International Negotiations Competition sponsored by BARBRI

National Director of International Negotiations Competition
Deyaska Spencer
North Carolina Central University Law School
internationalcompetition@nblsa.org

This upcoming year will mark the 7th Annual NBLSA International Negotiations Competition sponsored by BARBRI. The International Negotiations Competition sponsored by BARBRI will be held at the NBLSA convention in Atlanta, GA from March 6 - 10, 2013.

The NBLSA International Negotiations Competition (INC) sponsored by BARBRI is the only non-litigation based competition offered by our organization. This competition provides members with a unique opportunity to develop useful negotiation skills while creating awareness of important global issues.

Each participant collaborates with a peer from their respective law school, forming a two person team. Teams will negotiate cross-border conflicts based on current issues affecting our global community. Students should expect exposure from varying negotiating styles, various ethical and social norms, and a broad spectrum of business issues, all coupled with the enhanced difficulties of cross-cultural communication.

Each negotiating round lasts 50 minutes. As you know, International conflicts are layered, and as such a 50 minute round makes for a competitive and time-intensive round. In this short window of time students must strive to obtain the best results for their negotiating side. Following each negotiation students will receive constructive feedback from legal practitioners and law professors who serve as judges.

Registration begins in September, please visit here for specific information regarding deadlines and fees.

Competition Improvements

In keeping with NBLSA's tradition of serving the needs of its membership, the International Negotiations Competition sponsored by BARBRI Team has exciting new changes to help improve the competition. The following changes have been made to improve the efficiency of the competition and provide students with an enhanced experience that will help strengthen important legal advocacy skills:

• All official INC sponsored by BARBRI registration materials and competition guidelines will be centrally located on the NBLSA INC webpage.
• An official procedure has been incorporated into the competition rules for competitors to submit substantive questions regarding the competition problems and receive answers in advance of the competition.
• The competition schedule has been restructured to provide students with adequate time to prepare for each round and also creates some time for competitors to participate in National Convention panels, luncheons, forums, and social events.
• All judges will receive uniform training and preparation before the competition to promote consistency of judging and fairness in each negotiation session.
• All teams will be provided with their completed score sheets at the end of the competition.
• This year, the competition will incorporate a "Best Negotiator" category for each round in addition to the "Best Overall Negotiator" award.