November 21, 2006

William Mitchell team captures third in nation in arbitration competition

For the second year in a row, William Mitchell took third place honors in the National Arbitration Competition, hosted by the National Arbitration Forum and the American Bar Association Law Student Division. The event was held at the University of Texas School of Law, Austin, on November 17-20.

William Mitchell's team included Megan Bjerke, Elizabeth Roff, Jennifer Ryan, and Rebecca Sonntag, coached by Professor Chris Ver Ploeg and Adjunct Professor Dawn Van Tassel. Their third-place achievement at the national competition capped a rigorous competitive process that began with an intra-college competition at William Mitchell in September and continued with the regional competition at Marquette University in October. A total of 13 teams from just 11 law schools made it to the national competition, with William Mitchell's team representing Minnesota law schools.

This was the second year the competition was held, with the goal of pitting aspiring lawyers against one another, while promoting excellence and a greater understanding of the dispute resolution field. Each team of four simulated realistic arbitration hearings, including opening statements, witness examinations, exhibit introduction, evidentiary presentations, and summations. The competition was judged by recognized arbitrators, many of whom work with the National Arbitration Forum, while all of the student participants were members of the American Bar Association Law Student Division.

William Mitchell's team was enthusiastic about the experience, with Rebecca Sonntag describing the competitive process as "a great way to learn advocacy skills by collaborating with a group, trying out different strategies in theory and in actual practice, being forced to think on one's feet, and receiving both positive and critical feedback from experienced arbitrators." Megan Bjerke noted that, "As a team, we not only had to present our case, but build the case from the ground up by determining our arbitration strategies and our desired outcome for the client."

Adjunct Professor Van Tassel, who accompanied the team to the national rounds in Austin, said, "I'm very proud of their performance, in and outside of the courtroom…as important as placing well was proceeding through the competition professionally and ethically, rather than a win-at-all-costs approach. We went up against teams we respected and liked, and we can still be friends with them afterward." She also commented that William Mitchell's team was composed of second-year law students, in contrast with many of the teams which included more experienced 3Ls, making the third place finish even more impressive.

Professor Ver Ploeg commented that she "saw tremendous growth in the team from beginning to end," and she believes the competition is an important educational opportunity, particularly given the way arbitration is coming to dominate the judicial process. As a result, she is now designing a more structured academic program around the competition. William Mitchell students will register in the fall, and depending on how far they advance in the competitive process, will earn one to three sliding credits.