King Hall Teams Trailblaze in First-Ever ABA Online Law Student Negotiation Competition

Posted By Nathan Searcy, Nov 23, 2020

Twenty-four teams from the western region competed virtually in the ABA Law Student Division Negotiation Competition on November 13^th. The King Hall Negotiations Team (KHNT) was represented by Allie Anderson ’21 & Michael Murrietta ’22 and Chad Oliver ’22 & Tony Mekari ’22. This competition was hosted by the California Western Law School and simulated legal negotiations in which the competitors negotiate a series of legal problems.

This year’s theme this year was sports law; fact patterns were based on a sporting event modeled after the Olympic Games. The first round involved negotiating a deal between the University hosting the event and event organizers. The second round required the negotiation of terms of conduct for a social justice organization that wanted to have a formal presence at the games. These real-world scenarios relating to large-scale sporting events were complex and challenging.

Given the COVID-19 pandemic, this competition was hosted online. The KHNT teams took this dramatic change in stride, overcame the difficulties associated with negotiating over video conference, and blazed the trail for future KHNT teams who will inevitably have to negotiate online.

“I always find competing in-person oddly exhilarating, and this competition was no different even though it was fully virtual,” said Allie. “My favorite part of the competition was answering questions and providing justifications that we had thoroughly practiced during spars and feedback sessions,” said Tony. “It was satisfying to know all the preparation was useful and every spar ‘showed up’ in the competition.”

Tony’s teammate Chad added that “Tony and I left each spar humbled and with an armful of thoughtful feedback that we could incorporate into the next round.” “The entire process reflected the supportive and collaborative environment that defines King Hall.”

KHNT is very grateful to the KHNT Alumni, Saba Shatara ’13, Kara DiBiasio ’13, and Luke Garcia ’08, who volunteered their time and acted as judges during the sparring and preparation for this competition while Professor Shestowsky was on research sabbatical. Their dedication to KHNT, especially given their demanding schedules as practicing attorneys, is greatly appreciated.

Special acknowledgment goes to KHNT President, Lauren Ball ’21 and KHNT External Competition Chair, Thea Percival ’21 for their hard work in successfully organizing our participation in the competition and the months of preparation leading up to it. Thank you also to the student coaches Aileen Chong ’21, Philip Julius ’21, Matthew Javier ’21, and Ishika Desai ’21 for their role in helping our competitors succeed.