How to Participate
Representation in Mediation Competition and
1-Credit “Advocacy in Mediation” Optional Course
UB School of Law’s “Representation in Mediation Competition” is a great practical learning experience for law students. Its popularity among students and lawyers in our community has grown considerably over the last several years (over the last few years we have had as many as 48 law student competitors and 70 lawyer volunteers). This year’s competition will be held on Saturday, November 18th from 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Barring any last minute weather events or health crises, our plan is to run the Competition in-person at the law school.
Because an increasing number of civil legal cases are referred to mediation by the courts, or mediation is agreed to by both sides of a legal dispute, it is vital that the lawyer accompanying their client to the mediation table has the knowledge and skill-set necessary to maximize the client’s results in this context. This Competition is great practice for future lawyers to hone their attorney advocacy and negotiation skills in a mediation setting. The interaction between lawyer and client and the use of interest-based problem solving is the focus of the Representation in Mediation Competition.
Participation is limited to 2nd and 3rd year law students. However, we need the help of many 1st year students to help run the Competition by assisting the volunteer lawyers in each mediation session with the timing and rules (and in the process, the 1Ls learn how the Competition works for their own participation next year). So 1Ls are encouraged to contact one of the student ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution) Society officers (listed below) to offer your help!
Each team consists of 2 law students —1 playing the role of the attorney and 1 playing the role of the client. Each team member must play the role of the lawyer in one round and the client in the other round. The Competition consists of two rounds. The teams are given two short fact patterns (a different one for each round) 2 to 3 weeks prior to the Competition. The scenarios are usually those distributed by the Dispute Resolution Section of the American Bar Association (“ABA”). Teams then strategize and prepare to negotiate during the two mediation sessions. On the day of the Competition, the teams engage in negotiations with an opposing attorney-client team, facilitated by a professional mediator from the community. Three or more lawyers and/or other professionals with mediation advocacy knowledge are present to score the rounds and give feedback to the teams.
Competitors are judged on preparation, teamwork, how well the interests of the client are represented, how well the mediation process is used to promote those interests, and other elements of effective attorney advocacy in mediation as set forth in ABA scoring criteria. The ABA scoring criteria is in the process of being revised, but it is anticipated that it will not be very different that it has been in the past. Last year’s version of the competition scoring criteria is at this link: https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/dispute_resolution/events/2021-mediation-scoring-criteria.pdf
Please note, our competition will follow the 2023-2024 ABA Representation in Mediation Competition rules, which have not yet been released at this time. The new rules will be provided to participants once the ABA releases them. We will go over the rules at the informational meeting on the morning of October 7th (see below). The new rules will probably be very similar to the rules followed for the last 2 years, so if you would like to get an idea of rules generally, go to the following ABA link:
The two winning teams will represent our law school at the ABA Regional Representation in Mediation Competition in late February or early March 2024 (likely to be in person vs. virtual). If one of our teams wins the Regionals, that team will compete in the ABA National Competition in April 2024. We have won the Regionals two times in the past, allowing us to be one of only ten teams in the US to compete in the Nationals!
There is no requirement that students have any education or background in mediation or negotiation to participate in this Competition. Deadline to register for the Competition: Wednesday, October 4th.
Note
If you are NOT taking the one-credit Advocacy in Mediation Course (referenced below), late team registrations to participate in the Competition sent directly to Professor Sugarman MAY be considered.
There are 2 ways to participate in the Representation in Mediation Competition:
Participating in this manner involves:
STEP 1: By Wednesday, October 4th, sign up for the Competition itself with a partner as a team by filling out and submitting the registration form found at registering online.
By submitting a registration form with both team members’ names on it, you are promising that you are both going to follow through with this commitment to prepare and fully compete in good faith all day on Saturday, November 18th.
If one team member takes the one-credit Advocacy in Mediation course and the other team member decides not to take the course, this is perfectly fine—the team can still fully participate in the Competition. Students that participated in the Competition last year are welcome to do so again this year (although you can only get credit for the 1-credit course once)!
