UDC Law BLSA Negotiations Team

09/22/2019

Are you or anyone you know interested in a leadership position with the Negotiations Team? We are currently seeking a Director of Negotiations to fulfill the following duties:

- Market and coordinate team tryouts
- Evaluate tryout competitors and perform team selection
- Coordinate with SBA, school administration to book travel accomodations
- Register the team for competitions of choice (NBLSA, etc.)
- Conduct and coordinate weekly practices
- Network and coordinate with faculty, previous year team members to assist with practices as guest judges or coaches
- Select a Team Captain to assist with any of the above duties
- Appoint a Treasurer who will be tasked with fundraising

02/27/2019

Mary E. Morall, UDC Law Class of 2021, is a proud native Floridian and Howard University Alumna. Ms. Morall graduated magna cm laude with a bachelors degree in Maternal & Child Health Education with a minor in Afro American Studies. Her passion is family care in marginalized communities with a research focus on food access and health equity.

Ms. Morall is a plant based educator, doula, and Afro storyteller. Ms. Morall has taught classes to diverse groups of people including college students, new moms, elders and scholars abroad. In Fall 2016, she was a integral part of President Obama's final cohort of White House Interns, where she served as the My Brother's Keeper intern in Cabinet Affairs. Born and raised by to two community based attorneys, Ms. Morall learned to read by flipping through books in her parent's library.

However, her decision to attend law school arose after serving systematically oppressed families in the DMV area who struggled to gain access to the services needed to care for their families. As an advocate of families and children, Ms. Morall was drawn to the negotiations team as an opportunity to learn how to be the best advocate she can be. In addition to gaining a better understanding if the art of negotiation, Ms. Morall plans to share this skill with her community in hopes of facilitating a space of self empowerment for others.

02/10/2019

We are excited to spotlight our Team Captain, Joseph Smith, III this week. Stay tuned for more updates as the team prepares to head to the Nelson Mandela International Negotiations Competition in Little Rock, Arkansas in March!

Joseph Smith III, is a third-year part-time law student (3LE) at the University of District of Columbia, David A. Clarke Law School. Prior to his pursuit of a career in the law, he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Dartmouth College. While conducting research in the fields of history, biology, psychology, and engineering; Smith managed a local clinic that provided free healthcare to indigent citizens and counseled victims of abuse and assault on campus. Through these experiences, he decided to focus his desire to help the underserved through healthcare policy research. After gaining enriching experiences at both the local and federal government, Smith amassed a wider portfolio of knowledge in policy research, financial management, and legal compliance.

Smith decided to attend law school to broaden his career opportunities, polish communication skills, and to acquire a different method to resolve the world’s problems. Now in his final semesters of law school, he hopes to make his time on the negotiations team the best-spent time in his law school career. Smith joined the negotiations team because it provides an opportunity to implement what is learned in the classroom under the expert guidance of professors and past competitors. As one improves as a negotiator, one improves as a person. Smith hopes to be the best version of himself after his time on the negotiations team.

11/11/2018

10/19/2018

Let’s go! Sending good vibes to everyone trying out tomorrow ✨ We’ve reached capacity for tryout registration and have officially closed sign-ups. Thank you to everyone who expressed interest.

10/12/2018

Hello BLSA Fam,

I've received a few inquiries about Negotiations and have put together a brief overview for those interested. Please see below.

I'm also excited to announce that Professor Cox Alomar will be our faculty advisor. For anyone unfamiliar, this man is pretty dope. Check out his profile on the schools website and on Wikipedia. He will assist our team in practicing and fine tuning the essential lawyering skill of negotiation.

To share my personal experience for anyone who's curious --
I participated last year as a 1L and was so positively impacted by my experience that I wanted to help others be able to learn and enjoy what I was able to last year. When trying to figure out what to get involved in, I found that other teams required pre-requisite courses or more time than I was able to spare. Luckily I tried out for negotiations by chance. Our practices in the spring were a nice break from studying and just what I needed to pump some of the adrenaline that I missed so much as a former athlete. At competition, we were faced with a wide range of styles and exposed to some tough game that made us step it up. My team represented Catalonia in negotiations for the secession of Catalonia from Spain. After competition was over, I ended up making connections with VP & Deputy Counsel of Microsoft and Deputy General Counsel of the NBA Players Association -- both of whom I still keep in touch with to this day. They were only two of many other big names within reach while attending intimate panel discussions at the NBLSA convention. The convention is stellar for networking and the competition is a great segway into conversations with the established attorneys who will be judging you. It's also nice to meet other law students from around the country.

Law school is no joke and we are all super busy. But if you're looking for something to put on your resume that will get employers' attention + build your skills through teamwork and have some fun while you're at it.. definitely sign up. 🙂 We've only got three spaces available and a few more open spaces to try out so go ahead and claim your spot!

Anyone with further questions is welcome to contact me at [email protected]. The link to sign up to try out is below.

https://doodle.com/poll/dy7han8p7brbq6zt

Best,

Dara Shen
Director of Negotiations

10/04/2018

Sign-ups are required to try out. Please visit the link below to reserve your slot!

https://doodle.com/poll/dy7han8p7brbq6zt

09/13/2018

Great seeing everyone at the interest meeting today. Save the date for try-outs on Saturday, October 20. In the meantime, check out “Getting to Yes” by Roger Fisher and William Ury to learn more about negotiations as an everyday skill.

Since its original publication nearly thirty years ago, Getting to Yes has helped millions of people learn a better way to negotiate. One of the primary business texts of the modern era, it is based on the work of the Harvard Negotiation Project, a group that deals with all levels of negotiation ...

04/25/2018

Dara Shen, Amy Currotto, and James Pailin in New York City after a week of competing in The International Negotiations Competition.

Amy Currotto will be stepping down from the team after a year of serving as Director, as she prepares to graduate early and the bar. Dara Shen will step us as Director of the team for the 2018-2019 school year. James Pailin has been elected as Vice President of The Black Law Students Association. Help us wish them luck as they move forward in their careers.

04/05/2018

The UDC Law BLSA Negotiations Team would like to congratulate our newly appointed Director, Dara Shen for the 2018-2019 school year. We would also like to congratulate team member James Pailin, who has been elected as Vice President for the UDC Black Law Students Association Board. Carry on the torch !!!

03/18/2018

Dara Shen and James Pailin posing on the NBLSA red carpet after a week of competing in the Nelson Mandela International Negotiation Competition.