and coaching.
Hanna participated as a team member in 20th and 21st Vis Moots. Since then, she took part in the competition and its pre-moots as a coach and arbitrator.

Being also passionate about equality and diversity, Hanna joined Diversity & Inclusion Team to help decrease disparities and promote diversity and inclusion across the Vis Moot community.

Serra Zoraloglu

Serra Zoraloğlu participated in the 28th and 29th Vis Moot and is currently coaching the team of Istanbul University, her alma mater. She completed her double major degree with International Relations and Politics Science, and Law. At present Serra has joined her interest in arbitration with BHR and is a member of the MAA Core Team, Diversity and Inclusion.

Isabela Godoy

Isabela Godoy is a queer litigation lawyer, legal designer, and currently works with case management at CAM-CCBC. She has participated in the Vis Moot as oralist, coach and arbitrator, as well as other Moot competitions. She is a doctoral student in Intelligence Technologies and Digital Design at PUC-SP, has a master in ADRs by Escola Paulista de Direito and graduated in Law by PUC-Campinas. Isabela is a D&I specialist and advocate.

Rob Warzel

Rob Warzel is a Canadian-born lawyer practicing with Spencer Fane in Phoenix, USA. Rob is licensed to practice in Arizona, Colorado, and Washington state. He participated in the 24th Vis Moot, and was a Quarter-Finalist at the 15th Vis East Moot, where he received an Honourable Mention for Best Oralist. He is an assistant coach for the Arizona State University Vis team, and focuses his practice on labour and employment matters.

Pushkar Keshavmurthy

Pushkar is an LLM Candidate as a Merit Scholar at Georgetown University, Washington D.C. in International Legal Studies course with a Certificate of specialization in International Arbitration and Dispute Resolution. He worked as a Case Manager at the Mumbai Centre for International Arbitration (MCIA) and prior to joining the MCIA, his practice included commercial litigation and arbitration disputes. He’s also an accredited Commercial Mediator. He coaches teams and volunteers as an arbitrator at the Willem C.Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot; FDI International Arbitration Moot; and Frankfurt Investment Arbitration Moot. He read Law at Christ University, Bangalore and holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Law from the NALSAR University in Alternative Dispute Resolution. He is a Fellow at the Global Policy, Diplomacy, and Sustainability (GPODS).

Gwenllian Kern-Allely

Gwenllian participated in the 24th and 25th Vis Moots in Vienna and is presently Deputy Counsel at SICANA, Inc., the New York based Case Management Team of the International Chamber of Commerce’s International Court of Arbitration. Interested in both commercial and investment arbitration, she holds an LLM, with distinction, in International Business and Economic Law and a Certificate in International Arbitration and Dispute Resolution from Georgetown University Law Center as well as a JD from the University of San Diego with a concentration in International Law.

Fernanda Nemr

Fernanda Nemr holds a Bachelor’s in Law from the University of São Paulo and is currently an associate at the arbitration and dispute resolution practice of Muriel Advogados in São Paulo, Brazil. She participated in the 26th and 27th editions of the Vis Moot as an oralist and is currently the head coach of the University of São Paulo team for the Vis Moot. She also participated several times in the Brazilian Arbitration Moot, for which she is also a coach, as well as other arbitration and international law moot court competitions. She is the head of the Arbitration Studies and Research Group at the University of São Paulo. Fernanda is currently pursuing a specialization degree at the Brazilian Institute of Energy Law.

Ana Julia Schenkel

Ana Júlia Schenkel is an undergraduate student at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, in Brazil. She has participated at the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot as a mootie and dedicates its time as a researcher on international private law. Ana has experience working as an intern in multiple law firms in Brazil and had the opportunity to do a study passage at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Maciej Durbas

Maciej Durbas, PhD, LL.M. (University of Vienna, City University of Hong Kong), MCIArb – attorney at law, an expert in the field of arbitration. Co-leader of the arbitration practice at Kubas Kos Gałkowski. Handles complicated disputes, including cross-border proceedings in various sectors and in multiple capacities – as counsel, arbitrator or tribunal’s secretary. His doctoral thesis (Jagiellonian University, 2021, cum laude) was devoted to deciding on the jurisdiction of arbitral tribunals. Recommended in the Who’s Who Legal ranking (Arbitration Future Leaders – non-partners, since 2019) and Expert Guides Rising Stars (Commercial Arbitration category, since 2020). A member of the Jagiellonian University of Kraków Vis Moot team in the 17th Moot and the team’s coach since then, involved in the Moot also as an arbitrator.

Aina Hannisa

Aina Hannisa has been a Regional Representative of the Moot Alumni Association (MAA) since 2021 and is currently based in Berlin, where she is writing her PhD at Humboldt University of Berlin.

