Congratulations to third-year law student Omar Ali-Shamaa and Kathleen Pfahlert, a second-year, who placed second during the 2015 ABA National Negotiation Finals which was held in Houston the weekend of February 6-9. The competition included 110 teams from more than 110 U.S. and Canadian law schools. Team Ali-Shamaa and Pfahlert finished second – by only one point – to the University of Manitoba. The University of Maryland and Texas A&M rounded out the top four. Ali-Shamaa and Pfahlert earned their trip to the finals by finishing as the Runner-Up team during the ABA Southeastern Regionals which was held last November. Chris Miranda and Jiihane Elizee, both third-years, advanced to the semi-final round and earned their trip to the national finals by winning the ABA Southeastern Regional Championship in November.
The FIU Law teams were the only Florida law school teams to compete at this year’s 24-team National Finals.
The ABA Law Student Division Negotiation Competition promotes greater interest among law students in legal negotiation and provides a means for them to practice and improve their negotiating skills. The competition simulates legal negotiations in which law students, acting as lawyers, negotiate a series of legal problems. The simulations consist of a common set of facts known by all participants and confidential information known only to the participants representing a particular side. All of the simulations deal with the same general topic, but the negotiation situation varies with each round and level of the competition.
PHOTO CAPTION – LEFT TOP PHOTO: Chris Miranda, Jihane Elizee, Dean Alex Acosta, Kathleen Pfahlert and Omar Ali-Shamaa.