Many of the world’s most prominent mediators gathered in Paris again this February for the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) 11th Commercial Mediation Competition. Attracting over 500 participants from more than 40 countries, Bucerius Law School was represented by Islam Zriba (MLB student), Jana Warnken, Lorenz Schuwerack and Stephan Zündorf (LLB students), and accompanied by coaches Max Ruderer and Monty Silley.
After months of training and some more late-night preparations in Paris, the team excelled through the preliminary rounds against tough competitors including New Jersey City University and University of Jaen, University of Kent, National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, and University of New South Wales, who went on to win the competition. Challenging but productive 85-minute mediations held entirely in English dealt with resolving a variety of complex issues, ranging from wrongful termination to environmental pollution, and different joint-venture deals gone awry, from a luxury resort development in Greece to a theme park in Australia. In each case, excellent team-work was shown in developing creative solutions to bridge the interests of both sides and successfully reach agreements to avoid litigation. The team faced São Paulo Law School of FGV in a very close but cordial final mediation.
First and foremost, the team thanks Prof. Dr. Axel Boesch for his continued support and generously taking time out of his busy schedule to provide numerous training sessions at Taylor Wessing. The team also thanks Ms. Lezel Crook (who not only taught the course on Commercial Mediation but also helped with coaching outside the classroom), Dr. Greg Bond (for training both in Berlin and with his class at TH Wildau), Ms. Petra Padberg (for more training in Berlin), the mediation teams of Leibniz University Hanover and University of Marburg (who the team practiced with), Ms. Birgit Brödermann, Ms. Anneke Brandt and Dr. Hans-Patrick Schroeder (for even more training). The team also benefited with guidance from students Fabian Paehr, Jan Lohse and Claudia Kück, as well as members of last year’s award-winning team Victoria vom Bauer and Clemens Dohm.
Other than the strong finish, the students can be proud of the exemplary mediation skills they honed, which will be valuable in their future careers and lives. That, and a fair amount of schmoozing, resulted in new contacts and friendships with mediation students and professionals from around the world.
