The virtual edition of the 2021 CPR International Mediation Competition, which took place from 13-21 March 2021 and was sponsored by Three Crowns, was a great success. There were 15 teams participating from six different countries, representing four continents and, over the course of the week, 22 mediation sessions were held online. Students had the privilege to receive feedback and learn from more than 40 experienced mediators from over 10 different nationalities. The Competition is the only international mediation moot held in Latin America and takes place annually in São Paulo, Brazil.
Laura França Pereira featured as one of the co-chairs of the 2021 Competition after being involved in the organisation of the Competition’s first edition, in 2016/2017, as part of the team responsible for drafting the first version of the Competition Rules. Besides hosting a few mediation sessions, Laura delivered the introductory remarks for all attendees alongside Kai Sass-Hauschildt, from CPR, and moderated a panel discussion with the drafters of the Competition’s problem.
The finalists of this year’s Competition were the University of São Paulo and Queen Mary University London, with Faith Chelangat, from Africa Nazarene University acting as a mediator. Queen Mary University London was the winner in the “Best Negotiator Team” category, and Faith was the winner of the Competition in the “Best Mediator” category. Faith’s team, an all-female team from Africa Nazarene University in Kenya, was the recipient of the Competition’s Scholarship Fund, to which Three Crowns directly contributed as one of the Competition’s sponsors.
ABOUT LAURA FRANCA PEREIRA
Laura, an associate in the Washington, DC office, specialises in international commercial and investor-State arbitration. She has experience acting in disputes across a range of industry sectors, including banking and finance, energy, oil and gas, infrastructure, and retail. Laura’s most recent experience includes representing a consortium of major oil and gas companies in its dispute with a Latin America state arising from the breach of various provisions of an investment agreement.
Laura holds an LLM from Harvard Law School and an LLB from University of São Paulo, where she graduated first in her class. She studied at Sciences Po Paris, as part of her Bachelor’s degree program, where she graduated summa cum laude. She speaks English, Portuguese, French, and Spanish.