Chicago-Kent finishes as the top U.S. team and in the top four worldwide at the 2017 Ian Fletcher International Insolvency Law Moot

The Chicago-Kent team of Maxwell Eichenberger '17 and Jeffrey Michalik '17 placed in the top four at the final rounds of the inaugural Ian Fletcher International Insolvency Law Moot in Sydney, Australia. Chicago-Kent was one of only eight teams—and the only team from a U.S. law school—selected to compete in the international finals March 15 to 17, 2017, at the University of Sydney Law School.

This year, students argued a hypothetical case involving the liquidation of a car parts manufacturing company based in the fictional jurisdiction of Nuzilia. Eichenberger and Michalik emerged from the first two days of competition 3-1 after defeating teams from the University of British Columbia, University of Adelaide, and Queensland University of Technology. In the semifinal round, they lost narrowly to the eventual winners, Singapore Management University.

Chicago-Kent's participation was made possible by the generous gift of Jonathan Carson '97, founder of Kurtzman Carson Consultants, a bankruptcy services firm.

"That our students went so deep in this new international competition speaks volumes for their effort and dedication," comments Professor Adrian Walters, who was one of the team's coaches. "They worked incredibly hard on difficult material and did superbly well to adapt to what in legal cultural terms was an unfamiliar British common law style of moot competition."

The Chicago-Kent team of Maxwell Eichenberger '17, Jeffrey Goldberg '17, Jeffrey Michalik '17 and Stephanie Wolf '17 qualified for the final rounds of competition by submitting a brief to the competition last fall that tested their knowledge of international insolvency issues as well as their legal research and writing skills. Michalik and Eichenberger represented the team in the final rounds in Sydney.

Maxwell Eichenberger graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a bachelor's degree in political science and legal studies. Jeffrey Michalik earned a B.S. degree in psychology from Loyola University Chicago.

Professor Adrian Walters, director of the Program in Business Law, and Lauren Hargrove, a clerk to the Honorable Timothy Barnes of the U.S. bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois, served as the team's coaches. In addition, Judge Barnes, Professor Kent Streseman, Matthew Hamielec '17, Cody Lipke '18, and other student members of the Moot Court Honor Society helped the team prepare for oral arguments.

This was the inaugural year for the Ian Fletcher International Insolvency Law Moot. The competition, which honors Professor Ian Fletcher, Q.C., of the University College London Faculty of Laws, is co-sponsored by INSOL International and the International Insolvency Institute. The Fletcher Moot is designed to encourage the best and brightest students around the globe to learn about international insolvency law and international commercial litigation.