30 March 2010: College of Law Wins Competition to Find Country’s Top Student Negotiators
A team of student barristers from The College of Law has taken first place in a prestigious national competition to find the country’s toughest student negotiators.
Laura Searle and Jane Harvey, currently undertaking the Bar Vocational Course (BVC) at the London Bloomsbury centre, beat stiff competition from law schools around the country to win the national final of The Negotiation Competition on Saturday (March 27).
It is the second year running that a team from The College of Law has won the competition, which is sponsored by CEDR (the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution) and open to every undergraduate and postgraduate law school in England and Wales.
Laura Searle (left) and Jane Harvey celebrate winning the National Negotiation Competition
Laura and Jane will now represent England and Wales and The College of Law in the International Negotiation Competition to be held in Queensland, Australia in July.
Jane said: “It was very tiring and challenging to complete three separate negotiations in one day so we’re delighted to have won and very excited to now be going to Australia to represent both the country and the College.”
Laura added: “We faced some tough competition on the day and we did not expect to win at all so we're very proud of our achievement.”
The competition involves students in teams of two going head to head to measure their negotiation skills. Three teams from The College of Law had won through to the national final held at the College’s Moorgate centre after successfully battling against more than one hundred students from around the country who took part in the regional heats.
The 12 teams in the final were tasked with making deals and resolving disputes on behalf of fictional clients during the course of three negotiations. They were judged by legal practitioners and academics on the outcome of the negotiation, their preparation, flexibility, teamwork, ethics and relationship with the opposing team.
Anna Cheunviratsakul, senior BVC lecturer at The College of Law, said: “All of the hard work that Laura and Jane put in to prepare for the competition has paid off and they conducted themselves extremely professionally throughout. The standard of negotiation displayed by all participating teams was extremely high so it is a fantastic achievement for them to be crowned the national winners.
“Being able to negotiate effectively to settle disputes and get the best deal for clients without resorting to the courts is becoming increasingly important in the work of lawyers. The skills that the students have developed, both in their studies at The College of Law and by participating in the Negotiation Competition, will stand them in good stead for the rest of their careers.”
Further information from Lucy Wray, Press Officer, The College of Law on 01483 216072 (lucy.wray@lawcol.co.uk)
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