WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., September 25, 2006 – Although most practicing lawyers say a solid foundation of academic achievement is probably the strongest indicator of later success as an attorney, law firms don’t view students graduating law school today as sufficiently prepared to hit the ground running, according to a Pace Law School survey of mid-size firms.

Pace Law School’s Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot competition was recently recognized by the United Nations for its “positive impact…on law students, professors, and practitioners around the world.”

The commendation came in a book recording activities of the past year assembled by the UN to celebrate the opening of this year’s session of the General Assembly.

“It was widely felt that the annual Moot, with its extensive oral and written competition and its broad international participation, presented an excellent opportunity … for teaching international trade law.” Professor emeritus Eric E. Bergsten was also recognized for the “development and direction of the Moot since its inception in 1993-1994.”

Held in Vienna in the spring, the Vis is the premiere international commercial law moot court, attracting students the world over. Sponsored by Pace Law School, the moot involves an arbitration of a contract of sale between two parties in countries that are signatories to the United Nation’s Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods.

Founded in 1976, Pace University School of Law has nearly 5,000 alumni/ae throughout the country. It offers full- and part-time day and evening JD programs on its White Plains, N.Y., campus. The School also offers the Master of Laws in Environmental Law and in Comparative Legal Studies. The School, which has one of the nation's top-rated environmental law programs, also offers the SJD program in that field. The School of Law is part of a comprehensive, independent and diversified University with campuses in New York City and Westchester County. www.law.pace.edu 

Celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2006, Pace University educates achievers who are engaged with critical issues both locally and globally. Known for an outcome-oriented environment that prepares students to succeed in a wide-range of professions, Pace has three campuses, including New York City (downtown and Midtown), Westchester (Pleasantville, Briarcliff, and the White Plains Graduate Center), and Pace Law School in White Plains. A private metropolitan university, Pace enrolls approximately 14,000 students in undergraduate, masters, and doctoral programs in the Dyson College of Arts and Sciences, Ivan G. Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems, Law School, Lienhard School of Nursing, Lubin School of Business, and School of Education. www.pace.edu