At this year’s University of Houston Law Center (UHLC) National Mediator Competition, New York Law School’s Dispute Resolution Team (DRT) gave noteworthy performances and swept the competition. Julien Santana ’27 claimed first place and Jerin Jabin ’26 claimed second.
The UHLC National Mediator Competition, held virtually on October 3 and 4, 2025, offers law students from across the country the opportunity to compete and demonstrate their skills and effectiveness as mediators. Santana and Jabin trained with student coaches Anton Freeman ’26, Jessica Kumar ’26, Monique Vaz ’26, and DRT Faculty Advisor Professor F. Peter Phillips ’87 to earn this victory. Congratulations to our students on the outstanding achievement!
The student winners shared their thoughts on their preparation and the competition.
Julien Santana ’27
Going into this competition, I was a bit unsure about what to expect since I had no prior experience with mediation. To prepare, I found videos of other mediation competitions to pick up on tips and strategies that could help me succeed. Meeting with my team and practicing also helped because we were able to point out strong points in my skillset and discuss what I could improve to strengthen my performance.
The actual competition experience was very rewarding. From the two preliminary rounds to the semi-finals to the championship round, I was able to learn new strategies and tips on the fly, and I made sure to quickly implement them into my performance for the next round. I enjoyed the fact that the judges were professional mediators because it made all of their advice even more valuable. Overall, this was an amazing competition and I would highly recommend it to future DRT competitors.
Jerin Jabin ’26
This was my first time competing with DRT and my first experience with mediation. With the guidance of my coaches and practice sessions with Professor Phillips, I discovered how impactful mediation can be across different areas of law. During the competition rounds, I engaged with law students from across the country on fact patterns involving family disputes, contractual breaches, and property matters. Through my experience, I learned that mediation can be a valuable tool, often requiring skills of neutrality, active listening and building trust between parties. I am excited to build on these skills in the NYLS Mediation Clinic next semester!