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After securing a spot in the American Bar Association National Bargaining Tournament through October’s Regional Championships, two Liberty University School of Law students beat out 23 other teams to win the 2024 ABA National Bargaining Tournament. I returned home with the hardware in hand.
3L students Gregory McCarthy and 2L Hannah Todd traveled to Chicago from February 2nd to 3rd, where the more than 250 teams that participated during the original regional competition were whittled down to the final 24 teams.
This competition provides law school students with a practical opportunity to put into practice what they have learned in their courses, especially in negotiation situations. McCarthy and Todd said the students are faced with a variety of scenarios in which they must work with other law school students to reach mutually beneficial agreements that are favorable to their respective clients.
Led by Negotiation Team head coach and law professor Joel Heche, the duo successfully navigated the two-day competition and were one of only six competitors to make it past the qualifying round and advance to the national championship. started.
However, in contrast to traditional preparation methods, their preparation was tested by the format of the championship rounds, where they were given the complete fact pattern for the final three rounds the night before.
“The complete fact pattern for the qualifying round was known three weeks in advance,” McCarthy said. “We were completely prepared for that. In the final, we knew the general facts, but the confidential facts were not available until 8:30 the night before, and we had to wait until 8:30 the night before to play the game. So I was busy putting together a game plan for the next day.”
Despite this, the two men continued their impressive run through the quarterfinals and semifinals, before advancing to the championship match, where they faced off in front of a room packed with judges, lawyers, and other contestants. According to Todd, the situation could have been quite serious. Without prayer and that support group, it can be intimidating.
“Friday night was a little crazy. We received a new fact pattern and immediately started going over everything to create a new document to use the next day,” Todd said. “Greg and I’s confidence going into the final round was definitely a testament to our prayers and practice leading up to the competition.”
Todd added that the peace that came to her and McCarthy speaks to the fostering of faith relationships that students at Liberty receive.
“This is a testament to the founding of the university and how it has actually functioned. Training Champions for Christ. ” she said. “This competition was one of the best experiences I had as a student at Liberty University.”
McCarthy and Todd, competing in the final round, were tasked with negotiating a settlement for medical bills, but nothing mattered to them as they were unanimously chosen by the three judges as the winners of the 2024 ABA National Negotiation Championship. It was proven that there was no such thing.
Throughout the two-day competition, McCarthy and Todd defeated teams from several prestigious law schools, including Stetson University School of Law and St. Mary’s University School of Law in the preliminary rounds and the University of San Diego School of Law in the quarterfinals. They faced Brooklyn Law School in the semifinals and Florida International University School of Law in the final.
Heche, who was dubbed the team’s unofficial “MVP” by both McCarthy and Todd for the effort he put into preparing, noted how monumental this national title is for the Free Laws.
“We do not take lightly the fact that Liberty won the national title,” Heche said, adding that the two represent Liberty well through their dedication to the school’s mission. “McCarthy and Todd had both raw talent and a coachable spirit. Thanks to their hard work and determination, they were able to bring Liberty the highest honor in the country with this title.” I did.”
The team is scheduled to advance to the world championships in July, and Heche, who started the negotiating team at Liberty Law School, said other law schools would not be able to move forward as Liberty’s team was selected as a finalist for such a competition. He said he was no longer surprised.
“We are now recognized as a powerhouse in various skill competitions,” Heche said. “We attribute that not only to our skills programs, but also to the hard work and dedication of our professors who invest in and mentor the next generation of young Christian lawyers.”
He added that McCarthy and Todd’s upcoming trip to the world competition will be similar to the U.S. Olympic team, but this time it will be limited to the “Law School Olympics.”
By the time the two compete at the world championships, McCarthy will be a liberal law graduate. He said the negotiation competition is a testament to how much he has grown through the program and is a good closure to this law school chapter of his life.
“When I first started law school, I was a terrible negotiator,” he said. “But through preparation, sparring, and practice, God has developed me into the negotiator I am today. My confidence and faith grow knowing that He will provide for me.”
As for Todd, after this summer’s world travels, she has one more year of law school and, hopefully, one more round of negotiations left. But in the meantime, she plans to help judge a tournament for young law students, an opportunity to give back to the program that has opened so many doors for her. .
“I really want to pass on some of the things I learned from this experience to the players coming up through the ranks through coaching and sparring with them,” she said. “I’m so honored and excited to be representing the United States at the World Championships. I can’t wait to see what the Lord has planned.”
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