Thomas Jefferson law school wins competition

Teams of law school students from Thomas Jefferson School of Law and UC Hastings College of the Law took home first and second place honors in the Environmental Law Section’s recent Fifth Annual Student Environmental Negotiations Competition.

The competition, which drew 22 teams from 13 California law schools, provides an opportunity for students to learn and apply negotiation skills and creative problem-solving strategies in the context of a simulated environmental dispute. It is designed to give law students hands-on training and experience in environmental negotiations, which are considered essential in environmental law.

In this year’s competition, teams worked with a simulated environmental dispute created by Alex Strong, a deputy California attorney general, based on actions handled by his office. Student teams received written material describing the problem created for the competition and worked with a volunteer local environmental attorney mentor. Student teams also were encouraged to work with their respective law school faculty members who specialize in environmental law and/or alternative dispute resolution.

Judges included environmental lawyers, mediators, magistrates and judges.

The Thomas Jefferson team received $1,000 and the Hastings team won $500, awards provided by the Environmental Law Section. Teams from the University of San Diego School of Law and the UCLA School of Law received honorable mention plaques.

This year’s competition was supported in part by a grant from the Foundation of the State Bar of California.