Aina was educated in Ireland and studied law at University College Cork (UCC), which included a year studying abroad at Université de Montréal, Canada. During her time at UCC she was a part of the Quercus Talented Students’ Scholarship Programme which enabled her to continue playing piano, violin, harpsichord and organ in parallel with her law studies. On graduating with a BCL Degree, she completed an LL.M. in International Dispute Resolution at Humboldt University of Berlin.

Aina participated in the Vis Moot in its 27th season in 2020, subsequently coaching the Humboldt University team in 2021 and 2022.

Christian Johannes Wahnschaffe

Christian Johannes Wahnschaffe is a PhD candidate in arbitration and a law clerk at the Higher Regional Court of Hamburg, Germany. After graduating, he served as Director of the Karina und Erich Schumann Centre for Advanced International Legal Studies at the University of Münster, Germany, from 2018 to 2022. His published research focuses on commercial and investment arbitration as well as international sales law and contract law. He participated in the Vis in 2015 and coached the team of the University of Münster multiple times since then. He serves the MAA as a Regional Representative and Editorial Reviewer for the Vindobona Journal of International Commercial Law and Arbitration.

Andrea de Biase

Andrea is a disputes practitioner based in London. She has extensive experience acting on a diverse range of international construction and commercial disputes for clients operating in the oil & gas, construction & engineering and infrastructure sectors. Andrea has represented global clients in numerous large, complex and high value arbitrations under the LCIA, ICC, UNCITRAL Rules and more. Andrea is currently undertaking the Delos Remote Oral Advocacy Programme and volunteering at the Queen Mary Legal Advice Centre whilst on sabbatical. Previously Andrea worked as a Senior Associate at King & Spalding in London. Andrea is qualified to practise law in both Australia and England & Wales. She participated in the 18th Vis Moot where her team received multiple awards for their memorandum and proceeded to the knock-out rounds in Hong Kong, where she also received an Honourable Mention for best oralist.

Maja Šutalo

She is a founder of Law Office Šutalo since 2018. Maja Šutalo was Vis Moot participant in 2011./2012. She graduated from the Faculty of Law in Zagreb, Croatia.

Oleksandr Zablottskyi

Oleksandr Zablotskyi is currently Visiting Foreign Lawyer at WilmerHale. He has 5 years of diverse experience mostly related to energy law, dispute resolution and transactional matters. He is admitted to the Ukrainian Bar and holds L.LM. degrees in International and EU Law from Vilnius University and in International Commercial Arbitration Law from Stockholm University. Oleksandr is a longtime mooting enthusiast (Jessup, Vis Moot, International Humanitarian Moot) and is currently co-coaching the Kyiv National University Vis Moot Team. As an MAA Regional Representative he contributes to the development of the organization, which supports Vis Moot, successfully amplifies its effect as well as promotes and advances international arbitration and international trade law.

Rokaya Mosaad

Rokaya currently an LL.M Student in International Trade and Private Law at Ain Shams University – Egypt. She is a former participant, coach and volunteer arbitrator in various international and national arbitration moot competition, as FDI, Vis moot, Vis East and SAM (A national competition, inspired by Vis Moot which is organized by one of Egypt’s top law firms).

Victoria Ivasechko

Victoria Ivasechko is an Of Counsel at Queritius and a board member of the International Law Committee at the Ukrainian Bar Association. She focuses on international investment arbitration, international commercial arbitration, cross-border and domestic litigation, as well as enforcement proceedings.

Victoria has been involved in arbitration proceedings under ICC, LCIA, SCC, VIAC, CAM, NAI, ICAC at the UCCI, ICSID, and UNCITRAL arbitration rules. She also has represented clients in complex cross-border litigation and high-profile domestic litigation.

Victoria coaches the Kyiv National Taras Shevchenko University Vis Moot team and arbitrates various arbitration-related moot court competitions (since 2016). She participated in 22d and 23d Vis Moots.

Victoria has nearly 10 years of experience in legal practice, with almost 7 in leading Ukrainian and international law firms. She is included in the 12th Edition of The Best Lawyers in Ukraine (2022) for her work in Arbitration and Mediation.

Spiros Batzios

Spyridon is a Greek dispute resolution Lawyer. He has acquired multidimensional working experience, as he has worked both in Germany and Greece, handling major commercial litigations, mediations and arbitrations under a variety of laws and rules. He is currently a foreign lawyer at the dispute resolution team of Dentons international LLP (Frankfurt office).

Spyridon has been trained in different jurisdictions, since he holds an L.L.B from the Aristoteles University of Thessaloniki, an L.L.M in private international law from the Democritus University of Thrace, an L.L.M in German Law from the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, and an L.L.M in international Dispute Settlement (MIDS) from the Graduate institute of International and Development studies and the university of Geneva. He has also attended specialized training courses across Europe (Athens, Paris, Rome, Munich, and the Hague) spanning a wide range of topics on private and public international law and arbitration.

