Campbell Law advocates win AtlAS Vis Pre-Moot Competition

RALEIGH - Campbell Law School advocates won the second edition of the AtlAS Vis Pre-Moot Competition, held on March 6-7 in Atlanta, Georgia.

The prevailing team, representing Campbell Law, consisted of Edmund Gunther '26 and Abigail Sholes '27. The second place in the teams' tournament was occupied by advocates from the University of South Carolina. Additionally, Campbell Law's Gunther won best oralist.

Campbell Law's Vis Team is coached by Professor Raluca Papadima and Nicholas Wilkins '26.

In the general rounds, Campbell Law was represented by Suzy Brito Lagunas '27, Mariana Bijelac '27, Sholes and Gunther.

Based on the results of the team in the general rounds, Campbell Law advanced to the final round of the competition, against University of South Carolina, and won the final through the efforts of Gunther and Sholes.

The AtlAS Vis Pre-Moot was organized by the Atlanta Arbitration Society and sponsored by Troutman Pepper Locke. The competition included teams representing the University of South Carolina, Emory University School of Law and Campell University School of Law. The competition was organized as part of the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot, now at its 33^rd edition (Austria) and respectively at its 23^rd edition (Hong Kong).

"I couldn't be prouder of our students who really came together as a team," Papadima said. "They proved that they are ready for the final oral rounds in Hong Kong."

Wilkins added, "The results achieved by our team are even more remarkable given that our team was simultaneously arguing in another Vis pre-moot, organized by the SMU Dedman School of Law, which took place online on March 7-8. All of Campbell Law's Vis oralists also simultaneously argued in the SMU Pre-Moot."

Campbell Law's Vis Team is comprised of the following students: Lagunas, Bijelac, Sholes, Gunther, Gavin Dacier '26 and James Whitaker '26.

The Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot is a competition for law students to foster the study and practice of international commercial sales law and arbitration. Students from 80 countries participated in the previous edition of the Vis Moot. The Vis Moot involves a dispute arising out of a contract of sale between two companies from member countries to the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods. The contract provides that any dispute that might arise is to be settled by arbitration in a country that has enacted the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration and is a party to the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards. The arbitral rules to be applied rotate yearly among the arbitration rules of co-sponsoring institutions of the Moot. For the 33rd Vis Moot, the arbitration rules of the Singapore International Arbitration Center are applicable.

The purpose of the Vis Moot is to foster the study of international commercial law and arbitration and provide practical training for resolving international business disputes. There are two crucial phases in the Vis Moot to train advocacy skills: the writing of memoranda and the presentation of arguments in oral hearings held before arbitration practitioners and academics.

In the pairings of teams for each general round, every effort is made to have civil law schools argue against common law schools, so each may learn from approaches taken by persons trained in another legal culture. Similarly, the arbitrators judging the rounds come from both common law and civil law backgrounds.

Campbell Law's Vis Team recently advanced to the semi-finals in the John B. Tieder Jr. Vis Pre-Moot Competition organized by Watt, Tieder, Hoffar and Fitzgerald LLP in conjunction with the George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School Moot Court Board (MCB) as well as won the first edition of the Campbell Vis Pre-Moot Competition organized by Campbell Law and sponsored by Hutchens Law and Ricci Law firms.

The Campbell Law Vis team will head to Hong Kong on March 13 to compete in the 23^rd edition of the Willem Vis competition.

ABOUT CAMPBELL LAW SCHOOL

Since its founding in 1976, Campbell Law has developed lawyers who possess moral conviction, social compassion, and professional competence, and who view the law as a calling to serve others. Among its accolades, the school has been recognized by the American Bar Association (ABA) as having the nation's top Professionalism Program and by the American Academy of Trial Lawyers for having the nation's best Trial Advocacy Program. Campbell Law boasts more than 5,000 alumni, who make their home in nearly all 50 states and beyond. In 2026, Campbell Law is celebrating 50 years of graduating legal leaders and 17 years of being located in a state-of-the-art facility in the heart of North Carolina's Capital City.

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