The University of San Diego (USD) International Commercial Arbitration (Vis) Moot Team is proud to announce our 2nd Annual Thorsnes Pre-Moot, to be held in San Diego, February 27-March 1st, 2009.

Our pre-moot is the premier event for teams to come to the U.S. to prepare for the Vis Moot, which follows a month or so later in Hong Kong and Vienna. The pre-moot is held shortly after the final briefs are due to the Vis Moot, and is an excellent chance to practice and refine oral arguments using the same Vis Moot problem. And what better place to spend a long weekend in February than beautiful San Diego California! Last year's Pre-Moot winning team from Pepperdine Law School went on to become overall team winners in Hong Kong!

The Thorsnes Vis Pre-Moot is judged by panels of expert lawyers from the San Diego legal community and from around the World, so the students will receive a first-class learning and practical experience. Our arbiters include law professors, experienced practicing arbiters, seasoned litigation lawyers, and even some lawyers who will be arbiters at the Vis Moot itself! We expect that many of our arbiters will continue to be from countries other than the U.S., to enhance the Vis Moot international experience. In organizing the pre-moot, USD also tries to give all participants some great networking and socializing opportunities!

The student teams who participate in the Thorsnes Vis Pre-Moot also represent a fantastic cross-section of the teams that will likely be faced at the Vis Moot competitions. Last year we were privileged to have teams representing one European University, three Mexican Universities, and five U.S. Universities. The cross-section of cultures and languages was truly in the spirit of the Vis Moot (and we're not just referring to the cultural divide between Northern and Southern California!).

At USD, we take pride in being great hosts. We will do everything we can to make the event a successful preparatory and learning experience, but also a lot of fun.

• Friday evening - welcome reception, drinks and hors d'ouvres at a local law firm
• Saturday – two rounds of competition at the USD School of Law, lunch served
• Saturday night – socializing on the town in San Diego
• Sunday morning – final competition between the top two rounds from Saturday
• Sunday noon – noon sit-down awards luncheon
• Sunday afternoon – optional guided trips around San Diego

If your team is interested in participating in the 2nd Annual Thorsnes Pre-Moot, February 8-10, 2008, please contact us as soon as possible at: USDVisMootTeam@gmail.com. We will be sending invitations to teams to join us soon. Thanks!

"Dear Team USD:
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for making the [2007] Thorsnes Vis Pre-Moot Competition the success that it was. We were very much impressed with the event. It was superbly organized and you went to great lengths to accommodate us. It was a unique experience to meet and compete with teams from all over the United States and Mexico in a collegial and constructive atmosphere. "The USD Vis pre-moot has been a vital benchmark in our preparations for Vienna. Considering the smashing success in 2007, undoubtedly, in the coming years it will grow to become a must visit "learning pit stop" for many teams. University of Utrecht would welcome an invitation in 2008! Thank you!
- Team Utrecht"

A word about our sponsor, pre-moot namesake, and mentor: Michael T. Thorsnes.

Mike Thorsnes is the mentor and guiding spirit behind the USD Vis Moot team. He is also the sponsor who has made the Pre-Moot possible. Mike is one of the most distinguished graduates of the USD School of Law, having been awarded the Arthur C. Hughes Career Achievement Award from the University, as well as the Outstanding Alumnus award from the law school. Today he is a member of the university's Board of Trustees, and has served as its vice-chair. He has been asked by USD to teach summer law programs in international litigation hosted at Magdalen College, Oxford (UK).

Mike is also one of the top trial lawyers in America. Three years in a row, from 2001-2003, he was named one of the "100 Most Influential Lawyers in California", as determined by the Los Angeles and San Francisco Daily Journals. Continually since 1990 while practicing, he has been elected to "Best Lawyers in America" in Business Litigation by his peers (Woodward Press). He received the Daniel T. Broderick Award for Integrity, Professionalism and Ethics in 2000 (selected by four San Diego plaintiff and defense lawyer associations).

He has represented both plaintiffs and defendants in all types of cases, leading ultimately to a specialty in major business litigation, securing for plaintiffs in excess of $250 Million in verdicts, settlements and awards. He has defended some of California's leading corporate entities. In his last case, he successfully defended Pacific Bell (now SBC), the state's largest private employer, against a $2 billion dollar claim brought by the California Public Utilities Commission. Mike was a founding partner of the firm of Thorsnes, Bartolotta and McGuire, where he is now retired but continues to be involved with the firm in an Of Counsel capacity.

Mike has also been active in the Democratic party since 1968, and worked at every level on numerous state and national campaigns and has served as an Advisor to the Democratic National Committee (DNC), A Trustee of the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) and a member of the California Democratic State Central Committee. Thorsnes took on the role of fundraiser with the Gore campaign and since then raised nearly $3 million dollars for Gore, Kerry, the party and Senate Democrats. Mike served as a National Finance Co-Chair and Poet Laureate for the Presidential Campaign of John Kerry. He is also active in Irish-American affairs, having chaired the American Ireland Fund Dinner in San Diego, and two years ago published an anthology of predominantly Irish poetry under the pseudonym of Rowdy O'Yeats'.

Mike, thanks for your support throughout the years. We could not have done it without you!
The USD Vis Moot Team.