17 February 2010: Trio of College of Law Teams Celebrate Success in Contest to Find UK’s Top Student Negotiators
Three teams from The College of Law have made it through to the final of a national competition to find the country’s toughest negotiators.
The teams, from the College’s Birmingham, York and London Bloomsbury centres, beat stiff competition from law schools around the country in the regional heats of the Negotiation Competition.
They will now take their places among a total of 12 teams competing in the national final at the College’s Moorgate centre on March 27. The teams will be vying to represent England and Wales in the International Negotiation Competition in Queensland, Australia.
Charlotte Thompson (left) and Tom Clough (right) from The College of Law in York celebrate winning the regional final of the Negotiation Competition with Mhairi Morter, Senior Lecturer at The College of Law and organiser of the York heat (centre).
Last year’s national final was won by a team of Bar Vocational Course (BVC) students from the College’s Bloomsbury centre.
The competition, sponsored by CEDR (the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution) and The College of Law, involves teams of law students going head to head in contests to measure their negotiation skills.
They are tasked with negotiating a transaction or resolving a dispute on behalf of a fictional client and are judged on the outcome of the negotiation, how prepared they are, their flexibility, teamwork, ethics and their relationship with the opposing team.
The three regional heats on Saturday, February 13 were hosted by The College of Law in Birmingham, York and Guildford and judges included academic staff from universities taking part, College of Law staff and lawyers from the local area.
In the Birmingham heat one team of BVC students from the College’s Birmingham centre and one from its Bloomsbury centre made it through to the final. A team of Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) students from the College’s York centre won the regional heat in York.
Bernardette Griffin, Birmingham Centre Director for the College, said: “It is very important in today's global market that would-be lawyers have the know-how and skill-set to negotiate effectively across contexts, cultures and national boundaries. The Negotiation Competition is an excellent forum for profiling this skill and we are delighted that so many College of Law teams will be going forward to the finals in London. This result showcases the high standard of skills that students acquire on our College courses.”
Further information from Lucy Wray, Press Officer, The College of Law on 01483 216072 (lucy.wray@lawcol.co.uk)
Back to main news page