If you do not have a partner for the Competition, but would like to participate, submit your registration form with just your name on it for now, and clearly and prominently indicate on the form that you need a partner. While we cannot guarantee that we can find you a partner, we will try to randomly pair you with another student that submits a registration form that indicates the need for a partner.
You cannot receive course credit unless you have a partner with whom to participate in the Competition. In the event we have too many registrants to accommodate in the Competition, students taking the one-credit course and third-year law students with partners would have preference, and second-year law students not taking the course would be chosen by lottery.
STEP 2: Register for the 1 credit course with the Registrar by Wednesday, October 4th.
STEP 3: Attend two mandatory classes on attorney advocacy in mediation in advance of the Competition (Class one on Saturday, October 7th from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and Class two on Saturday, November 4th from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. There will be required readings regarding effective mediation advocacy as part of the course, a quiz on the readings, and some written exercises to be done between the 2 classes. You would review and analyze one mediation advocacy video after the 2nd class.
STEP 4: You will be sent the 2 official legal dispute scenarios with further instructions 2-3 weeks before the Competition; preparation with your partner begins.
STEP 5: Participate in the Representation in Mediation Competition on November 18th (you will be notified of the schedule of the day in the future, but for now reserve from 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.).
STEP 6: On Sunday, November 19th, meet for a mandatory 90 minute virtual class for debriefing and discussing what you learned from the Compeition experience—the time of this class would be agreed to in advance to be at a mutually agreeable time on the 19th.
STEP 7: Write a five-page reflective paper on the Competition experience and what you learned about effective client advocacy at the mediation table (and integrating concepts from the required readings). This paper is due within 2 weeks after the Competition (wait to do this until you are given more detailed instructions).
Note
If you have already received course credit last year, you may not do so again, but you CAN still fully participate in the Competition (see Option 2 below).
STEP 1: By Wednesday, October 4th, sign up for the Competition itself with a partner as a team by filling out and submitting the registration form found at registering online.
By submitting a registration form with both team members’ names on it, you are promising that you are both going to follow through with this commitment to prepare and fully compete in good faith all day on Saturday, November 18th.
If one team member takes the one-credit Advocacy in Mediation course and the other team member decides not to take the course, this is perfectly fine—the team can still fully participate in the Competition. Students that participated in the Competition last year are welcome to do so again this year!
If you do not have a partner for the Competition, but would like to participate, submit your registration form with just your name on it for now, and clearly and prominently indicate on the form that you need a partner. While we cannot guarantee that we can find you a partner, we will try to randomly pair you with another student that submits a registration form that indicates the need for a partner. You cannot participate in the Competition unless you have a partner.
In the event we have too many registrants to accommodate in the Competition, students taking the one-credit course and third-year law students with partners would have preference, and second-year law students not taking the course would be chosen by lottery.
STEP 2: Attend the Competition informational session during the first portion of the Advocacy in Mediation class on Saturday, October 7th from 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. (full class goes until 1:30 p.m. if taking the one credit course referenced above). Even though you are not taking the 1 credit course, the attendance of your team at this informational session is mandatory for your team to compete (unless you have special permission from Professor Sugarman for neither teammate or only one teammate to attend—sometimes allowed if both teammates competed last year; if out of town, virtual attendance may be permitted with prior permission). The informational session on October 7th will contain important information about the Competition and will get into general mediation advocacy concepts to direct you in your preparation.
STEP 3: You will be sent the 2 official legal dispute fact patterns with further instruction 2 to 3 weeks before the Competition; preparation with your partner begins.
STEP 4: Participate in the Representation in Mediation Competition on November 18th (you will be notified of the schedule of the day in the future, but for now reserve from 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.).
If there are any questions or concerns, please contact:
President: Clare Smokowski (claresmo@buffalo.edu)
Vice President: Maura Graham (mauragra@buffalo.edu)
Secretary: Victoria Heist (vheist@buffalo.edu)
Treasurer: Christian Soto (cjsoto3@buffalo.edu)
OR email Dawn Skopinski, Associate Director of the Advocacy Institute at (law-advocacy@buffalo.edu) or Prof. Steve Sugarman (sugarmanmediate@gmail.com).