NYLS’s Dispute Resolution Team is celebrating a string of victories this month.
The team helps students build alternative dispute resolution methods and lawyering skills, including client interviewing and counseling, negotiating, mediating, and arbitrating in a variety of practice areas.
Second Place in Regional Arbitration Competition
On November 2 and 3, NYLS finished second in the American Bar Association (ABA) Regional Arbitration Competition, earning a spot in the national competition in January 2020.
The team included Jonah Glickstein 3L, Jaklin Guyumjyan 2L,Alexandra Ehrhardt 3L, and Mariella Rutigliano 2L—with expert coaching by Katryna Cordova 3L (not pictured) and Jennifer Kuhn 3L.
NYLS finished first on the opening day of the competition, tied for total points, and landed a close second place behind Brooklyn Law School after a tie-breaking vote. In three earlier rounds, the team prevailed against Georgetown University Law Center, University of North Carolina School of Law, and Michigan State University College of Law.
The event was held at William & Mary Law School. Team members alternated between representing the claimant and the respondent. During each round, two members played attorneys, and two played witnesses. In 2018, NYLS also placed second in this competition.
First Place in State Arbitration Competition
On November 8 and 9, NYLS won the New York State Bar Association’s Judith Kaye Arbitration Competition 2019. The statewide competition is named in honor of the longtime Chief Judge of the New York State Court of Appeals.
The powerhouse team consisted of Shervica Gonzalez 3L Evening, Connor McGuire 3L, and Lucia McMurray 2L, coached by Monika Dziewa 3L. Gonzalez also won the Judith S. Kaye Advocate Award. The competition was co-organized by the American Arbitration Association (AAA), the State Bar Association’s Dispute Resolution Section, and the New York International Arbitration Center and held at AAA’s Manhattan headquarters.
In 2017, NYLS previously finished first in this competition.
Finalist in Regional Negotiation Competition
Also on November 8 and 9, a team consisting of Benjamin Carroll 3L Evening and Patrick Marshall 3L, coached by Allan-Didier Louis 3L (not pictured) and Brooke Pearlman 3L Evening, reached the finals of the ABA Regional Negotiation Competition.
The team impressed competitors and coaches alike, and the outcome came down to one swing judge.
The event is hosted by the ABA’s Law Student Division and was held at Syracuse University.
A Team Effort
NYLS student coaches provide critical guidance before and during competitions—and the team has plenty of faculty support too. Professors Kris Franklin and F. Peter Phillips ’87—Director of NYLS’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Skills Program—serve as Faculty Advisors.
Adjunct Professor Paul B. Marrow, a commercial arbitration attorney who teaches at NYLS, was particularly instrumental in preparing students for the arbitration competitions.
The team is led by Andrea Castano 3L.