Program on Alternative Dispute Resolution

Lawrence Negotiation Competition

Every fall, Moritz students compete in the intramural Lawrence Negotiation Competition, named for James K.L. Lawrence ('65). The winners and runners-up in this week-long competition move on to Regional and National Negotiations Competitions, which the American Bar Association conducts.

During the competition, teams of two law students working as advocates for a fictitious client negotiate against one another. They are judged on their ability to work together, establish rapport with the opposing team, and maximize the interests of their client. Every team competes in the first two rounds, after which the competition becomes single elimination.

Working with the Moot Court and Lawyering Skills Program, the Program on Dispute Resolution (PDR) enriches the competitors' experience in two ways. First, the PDR hosts a speaker with a distinguished career as a negotiator.

Second, the Program conducts a negotiation workshop for students who have no prior experience in negotiating to introduce them to effective negotiation skills and strategies and to prepare them for the competition.

These events, together with the competition itself, create an engaging and stimulating learning experience for all participants.

Any Moritz student may participate in any aspect of the week-long event; those students pursuing the Certificate in Dispute Resolution may earn Externship hours through their participation.

2011 -2012 Schedule of Events

• October 11 - Negotiation Workshop with Langdon Fellow Rishi Batra
• October 11 – Lawrence Negotiation Lecture (Douglas Williams)
• October 17-21 - Lawrence Negotiation Competition
• March 7 - Lawrence Negotiation Lecture (Michael Young)

James K. L. Lawrence '65

James K. L. Lawrence ('65) is a partner with Frost Brown Todd in Cincinnati. Following graduation from law school, he worked as an attorney at the National Labor Relations Board. He left the Board to join his firm and, for more than 30 years, has practiced labor-relations and employment law. He is a skilled advocate in arbitration and an astute negotiator in collective bargaining and settlement discussions.

He has pursued vigorously the sustained study of dispute resolution materials at programs throughout the country, including the Program on Negotiation at Harvard, and has blended that study and practice into teaching courses in negotiation and mediation at Moritz and at the University of Cincinnati Law School.

He has given generously of his time, talent, guidance and resources to Moritz and our Program on Dispute Resolution over the years, so it is perfectly fitting that this expanded educational enterprise with Negotiation at its core be conducted in his name.