June 2026
To make the sound of knowledge amplify it takes dialogue, curiosity, perspective and the willingness to look beyond the obvious answer.
This is one of the reasons why BACIU PARTNERS continues to invest in initiatives such as the Intellectual Property Moot Court Competition (MCC IP), organized together with ELSA Bucharest.
This year its 4th edition, the MCC IP is designed more than a simulated legal exercise, but a context that supports students navigate the intersections between law, business realities, strategic thinking and anticipation. With each edition, participants are encouraged to understand intellectual property as a dynamic field shaped by industries, commercial pressure points and constantly evolving contexts.
But who makes all these possible? And what are their takeaway from the experience?
To answer these, in the spirit of the transparency and accessibility that define how we work, we invited the BACIU PARTNERS team members involved in this year’s edition into a series of open conversations about ideas, expectations, professional instincts and the subtle details that often remain behind the scenes of such initiatives. Titled “Conversations beyond the Intellectual Property Moot Court Competition“, the series is opened by Ileana Nicolescu-Decsei, Master of Ceremonies for the MCC IP and one of the those who have supported the initiative since its very beginning.
Read the full interview below.
- Looking at this experience as a whole, what stood out to you regarding how the participating students approached this competition?
Ileana Nicolescu-Decsei: Every year, we organize a training session designed to support the students and provide them with a foundational knowledge of intellectual property, civil procedural law, and the structuring of written memorials and pleadings. This is meant to be useful both for their participation in the competition and for their subsequent professional development. This year, I was delighted to observe that the students paid particular attention to specific details we had emphasized. Therefore, I would say that the defining element of this competition was the attention to detail, which was directly reflected in the strategic preparation of the participants.
- When evaluating memorials or pleadings, where is the difference actually made between an answer considered simply “correct” and one that is truly convincing—even a memorable benchmark for that participant?
Ileana Nicolescu-Decsei: The difference between a correct memorial and a memorable one is determined by those extra steps that students are willing to take to demonstrate that they master the argument so thoroughly that they can explain and exemplify it in various ways. It results in a seemingly effortless fluidity, but one that is actually grounded in a careful selection of words.
- Beyond legal knowledge, what do you think is that single element that tips the scale in favor of a participant’s performance? What if we look at it from a team perspective?
Ileana Nicolescu-Decsei: I particularly appreciate participants who do not limit themselves to a single line of logic, but instead prepare for multiple scenarios and build potential answers before they even become necessary. This preparation becomes especially visible during the oral rounds, where reaction time is extremely short. In those few minutes, the difference between a convincing answer and a hesitant one lies precisely in the work done behind the scenes: without solid anticipation, participants would be forced to improvise on unstable ground. If we expand the discussion to the team level, coherence comes into play: the way members harmonize their arguments, distribute their roles, and support each other. A well-prepared team does not just anticipate; it functions as a unified mechanism where every intervention drives toward a cohesive whole.
- Reflecting on the evolution of the competition from one edition to the next, what are the benchmarks that matter most to us, and how do we manage, through this project, to make the students’ voices heard?
Ileana Nicolescu-Decsei: The fourth edition of the Intellectual Property Moot Court Competition confirmed, through the way the participants engaged, that we successfully and authentically convey the values we promote: curiosity, ingenuity, sustained effort, and consistency. The competition continues to attract students motivated by challenges, who leverage the guidance we offer to build papers on topics they haven’t yet had the chance to study at university. Often surprisingly, they manage to convincingly interpret roles that require much more experience than they currently possess. We hope this experience gives them not only more legal knowledge but also the courage to make their voices heard with increasing clarity—because sometimes, the first step matters the most.
More details about the 2026 edition of the Intellectual Property Moot Court Competition organized by BACIU PARTNERS are available HERE.
BACIU PARTNERS is a Leading Partner to ELSA Bucharest for the academic year 2025-2026.
For more details about our approach and objectives, please contact: Ileana Nicolescu-Decsei, Raluca Comănescu and Anca Stefanescu Toma.