IT Chicago-Kent College of Law will compete in the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Regional Competition February 20 – 23 at John Marshall Law School in Chicago. Kathleen Mallon, Jeffrey Martensen, David McKenzie, Nickolas Spencer and McKenna Wigfield will compete against teams from 21 law schools.

Teams that advance from qualifying international and regional tournaments will compete in the international rounds April 6 – 12 in Washington, D.C. Winners will advance to the Jessup Cup World Championship tournament April 12.

Established by the International Law Students Association in 1959, the Jessup competition is the oldest and largest moot court competition dedicated to international law. Competitors come from more than 550 law schools in more than 80 countries. The tournament is named for diplomat, scholar and jurist Philip Caryl Jessup (1897-1986), who played a key role in the formation of the International Law Commission in 1948, and served a nine-year term as the U.S. representative to the International Court of Justice.

The competition is a simulation of a fictional dispute between countries before the International Court of Justice, the judicial organ of the United Nations. Teams prepare oral and written pleadings arguing both positions of the case.

Clockwise from top left: Nickolas Spencer, Jeffrey Martensen, David McKenzie, Kathleen Mallon and McKenna Wigfield will represent IIT Chicago-Kent in the 2014 Jessup Regional Competition in Chicago.

Team member Kathleen Mallon is a third-year student who graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in social policy and international studies. Teammate Jeffrey Martensen, a second-year student, earned a degree in organizational management at North Park University. Teammate David McKenzie is a third-year student who completed his undergraduate education at DePaul University with a degree in Chinese studies. Teammate Nickolas Spencer, also a third-year student, received a bachelor’s degree in international relations from Texas State University. Teammate McKenna Wigfield is a second-year student who graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a double major in history and French. Wigfield also holds a certificate in French from the Sorbonne. The team is coached by Professor Bartram S. Brown, co-director of IIT Chicago-Kent’s Program in International and Comparative Law.