Foti Vito (JD 2024) and Eyal Wilk (2L) receive first place Richard Baxter Award

Left: Eyal Wilk (2L) leads U of T Law in the parade of nations. Group photo left to right: Arik Portnov (2L), Misha Boutilier (JD 2018), Vidit Desai (2L), Jack Stewart (3L), Eyal Wilk (2L), Nicolas Williams (3L), Julia Cappellacci (3L), and Foti Vito (3L) (supplied photos).

On May 17, Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition announced the winners of the Richard Baxter Awards with Foti Vito (JD 2024) and Eyal Wilk (2L) winning first place Applicant Memorials (written submissions).

The Baxter awards are presented to teams for excellence in Memorial writing by comparing individual Applicant and Respondent Memorials. The award is named in honor of the late Richard Baxter, who served as Judge of the International Court of Justice and who was an eminent and pioneering scholar of International Law.

Vidit Desai (2L), Arik Portnov (2L), Vito and Wilk represented Canada at the international rounds of the Jessup, after placing first at the in Canadian round. 

This year’s Jessup Moot saw a record number of 674 participating teams, representing 100 countries and jurisdictions. The U of T Law team emerged from the preliminary rounds as the 12th ranked team in the world. In the playoff rounds, Desai and Portnov secured a victory in the Round of 32, and the team ultimately ended its exceptional run in the Round of 16.

The team also finished as Octo-Finalists and as the last standing Canadian team. They tied for 9th place overall and were awarded the Alona M. Evans Award for 5th best overall Memorials.