Western New England University School of Law entered the American Bar Association (ABA) Region 1 Negotiation Competition with two teams this fall. A total of 24 law school teams from 13 institutions throughout New England and the east coast, competed at Boston University School of Law. The topics addressed in the competition arguments focused on national security law.
The Western New England teams included law students Heidi Waugh of New Braintree MA, and Ryan Davie, Chittenango, NY; and Thomas Holman of Middletown CT, and Joseph Masse of Wakefield RI. Both teams were assisted by former team member Matthew Minniefield, who now works as a law clerk at the New York Court of Appeals. Law Professor Rene Reich-Graefe, who coached and mentored the two negotiation teams, was delighted with the outstanding performance of both teams representing the Western New England University.
After the first day of intense competition, the team of Holman and Masse finished in a tie for first place with Georgetown University. Both Western New England University teams put in superb performances and when the legal negotiation dust settled at the end of day two, Holman and Masse were again tied for first place with Georgetown. According to ABA competition tie-breaking rules, Holman and Masse were awarded second place and will represent Western New England University at the national competition in Chicago IL, in February 2018. Boston College Law School came in third place, and Quinnipiac University took fourth place.
The 13 law schools that participated in the ABA Region 1 Negotiation Competition this year included, Albany Law School, American University, Washington College, Boston College, Boston University, Brooklyn Law School, Florida International University, Georgetown University, New England Law School, Quinnipiac University, University of Connecticut, University of North Carolina, and Western New England School of Law.
