University of Brighton team’s winning negotiations

Congratulations to University of Brighton law students Krishna Patel, Jaspreet Gorae, Sarah Jabir and Suzannah Pinkerton who have won the University’s annual Negotiation Competition.                                                          

The four students stayed calm under pressure and progressed through internal knock out heats judged by the academic faculty following a week of preparation based on a wide-ranging scenario covering contractual disputes and family law issues.

Overseeing proceedings were Michael Hartley from sponsors McMillan Williams Solicitors and Faye Didcote from DMH Stallard solicitors who spoke to the entrants after the competition to offer advice about working in the legal industry as well as a congrtatulations to all involved on a very successful event.

The competition enabled the negotiating teams to draw on knowledge gained during their degree and skills developed through the negotiation workshops to compete in a time-pressured environment.

Experienced help was on hand through previous Centre for Effective Dispute Negotiation competition entrant, Richard Meakins, now a third year law student at the university, who offered his tips for negotiating success during the workshops.

The finals saw some excellent performances and the judges congratulated the students on their levels of preparation, ability to think on their feet and working as a team.

Michael Hartly, a sponsor said,

“McMillan Williams has now been sponsoring and judging the event for the last couple of years and it is a most enjoyable and impressive event to be a part of. The enthusiasm and application of the students is there for all to see and the standard of the competitors seems only to increase year on year. I very much look forward to McMillan Williams being involved again with next year’s competition.”

Jaspreet Gorae, from the winning team commented:

“Taking part in this year’s negotiation competition was an amazing experience and I feel that it has given me invaluable skills and knowledge that will no doubt further my pursuit of a legal career. The advice and tips that we learnt in the workshops, to reach the best possible outcome for the client is a skill that I believe is vital for a lawyer.

Also, the opportunity to talk to professional solicitors gave me insight into how real negotiations operate. All in all, this whole experience has been incredible and by winning, I have also been lucky enough to gain work experience with one of our fantastic sponsors, DMH Stallard and McMillan Williams”.

All four winners are now looking forward to their much valued work experience and to progressing onto the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution Negotiation Competition in February 2016.