When White & Case partner Dipen Sabharwal KC and Dr. Priya Pillai, an international lawyer and writer, became World Champions of the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition in 1999, they were undergraduate law students representing India.

"This was the first time a team from India had won the World Cup," says Pillai. "We knew it was important, but we didn't realize how much it would change our lives."

Established in 1959, the Jessup is the world's largest and most prestigious moot court competition, administered by the International Law Students Association (ILSA). Each year, it brings together law students from more than 100 countries to argue a hypothetical dispute before the International Court of Justice. Teams research complex questions of public international law and compete nationally for a chance to represent their country at the White & Case International Rounds in Washington, DC.

A formative experience

For Sabharwal, the connection between Jessup and his legal career is unequivocal. "There is a very distinct and direct correlation between my Jessup experience and my career," he says.

When Sabharwal started preparing for the Jessup, public international law was uncharted territory. "It was not something I had studied at university," he explains. "But after Jessup, I really fell in love with it."

The advocacy experience was equally transformative. While competing in the Indian national rounds and then in Washington, DC, Sabharwal argued before seasoned international practitioners, an experience that clarified his goals. Returning home as a World Champion, his direction was clear. He pursued postgraduate study in international law and made a deliberate decision about the kind of lawyer he wanted to be. "I did not want to be an Indian lawyer, an English lawyer or a New York lawyer," he recalls. "I wanted to be an international lawyer."

Now as an International Arbitration lawyer at White & Case, that aspiration shapes his daily practice. What once seemed abstract is now routine.

Today, Sabharwal remains closely connected to the Jessup through White & Case's global partnership. "I'm proud of the Firm's longstanding and widespread support of the Jessup Competition—reinforcing the same intellectual rigor, advocacy excellence and international engagement that shaped my path."

Shaping a global perspective

While Sabharwal's path led him to international arbitration, Pillai's career has unfolded across humanitarian law, human rights and international criminal law.

After graduation, she gained experience in private practice and at international organizations. She now leads the Asia Justice Coalition, focusing on international accountability. Pillai's winding journey spans multiple areas of international law, united by a commitment to justice beyond borders.

Like Sabharwal, she traces her global perspective back to the Jessup. "At a basic level, it gave me an understanding of what it takes to work in international law." Pillai says. The competition's demands—rigorous research, careful analysis and persuasive advocacy—offered an early immersion in the discipline required to work on the global stage. "Making the best case possible, and having to deeply understand the arguments on both sides—that's a really important experience to have in law school," she reflects.

Equally formative was the global exposure. Meeting competitors and judges from diverse backgrounds broadened her perspective. "It was eye-opening—exposure to cultures and legal traditions I had never imagined. It truly expanded my universe."

Skills honed at Jessup—cross-cultural dialogue, principled disagreement and navigating diverse legal systems—became central to her work.

More than a competition

Their journeys are just two examples of how Jessup opens doors, but its impact goes even further.

For many, the competition becomes a lifelong network: a global community of peers who first met as competitors and later reconnect as colleagues, counterparts and collaborators across borders.

The Jessup's enduring motto captures this spirit: "In the future, world leaders will look at each other differently because they met here first as friends." That ethos resonates with both Sabharwal and Pillai, for whom Jessup became an entry point into a professional community defined by shared experience and mutual respect.

Sabharwal and Pillai exemplify the breadth of possibilities within international law. Their victory was not simply a global achievement—it was a turning point that shaped their careers and influence.

As new generations of law students embark on their Jessup journey every year, the competition continues to inspire future leaders in international law, equipping them with the skills, confidence and perspective needed to navigate and shape the evolving landscape of international law together.

White & Case and Jessup Highlights

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The World Cup trophy from the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition.