Law students script blazing wins for UPES

From left to right: UPES School of Law students Yashaswani Parashar, Anshika Agrawal and Utsav Vats

Besides the cash prize and trophy, the winners have secured paid internship opportunities with leading law firms

Five students from UPES School of Law went all guns blazing this year and won two prestigious national and international competitions – the CCI-HNLU 13th Justice Hidayatullah National Moot Court Competition 2023 and the International Mediation Competition hosted by MediateGuru, in association with Khaitan & Co, respectively.

Anshika Agrawal, Yashaswani Parashar and Utsav Vats did UPES proud and brought home the coveted Justice Hidayatullah National Moot Court trophy after beating contestants from other leading law colleges of India.

The competition was held at Hidayatullah National Law University, Raipur, Chhattisgarh, and the topic under discussion was Competition Law and Issues Pertaining to Green Channel Route of Combinations, Anti-Competitive Agreements and Abuse of Dominance.

Describing the nerve-wracking experience of representing their alma mater in front of esteemed judges of top courts across India, Anshika Agrawal, BA LL.B., 2nd year, says, “I realised that one does not need to be a National Law University student to get ahead in the field of law. All that matters is one’s hard work, style of presentation, arguing and knowledge.”

Her senior and teammate Yashaswani, agrees. “Participating in and winning the Hidayatullah Moot Court Competition changed my perspective that one needed to be in a National Law University to crack moots or gain an edge over others,” she says, adding, “UPES provides ample exposure on par with National Law Universities, which makes it one of the best law colleges of India.”

Utsav Vats, Yashaswani’s batchmate and third-year student of BA LL.B. (Hons.), believes that the support the team received from UPES, as they prepared for the competition, was vital.

“The help we got from UPES and the Moot Court Association at the University was of immense help. From allotting us a mentor for the competition to organising practice rounds in front of our learned faculty members, UPES acted as a support system at every step,” Utsav remarks.

The trio cannot wait to use their prize money of INR 1 lakh and begin their paid internship opportunities at AZB & Partners, a leading corporate law firm with offices across India.

While they celebrated their win in Raipur, two of their peers – Raj Pipara and Vaishnavi Panyam, third-year students of B.Com. LL.B. – declared their victory over their international opponents, a team from the Swansea University, Wales, UK, in the Virtual International Mediation Competition, hosted by MediateGuru, in association with Khaitan & Co.

The winners have secured paid internships with Khaitan & Co and are grateful for all the support and encouragement they have received from the university and the faculty.