BYU Negotiation Teams Selected for Regionals

Written by Sterling Goodwin
After three rounds of competition, two outstanding teams have been selected to represent BYU in the ABA Regional Negotiation Competition, which will be held at J. Reuben Clark Law School in November. 

The winning team is Sarah Brazee and Doug Yarrington, who are both second year students. Second place was awarded to Tyler Lamarr and Chad Rasmussen, also 2Ls, who were followed by the third place team of MaryBeth Decker and Christine Beck, and in 4th place were Ruth Bigler and Elias Kurban. 

“I put on my negotiation face,” said David Dayton, a 2^nd year law student. “The negotiation is a lot of fun, and I think it helps us become better attorneys.” 

About 40 BYU students participated in the first round of the BYU Intraschool competition, which was run by BYU's Alternative Dispute Resolution Society. Regional and national competitions are overseen by the ABA Law Student Division.  

The competitions simulate legal negotiations in which law students, acting as lawyers, negotiate a series of legal problems. Each round features a common set of facts given to all of the participants and some confidential information known only to the participants representing a particular side.

The simulations this year are all related to employment and labor law, though the negotiation situation varies with each round of competition. Students compete in teams of two, and this year’s first-round negotiation featured a university trying to settle the salary and benefits for the new director of an entrepreneurship institute. 

Several students said they appreciate the opportunity to learn and apply practical skills that they will be using as practicing attorneys.  

 “Most cases are settled out of court,” said Heather Rodriguez, 3L, “and I think this type of experience teaches us what it will be like in the real world.” 

In fact, according to Thomas R. Van Dervort, author of American Law and the Legal System, well over 90 percent of civil cases are settled out of court.

The first round of competition ended Friday night, and eight teams were selected to return for the semi-finals the next morning. From those eight teams, the winning four were selected for a final round of competition, and the two winning teams from the final round will represent J. Reuben Clark Law School at the regional competition on November 13-14.

Posted: September 23, 2009