NATIONAL AND REGIONAL
ADMINISTRATOR WEBINAR
The Basics
The Basics – Structure of the Jessup Competition
Qualifying
Tournaments
(National and
Regional Rounds)
One-Team Countries
White & Case
International Rounds
The Basics – The ILSA Executive Office
The International Law
Students Association is a
non-profit organization of
students and lawyers who
are dedicated to the
promotion of international
law.
ILSA provides students with
opportunities to study,
research, and network in the
international arena.
ILSA’s activities include
organizing academic
conferences, publishing
academic works, globally
coordinating student
chapters, and administering
the Philip C. Jessup
International Law Moot
Court Competition.
The Executive Office of ILSA
is located in Chicago,
Illinois, in the United States.
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Registers Teams
Creates Jessup Problem
Authors Jessup Rules
Serves as final arbiter of Jessup Rules
Appoints Administrators of Qualifying
Tournaments
Collects Memorials
Oversees Qualifying Tournaments
Administers International Rounds
The Basics – Administrators
Regional and
National
Administrators
are appointed
by the ILSA
Executive
Office.
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Plan and coordinate all aspects of
qualifying tournaments
Act with authority of ILSA and as
representative of ILSA
Enforce Jessup Rules
Communicate with and support regional
or national teams
 List
of registered teams to be distributed,
but is subject to change. Many teams have
outstanding issues. Final version will be
sent before your competition.
The Basics –Sketch of the Season
(Team’s Perspective)
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August
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September
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Memorial Deadline
Mid-January thru Early-March
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Corrections to the Compromis Released
January
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Registration Deadline
December
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Jessup Problem (Compromis) Released
November
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Registration opens
Official Rules Released
Qualifying Tournaments
Late-March
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White & Case International Rounds
The Basics – Sketch of the Season (Administrator’s
Perspective)
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See Official Competition Schedule
(http://www.ilsa.org/jessup/schedule.pdf)
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Most important deadlines are registration, memorial submission, and late
memorial submission deadline.
See Pre-Tournament Checklist and Timeline
(pg. 5 of Administrator’s Guide,
http://www.ilsa.org/jessup/admin.php)
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See Tournament Checklist and Timeline
(pg. 14 of Administrator’s Guide,
http://www.ilsa.org/jessup/admin.php)
Ten Elements of a Qualifying Tournament
1. Teams
2. Materials
3. Venue
4. Staff
5. Judges
6. Bailiffs
7. Finances
8. Rules
9. Results
10. Follow-up
1. Teams
 Teams are the focal point of the Competition.
 Administrator Tasks relating to teams
 Recruiting (registration is now closed, ask Executive
Director if new team needs to register late)
 Registration (many teams are still finalizing
registration information, team members, payment)
 Communication (schedule, logistics, team pairings,
results, support for team(s) advancing to
International Rounds (visa and fundraising letters)
2. Materials
 Core Materials
http://www.ilsa.org/jessup/index.php
Jessup Compromis and Clarifications
Jessup Rules
Official Schedule
National Rounds Page
Administrators’ Page
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Judges Bench Memorandum is in the
Password-Protected Section (updated
frequently)
 Materials Index
 See page 4 of the Administrator’s
Guide
3. Venue
 Common Venues - We recommend
February
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Universities (competing schools or other school)
Law firms
Hotels
Court houses
Bar Associations, Inns of Court
 Don’t forget the specifics
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How many rooms you need and when
Can the rooms be converted into a Jessup
courtroom with a podium and seats for team
members, advisors, spectators and judges?
Is there space for judge’s lounge, competitor’s
lounge, advancing teams announcement, awards
reception, final round, place to print and copy?
4. Competition Staff
 Every tournament will have different staffing
needs.
