Careers in International Law An interview with Jessup Alumnus Mai Phan
by the ILSA Executive Office 72
gone on to careers in internatioanl law. Jessup alumni have gone on to argue before interna- tional tribunals on behalf of their countries and traveled around the world to pursue their inter- ests in international law. The Jessup Competition experience has had a profound impact on many students through the past five decades. Many Jessup alumni continue to be involved with the Jessup Competition as coaches, judges and vol- unteers. The Jessup Competition would not be where it is today without the countless hours of contributions from former participants.
T
In this article on careers in international law, the ILSA Quarterly spotlights a recent Jessup com- petitor.
Mai Phan participated in the 2008 Jessup Com- petition with the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam and then attended the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in Boston, Massachusetts after being introduced to the Fletcher LL.M. program at the Jessup International Rounds.
ILSA Executive Office: How did you first become involved in the Jessup Competition?
Mai Phan: I was first involved in the Jessup Com- petition by a Jessup veteran at my school named Phu Nguyen. He was in the Jessup team of 2006 of Vietnam but due to financial constraint, they could not make it to the oral round. When he has become an expert of public international law at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he came back to
hrough the 53-year history of the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition, thousands of students have participated in the Competition and have
my school with the aim of gathering up a compe- tent team for the Jessup 2008.
At that time, international moot court competi- tions were strange concepts in Vietnam, and public international law is a very embryonic field in Vietnam. We did not have enough facilities to prepare for the competition: no international law books, limited internet access and no fund- ing. However, the more our team involved in the competition, the more we wanted to advance to oral round in Washington, DC. I remember after sending out the written memorials, we had to rigorously look for sponsorship while practicing for the oral round at the same time. Only one week before the oral round did we know we have enough funding to buy tickets to DC. Thanks to the help of international law firms like Shearman & Sterling, White & Case and the alumni of our university, we were able to come to DC for the oral round and had fantastic experience there.
How did the Jessup Competition affect your education goals and career path?
It actually opened up a great journey for me from both career and education perspectives. When I first had my interview with my current firm, Duane Morris, one of the interviewers, who is also the managing partner of Duane Morris Asia and Latin America, seemed to be very enthusi- astic when he knew I was involved in Jessup. It turned out that he was a former judge of Jessup. In addition, the writing, advocacy and analytic skills that I have learned from Jessup competi- tion have become my great assets in fulfilling my works in one of the biggest international law firm in Vietnam for the last three years.
ILSA Quarterly » volume 20 » issue 4 » May 2012
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