Camille Etchegaray and Zak Cassells placed first in the State for the Queensland Intervarsity Law Competition (QILC) for Negotiation.
During mid-semester break students battled it out against teams from the University of Queensland, Griffith University, Southern Cross University and the University of Southern Queensland. The week-long competition consisted of preliminary rounds and semi-finals, held at UQ, and the Grand Final, which took place in the Federal Court.
Competitors applied their legal skills and knowledge to complex contemporary legal issues that were similar to real-world cases such as the Boeing Dreamliner contracts and the Marvel-Sony dispute. The scenarios tested the student’s knowledge of professional conduct and helped them to develop an understanding of legal ethics.
To succeed in this competition, Camille and Zak worked together as a team, tactically and flexibly negotiating a multitude of scenarios. In the face of difficult legal and non-legal issues, the competitors focused on achieving realistic goals, as well as understanding their own and their oppositions’ objectives and needs.
Negotiation is a crucial skill in the legal profession, as lawyers can be required to negotiate anything from asset division to multinational mergers. Negotiation also presents an opportunity for students to practice their legal skills in a non-litigious setting.
Camille, third year Bachelor of Science / Bachelor of Laws (Honours) student, said that the highlight of the week was the opportunity to network. “It was exciting to meet students from across Queensland and compete against them, knowing that we will one day be part of the legal profession together,” she said.
This is the second year that QUT has been awarded first place for QILC Negotiation.
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