 Common Staff Positions
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Competition Coordinator
Judges Coordinator
Bailiff Coordinator
Scoring Coordinator
5. Judges - Basics
 Recruiting & Preparing judges are the most
important and difficult task for most competitions
 Offer and advertise incentives and thank-you’s
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Small gift, reception and food, continuing legal education (CLE)
credit, training in international law/ mooting culture, certificate of
service, thank-you letter
 Preparation
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Start recruiting & scheduling oral round, memorial, and advanced
round judges as early as possible
Access to Compromis & Clarifications, Summary, Written Training
Guides, White & Case Judge Training Video, Scoresheets, Judges’
Bench Memorandum
Convey and confirm schedules, tasks, and onsite information
5. Judges – Recruiting Sources
 Bar Associations
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Large: ABA-IL, ABILA, ASIL, IBA, ILI, WJA
Local: Country, State, Province, City, County
Committees: International, Women, Minority, Government, Litigation,
Trial, Dispute Resolution, Immigration, Pro Bono Service
 Government (Government Attorneys and Prosecutors, Public
Defenders, Judges)
 Law School Resources (Professors, alumni associations and
listserves, LLM/advanced degree candidates)
 Law Firms (Partners and shareholders for advanced rounds; ask
managing/hiring partner, pro bono coordinator to circulate invitation;
target litigation, international, trial, and immigration practice groups)
6. Bailiffs
 The bailiff is the least appreciated but one of the
most important positions
 Tips
 Recruiting - Student organizations
 Training – Day before or morning of competition
 Materials (All available on administrator’s webpage)
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Bailiff Instructions (training manual for bailiffs
Bailiff Timekeeping Sheet (explains when to hold up
timecards)
Bailiff Script (bailiff reads aloud at beginning of round)
 Back-ups
7. Finances
 A small qualifying tournament can be very cheap; a
large qualifying tournament can be very expensive.
 Common sources of funding (fundraising support letter from ILSA
is on password protected administrator’s webpage)
 Participating Schools
 Government agencies
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Foreign ministries
Embassies
USAID
 Foundations
 Private Industry
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Law firms
Airlines
 Legal Trade Organizations
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Bar Associations
International Law Societies
8. Rules
 Rules National Administrators MUST know well
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Eligibility requirements (Rules 2.1 and 2.2)
Registration requirements (Rule 3.0)
Memorial submission process (Rule 6.1)
Procedures for conducting oral rounds (Rule 7.0)
Scoring Method (Rule 10.0)
Penalties (Rule 11.0)
 National Rules Supplements
9. Results
 Getting Results (Scoring)
 Announcing Results
 Preliminary rounds
 Advanced rounds
 Final round
 Explaining Results
 Celebrating Results
10. Follow-up
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Notice to ILSA Executive Office
Certificates of Participation
Thank-you letters to Staff, Judges, and Bailiffs
Advancing Team(s) Support
1. Prepare, prepare, prepare. Plan the tournament ahead of time
and in an efficient manner.
2. Effectively recruit and utilize volunteers.
3. Review the plan with your staff multiple times. Double-check that
responsibilities are confirmed, understood, and remembered.
4. Read and respond to your email frequently and promptly.
5. Frequently interact with and seek the advice of the ILSA Executive
Office.
Five Keys to a Successful Qualifying Tournament
Websites
 ILSA’s Website
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Jessup Page www.ilsa.org/jessup
Administrator’s Page www.ilsa.org/jessup/admin.php
Nationals Page www.ilsa.org/jessup/national.php
Materials Page www.ilsa.org/jessup/materials.php
Rules Page www.ilsa.org/jessup/rules.php
Registration www.ilsa.org/jessup/registration.php
 National Rounds Website
Phase I Planning (What to do now)
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Read Administrator’s Guide
Reserve Competition Venue and Important Spaces
within Venue (advancing teams announcement,
awards reception, and final round spaces)
Prepare list of contacts to invite to judge preliminary
oral rounds and grade memorials
Save the Dates
Invite Final Round judges
Draft complete schedule of events
Obtain final list of teams from ILSA and start to
correspond with teams as a group
Phase II Planning (1or 2 Months until Competition)
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Identify key competition staff (judge coordinator,
bailiff coordinator)
Invite oral Round Judges to sign up to judge
specific rounds
Plan each competition event (orientation, oral
rounds, advancing teams announcement, awards
reception, advanced rounds)
Reserve specific rooms for each event (don’t forget
judges’ room, competitors’ lounge, etc.)
Confirm Final Round judges
Phase III Planning – Month of Competition
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Finish recruiting all oral round judges, including
back-ups, and CONFIRM schedules
Recruit bailiffs, CONFIRM schedules
Receive memorials from ILSA, invite memorials
judges to grade memorials and assign memorials.
