Two teams from Fordham Law’s Dispute Resolution Society competed at this year’s virtual American Bar Association (ABA) Competitions held on November 13 and 14. Several Fordham Law students emerged with stellar successes and will be advancing to nationals for their respective practical skills competitions.
Fordham Law Clinches ABA Arbitration Regional Competition
The Arbitration Competition—hosted by New York Law School this year—promotes greater knowledge in arbitration by simulating a realistic arbitration hearing. Participants prepared and presented an arbitration case, including opening statements, witness examinations, exhibit introductions, evidentiary presentations, and summations.
Bianca Bernardi ‘23, Phoebe Huth ‘23, Alyssa Plascoff ‘23, Alessandro Schooley ‘23, and Paul Tsavoussis ‘23 represented Fordham Law at the regional level of the 2022 ABA Law Student Domestic Arbitration Competition, besting 12 teams on a case that dealt with wills and trusts/elder law. The team will proceed to the national competition for domestic arbitration, which will take place on January 28 and 29, 2022.
“In my opinion, both teams’ success was achieved not only because of the strength and specificity of their legal arguments, but procedurally the teams were particularly prepared which enabled the teams to maintain professionalism and composure while mooting for such a long period of time,” said team coach Maggie Revera ’22. “Moving forward the teams can only go up!”
“Each of the teams worked really hard on this problem and demonstrated their expertise over the course of the Regional Competition,” added coach Perry Zirpoli ’22. “I look forward to helping them prepare for the final leg of the competition in January.” Both Zirpoli and Revera were a part of the Fordham Law team who won last year’s National Competition.
Solid preparation since August was key to the team’s success, says Professor Deborah Masucci, faculty advisor to the team and an expert in alternative dispute resolution and dispute management. The team spent long hours preparing for the competition including weekly practice classes and one to two moots every week.
“The Fordham teams met the challenge of the competition with competence and professionalism,” said Masucci. “There is more hard work to face to prepare for the national rounds, but we are confident that Fordham will continue to move forward in the National Competition in late January.”
Going to Nationals for the ABA Law Student Division Negotiation Competition
The ABA Law Student Division Negotiation Competition provides a means for law students to practice and improve their negotiating skills.
Fordham Law competitors Hanna Zaretsky ‘23 and Ian Capell ‘23 competed at the regional level of the 2022 ABA Law Student Division Negotiation Competition and are both moving forward to nationals.
This competition was hosted virtually by the American University Washington College of Law and consisted of 24 overall teams. Each round centered on a different problem relating to the First Amendment in an educational setting. The competitors were given both general and confidential information, and had just 50 minutes to negotiate the terms and get the best outcome for their clients.
National finals for the ABA Negotiation Competition will be held on February 4 and 5, 2022.
The negotiation team began practicing in late August by using old negotiation problems from prior competitions.
“The negotiation competitors worked extremely hard all semester to prepare for the regional competition, and their exceptional performances at the competition clearly shows that their dedication and commitment paid off,” said coach Allie Lisner ’22. “I am so proud of both Fordham teams, and am looking forward to helping Hanna and Ian prepare for nationals!”