The Rybalkin, Gortsunyan, Dyakin and Partners (RGD) law firm supported a team of law students from HSE University who took part in the annual Foreign Direct Investment International Arbitration Moot this year hosted by the National Law University Lucknow (India).

Foreign Direct Investment International Arbitration Moot is the largest competition in international investment arbitration, with over 150 teams from different universities participating each year.

The HSE team included students from Russia, Vietnam, and Kyrgyzstan pursuing Bachelor's and Master's programs at the university. The competition simulates an investment treaty dispute between a foreign investor and a state heard by an international arbitral tribunal.

This year, the case centered around issues such as counsel resignation, the legality of investments and their expropriation, and the valuation date for quantification of damages. 

Prior to the global rounds, HSE students won the international pre-moot organized by the FDI Moot Alumni Association and Moot Memoirs, surpassing 15 teams from other countries, such as India, Argentina, Vietnam, and China.

In the global rounds, the HSE team advanced to elimination rounds and the octo-finals of the competition, while individual team members were ranked among the Best Advocates.

RGD has traditionally supported law students and considers investing in talent and industry development as one of its top priorities. This year, Alexander Nazarov, Associate at RGD Dispute Resolution Practice, served as one of the arbitrators for the pre-moots and global rounds of the competition.

Associates from the RGD Dispute Resolution Practice actively supported the team of future lawyers in their preparation for the competition. One of the team's coaches was Elena Murashko, Junior Associate at RGD Dispute Resolution. "I was delighted with the atmosphere of healthy competition at this event," Elena shared. "The students demonstrated persuasive argumentation, strong critical thinking, and excellent legal research skills."