Cooley team advances to national competition

By Debra Talcott Legal News The cosmopolitan city of Ottawa, Canada, will forever be a source of good memories for Cooley-Auburn Hills students Amanda Demitrish and Shannon DeWall because it was there that they earned Cooley a second place ranking in the Region 6 ABA Negotiation Competition held November 12 and 13. The pair solidified their standing, with a total score only slightly lower than the first place team from Ohio State University, by winning the final-and most difficult-round of negotiation. Under the leadership of Professors Nancy Wonch and Dustin Foster, Demitrish and DeWall have earned the right to advance to the ABA National Negotiation Competition to be held in New Orleans February 3-4. ''Professor Wonch set the agenda for our training, went to Ottawa with us, and coached us through the final problem,'' says Demitrish. ''To prepare for the Region 6 competition, we met every Saturday from the start of the term until the competition and worked with Professor Foster and twice went to Lansing to work with the Cooley - Lansing team and Professor Wonch.'' The ABA Law Student Division Negotiation Competition provides a forum for law students to practice their negotiation skills. Through a series of simulations, the students act as lawyers and negotiate a number of legal problems. The simulations mimic actual negotiations in that a common set of facts is known by all parties, but each side is privy to separate details pertinent only to its own participants. ''This year's topic is real property,'' says DeWall, ''and in the final round Amanda and I represented a homeowner whose son had hosted a party and someone had been injured on the property during the party. The opposing team represented the injured woman and her parents.'' All of the simulations in a given competition deal with a single topic, but each round challenges the students with a new situation and an increasing level of difficulty. ''In the first round, we represented the buyer of a $2.5 million home,'' explains Demitrish. In the second round we represented the same client in discussions with the neighborhood association regarding problems with his son, for whom he had bought the house.'' Both DeWall and Demitrish are students in Cooley's part-time, five-year program and expect to graduate in May 2015. Prior to partnering in the competition, they had met in the Torts class and the Research and Writing class. While they are at the same level at Cooley, it is their diverse backgrounds and work experiences prior to starting law school that give this team the talents they bring to the table. DeWall credits Cooley's flexible schedule for making it possible for students with busy lives to pursue a law degree. ''I work a lot of hours during the week, so some terms it's best for me to take weekend classes, and some terms it works better to take night classes. Cooley allows me to do that. If it weren't for Cooley offering this kind of schedule, there is no way I could go to law school.'' Demitrish brings her own unique set of skills to the team. She has worked for General Motors in the area of government contracts, first as a contract worker then as a regular employee since 1993. Prior to that she owned a small catering company, taught cooking in community education programs, and worked in a variety of restaurants as a baker, bartender, waitress, and manager. With a B.B.A. from Wayne State University and an M.S. in corporate finance from Walsh College, she intends to practice business transactions law. Demitrish also cites Cooley's flexible program as a good fit for the rest of her busy life. ''When I attended the fall 2009 open house, I was very unsure if I could handle the demands of law school while working full time in a challenging job. I was on my way out of the building having just convinced myself that I couldn't do it when I met Professor Chadwick. Her encouragement and enthusiasm made me think again. So I headed downstairs where Dean Zelenski and Dean Nussbaumer were giving their presentation. As soon as I walked into the classroom and saw the curving tiered rows of desks, I knew I wanted to be there. After the presentation both deans took the time to talk with me and address my questions and concerns. Now that I am in the program, I have compared notes with a colleague at work who attended another law school, and she said it seems as if Cooley does more practical instruction in the law than the theoretical teaching she experienced.'' After competing in Ottawa, both Demitrish and DeWall say they enjoyed the collegial atmosphere of their experience and call the feedback from the judges ''invaluable.'' While their schedule allowed for only brief escapes to tour the University of Ottawa campus, they did experience one ''Lucy and Ethel'' moment when their elevator became stuck between floors . ''I use a wheelchair, and the university had an elevator at the side of the stairs to accommodate wheelchair users,'' says DeWall. On the way to one of our rounds, the elevator stopped working about half way down. Amanda and I joked that the round would just have to be held there at the elevator and that I would do my negotiating from there. The elevator was stuck for only a few minutes, but we did have a good laugh.'' DeWall and Demitrish will now prepare for the national competition in New Orleans. They will receive the problem for the final level of competition in mid-January then begin weekly meetings with their coaches, Professor Foster and Professor Wonch, to brainstorm ideas. ''Professor Wonch and Professor Foster have been incredibly helpful and generous with their time,'' says Demitrish. Each offers us a unique insight to the problem and to the way Shannon and I interact with each other and the competition. Shannon and I have decided to drive together to New Orleans so that during the trip we can continue to hash out the problem, solidify our roles in the negotiation, and integrate the facts so that they become ingrained in our heads. We will continue to hone our teammate skills as this is one of the most important skills to successful negotiation.'' Published: Thu, Dec 29, 2011

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