Spyridon is a moot court devotee since he regularly participates in moot court competitions as an arbitrator while he is an active member of various arbitration related organizations.

Matthew Suen

Matthew has received dual legal education in Hong Kong SAR and Mainland China, and was called to the Hong Kong Bar in 2022. Matthew has been instructed to advise or act as Counsel for clients in arbitrations under the auspices of major arbitral institutions in Asia, including HKIAC, SIAC and CIETAC (HK).

Before joining the Bar, Matthew worked at a Red Circle Firm in Beijing where he specialised in international commercial arbitrations, and also took part in defending the host State in investor-State arbitrations.
In the Vis Moot community, Matthew has served as the MAA Regional Representative for the Greater China Region and Co-Chair of the China Project Team. He is now MAA’s North Asia Chair.

Chen LIang

Chen Liang is a PhD candidate at Peking University Law School, and his research interests include legal theory and international law. Liang is an editorial board member of the Legal Competitions, a well-known initiative to promote moot competitions in China. Liang is involved in various moot competitions, including Jessup Moot, Vis Moot, FDI Moot, ICC Moot, etc. Liang himself is a mootie, competing with Beiijng Normal University, and then coaching Peking University School of Transnational Law, University of Jaffna and University of Toyoko. In addition, Liang also served as an arbitrator or a judge in several moot competitions, such as FDI Moot and ICC Moot.

Dylan Jianwei Duan

Jianwei Duan is a senior from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, who participated in the 28th Vis Moot as researcher and oralist. His role in the team was to do research on the substantive issues, regarding the separability of contract, preponderance of sales agreement and goods’ defects and issues about IP rights. As a vis mootie, he is keen on studying international arbitration and international trade laws, having written some articles concerning CISG, such as How to research CISG,The History, Achievements and Limits of CISG and Offer in CISG. Recently, Jianwei Duan is taking courses concerning CISG held by CIETAC IAI. Finally, during his post-graduate study, Jianwei Duan intends to dive deeper in CISG and do other comparative legal studies.

Alan Sham

Alan is a Trainee Solicitor at MinterEllison in Hong Kong. He represented the Chinese University of Hong Kong in the 29th Vis Moot as a researcher and an oralist.

During his studies, Alan assumed position as a research assistant contributing to “Lex Atlas: COVID-19”, a global academic project led by the Max Planck Institute of Comparative Public Law and International Law. He is a published author of the Hong Kong Journal of Legal Studies (Volume 15).

Akshit Vohra

Akshit is a lawyer qualified to practice law in India. He is currently working as a Law Clerk with a judge of the High Court of Delhi, where he primarily deals with commercial disputes pertaining to the Indian and international trade sectors. His interests lie in the fields of contract law and dispute settlement, specifically domestic and international commercial arbitration. In 2017, his team qualified to the elimination rounds of the Willem C. Vis East International Commercial Arbitration Moot Court Competition – the first team to have achieved this recognition in the history of the Institute. Since then, he has represented his alma mater in various editions of the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot Court Competition as a researcher, speaker, and team coach.

Samaya Khanna

Samaya is a lawyer qualified to practice law in India. She is currently working as an Associate at a litigation Chamber where she primarily practices in the High Court of Delhi. Her interests lie in the fields of contract law and dispute settlement, specifically domestic and international commercial arbitration. In 2020, her team was awarded the Hon’ble Mention for the Respondent Memorandum at the 17th Willem C. Vis East International Commercial Arbitration Moot Court Competition – the first team to have achieved this recognition in the history of the Institute.

Jayakumar Suryanarayanan

Jayakumar Suryanarayanan is currently working in private practice as a second-year associate. A disputes lawyer by trade, Surya specializes in construction litigation and arbitration, though has acted in and provided advice on numerous other contentious matters, such as commercial and corporate disputes and IP law. An ardent supporter of pro bono work, Surya strongly believes in giving back to the community, and has worked at numerous legal clinics and represented the less advantaged in many criminal matters. Outside of the law, Surya is an avid football enthusiast who supports Liverpool FC, and occasionally partakes in karaoke (which, though he enjoys it, scares his friends and people around him). His favourite quote is:

“It’s impossible – said pride.
It’s risky – said experience.
It’s pointless – said reason.
Give it a try – whispered the heart.”

Margarita Drobyshevskaya

Margarita is a case counsel at the Russian Arbitration Center at the Russian Institute of Modern Arbitration. She has experience in both domestic and international commercial arbitration where she manages a significant number of arbitration proceedings as well as participates in organizing events or other projects currently undertaken by the institute.

Margarita graduated from the Higher School of Economics (LL.B) and the Russian School of Private Law (LL.M). She is currently a Ph.D. student at the Department of Civil Law of the Faculty of Law at the Lomonosov Moscow State University. Margarita is a coach of the Russian School of Private Law Vis Moot team and a co-chair of the Young IMA Moot Court Committee.

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