Convey team pairings and final competition
schedule to teams
CONFIRM all onsite logistics with host (venue hours,
where to print and make copies, how to access
internet, where materials will arrive, etc.)
Important Information

Will Patterson, Executive Director
Mobile: +1 (312) 919-8057
 Office: +1 (312) 362-5021
 Skype name: wmjdpatterson
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Ashley Walker, Jessup Competition Coordinator
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Office: +1 (312) 362-6115
ILSA Office
Main line: +1 (312) 362-5025
 Fax: +1 (312) 362-5073
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Advanced Information
Memorial Submission
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Each team must submit 1 Applicant and 1
Respondent memorial to jessup@ilsa.org by
11:59am local time on January 11th
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Teams might send memorials to you directly as well
National Supplements may change submission rule
in exceptional circumstances (Rule 6.1(c)):
Set earlier submission deadline
 Require teams to email memorials to opposing teams
 Require teams to provide paper copies of memorials
 Require teams to bring memorials in print or on CD to
competition
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Memorial Penalties
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You are responsible for assigning penalties to
memorials (See Memorial Penalty Worksheet at
http://www.ilsa.org/jessup/admin.php)
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Common penalties:
Late submission, re-submission after deadline
 Violation of word count maximums
 Failure to include necessary information on cover page
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Team appeals of penalties will be resolved by
ILSA Executive Director.
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Teams must be notified of memorial penalties and appeals
procedure prior to start of first preliminary oral round
Memorial Scoring
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Each memorial graded by three Judges
Set early deadlines
 Maintain anonymity (renumber memorials for judges if
necessary, e.g., if judge grades A and R memorials of the same
team)
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Judges will provide score between 50-100.
Judges will fill out memorial score sheet
 Only number in Total Score box matters
 Penalty points you assess will be subtracted from each Total
Score
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These scores will be used throughout preliminary rounds
Building a Preliminary Oral Round
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Pairing Teams
 Random
Draw, avoid “clusters” where sub-groups of
teams all compete against one another.
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Assigning a Bailiff
Assigning Judges
 Mix
of Experienced and New Judges
 Ask Judges to report conflicts in advance and onsite
 What
is a conflict? Only if Judge feels they would be
unable to impartially Judge a round.
 Judges
should not see the same team twice. Judges
cannot see the same side of a team twice.
Building an Advanced Oral Round
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Pairing Teams (see Rule 8.2) and Pleading Option
 First
Advanced Rounds – Power Seeding
 Assume
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Match 1: Rank 1 v. 8, Match 2: 2 v. 7, etc.
 Second
Advanced Rounds
 Winner
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8 teams:
of Match 1 v. Match 4; Match 2 v. Match 3
Assigning a Bailiff
Assigning Judges
 Ideally
experienced Judges
 Ask Judges to report conflicts
 Should not see the same team twice unless necessary
Running an Oral Competition – Prep I
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What is this going to be like? (Mentality: Think Ahead!)
Onsite Judges’ Room Materials:
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Competition schedule, Rules, team pairings, team travel forms, memorial
penalty worksheets, judge schedules, judge benches, judge conflict sheets
Compromis & Clarifications, Judge’s Bench Memo, Judge Training Guides,
Team Memorials
Bailiff Materials (Instructions, Timekeeping Sheet, Script, Timers,
Timecards)
Scoresheets (Prelims, Advanced Rounds, Memorials)
CLE Info, Judge and Team Certificates, Awards
Judges’ Robes (optional), Judge/Bailiff Nametags, Basic Office Supplies
Coordinate delivery, arrival, and storage of onsite materials;
unpack, set up in judges room, and count; make last-minute copies
Running an Oral Competition – Prep II
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Prepare Judges’ Room:
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Prepare Courtrooms:
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Organize all Competition Materials in Judges room so everything is
accessible, consider the flow of traffic by judges and bailiffs
Take home/lock up extra bench memos after rounds conclude for the day
Space for coffee, snacks, confirm delivery time
Space for judges to hang coats, store bags
Podium/lecturn present in all rooms, faces space where three judges can
comfortably sit, space for both teams, space for spectators, is the room
wheelchair accessible?,
Sample Diagram on Page 17 of National Administrators Guide
Other Event Rooms:
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Confirm with host/venue liaison when you have rooms, room set-up (e.g.,
tables, podium), audio-visual support (e.g., microphone), catering, etc.
