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    ABA Negotiation Competition

    2024-2025 Competition Information

    Registration is now open. Register here!

    The 2025 National Competition will be held in-person in Chicago on January 31 to February 1, 2025.

    These practical skills competitions offer students an opportunity to hone the skills that students will use as a practitioner through intraschool, regional, and national competitions.

    2024-2025 Competition Information

    • 2023-2024 Topic: TBD
    • Regionals:
      • October 25-27
      • November 1-3
      • November 8-10
    • Negotiation Nationals:
      • January 31 to February 1, 2025

    2023-2024 Champions

    Congratulations to the 2023-24 National Champions, Liberty University School of Law: Gregory McCarthy and Hannah Todd. Full results»

    About the Negotiation Competition

    The ABA Law Student Division Negotiation Competition provides a means for law students to practice and improve their negotiating skills. The competition simulates legal negotiations in which law students, acting as lawyers, negotiate a series of legal problems. The simulations consist of a common set of facts known by all participants and confidential information known only to the participants representing a particular side. All of the simulations deal with the same general topic, but the negotiation situation varies with each round and level of the competition.

    Contact Competitions with any questions.

    Competition Rules and Guidelines

    Competition Format & Team Composition

    A team consists of two JD candidates attending the same ABA-approved law school negotiating on behalf of their client to resolve a dispute or negotiate an agreement. At the regional competitions, each team will compete in two preliminary rounds and the top four teams will advance to the final round. The first place team from each regional competition will advance to the National Finals. Additional invitations may be extended.

    ABA Email Communication Notice

    Each team must choose a main contact. The team’s main contact will be the point of contact with the ABA. The team and the main contact understand that the main contact will receive all communication from the ABA regarding the competition(s), including Regional Assignments and the Problem. The ABA encourages teams to select a faculty member and/or team Coach who will be responsible for important details to the rest of the team. The main contact is responsible for sharing all communication with the team. The ABA is not responsible for missed emails. The ABA is also not responsible for ensuring that the main contact shares all communication with the team.

    Tips for Hosting a Successful Negotiation Regional Competition

    Problems and Final Round Recordings

    Recent problems and final round recordings are also now available at no cost. These resources may be downloaded and shared within your school for educational purposes. Downloadable and viewing links can be found here.

    Negotiation Competition Winners & Finalists

    Regional Host Schools Rotation

    The Negotiation Competition depends on law schools to host the regional competitions. To create a fair rotation of this responsibility we have created the Host Rotation Schedule and assigned participating schools to upcoming years. Schools listed in the rotation schedule are not confirmed hosts. 

    An updated Host Rotation Schedule will be available soon.

    Regional Assignments

    Each school will receive official notification of its regional assignment in early October. The Law Student Division will use its best efforts to assign each school to its first or second choice. For 2021-2022, Since all regionals this year will be held virtually, the usual states assigned to each region will not apply. Preference will be given to teams based on a geographic proximity and a shared time zone with their requested host school.

    If the number of teams registered for a particular region does not equal a multiple of four, the ABA Law Student Division reserves the right to move schools to a different region.