UT Dallas Wins National Mediation Honors for 2nd Straight Year

A team of University of Texas at Dallas (UT Dallas) students placed first in the advocate/client division and won the Dan Stamatelos National Trophy for Advocacy at the National Mediation Tournament held November 4-6 at the Drake University Law School in Des Moines, Iowa. 32 teams from 19 schools located across the nation participated in the tournament. An additional UT Dallas team placed second in the advocate/client division, making UT Dallas the only school in attendance to have two teams make it to the final rounds. Last year, a UT Dallas team also took home top honors.

The tournament is sponsored annually by The International Academy of Dispute Resolution “to emphasize alternative dispute resolution (ADR) techniques and to provide a counterbalance to Moot Court and Mock Trial, which emphasize the adversarial side of the law.”

A mediation round consists of advocate/client pairs from two schools, and mediators from two other schools. The competitors are given a simulated dispute to settle.

Advocacy teams are judged on their ability to state their positions but show flexibility in working toward a solution. Mediators are judged on their ability to react to the demands of the advocates and clients and to facilitate a possible settlement.

The students who made up the teams that represent the University this year consisted of:

• Taylor Brigance, senior international political economy major.
• Dionna Budd, junior political science major.
• Shannon Bumpas, senior accounting major.
• Ryan Campbell, senior interdisciplinary studies major.
• Dina Shahrokhi, senior political science major.
• Richard Stees, senior business administration major.

Last year the UT Dallas team of Shahrokhi, Bumpas and Megan Newman (BA ’10) won the national championship in the advocate/client division.

Disputing would like extend our to congratulations to the UT Dallas teams.

You may read more about the award here.

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