Running an Oral Competition – Arrival
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Team Orientation:
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Judges
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Day before or day of, distribute penalty worksheets, go over building
logistics, event schedule, and key Rules
Greet judges as they arrive, check-off bench list, give team memorials/other
materials as necessary, introduce to fellow judges and bailiff
Give brief announcement/round over view just before each round begins
Bailiffs
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Greet bailiffs, check off round assignment list, give training/training
materials as necessary, give round materials, 10 mins before round send
to courtrooms to complete teams’ info on scoresheets/fill out timekeeping
sheet, upon return introduce to judges to escort to rooms.
Running an Oral Competition – Preliminary
Rounds
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Before Rounds
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Immediately after each round concludes
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Send out each group of judges + bailiff with necessary round
materials 5 mins before round begins
Receive team appeals from bailiff, go to courtroom to discuss with
teams, intervene in judge deliberations as necessary to discuss problem
Retrieve scoresheets from bailiff, make sure they are signed
Catch judges as they return to recycle memorials, confirm next round,
ask them to substitute/grade memorials, sign unsigned scoresheets,
take CLE form/judge certificate
Between rounds
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Enter scores in scoring spreadsheet
Make judge benches for next round, plan substitutions
Take stock of missing materials, make copies, clean up room
Running an Oral Competition – Advanced
Rounds
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After Preliminary Rounds Conclude
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Advancing Teams Announcement
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Enter last set of scores, double-check all scores, calculate results, make
copies of memorials of advancing teams and other materials, prepare judge
benches for advanced rounds if they begin soon (if possible prior to
pleading option), give team memorials to judges to read
(Bring results, advanced round room assignments, and memorials with you)
Congratulate teams, announce advancing teams, announce rooms topseeded advancing teams will compete in, explain pleading option after
announcement to advancing teams, exchange memorials
Advanced Rounds
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Same as preliminaries, but substitute advanced rounds scoresheet and give
judges memorials early to consider more thoroughly
Running an Oral Competition – Final
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Between Competition Days
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Awards Reception
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Make extra copies, get needed materials, clean up room and prepare it for next
day as much as possible, make judge substitutions and judge benches for the first
round of each day, enter any scores (oral, memorial, penalties) not entered
during the day, arrive early the next day to finish setting up and greet judges
Prep room, bring all results and awards, participation certificates, oversee
catering set-up, arrival of guest speakers, etc.; ensure judges’ room is secure
during reception; as awards presented, note absences, duplicates, corrections
After Final Round
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Explain logistics of advancing to the International Rounds to winning team(s)
Write results summary and convey to ILSA, prepare list of award duplicates
and corrections to make and unclaimed awards to mail, clean up judges’ room,
pack up/mail remaining supplies
Oral Round Scoring – Preliminary Rounds
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Each Oral Round Judge is worth 2 Round Points
Each Memorial Judge is worth 1 Round Point
The Winning Team is the team with the most Round Points
Judges may take into account memorials in addition to oral
pleadings
Judges should not announce the winner at the end of the
round, they should just give performance-based feedback
Oral Round Scoring – Preliminary Rounds
Oral Round Points (2 Round Points for each Judge)
Judge 1
Judge 2
Judge 3
Team 1 – First Oralist
80
80
90
Team 1 – Second Oralist
75
90
90
155
170
180
Team 2 – First Oralist
70
90
85
Team 2 – Second Oralst
90
60
90
160
150
175
Round
Points
4
2
Memorial Round Points (1 Round Point for each Judge)
High
Medium
Low
Team 1 A
90
70
55
2
Team 2 R
85
65
59
1
Oral Round Scoring – Advanced Rounds
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Each Advanced Round has three Judges
 Each
Judge worth 1 point
 Judges should consider oral argument & memorials
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Each Judge awards his or her point to the team
he/she believes won the match
Judges can announce winner at the end of the
round