Law Students Perform Well in Regional Client Counseling Competition

Four University of Wyoming College of Law students competed in the American Bar Association Law Student Division's Regional Client Counseling Competition on Saturday, Feb. 7, at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law in Denver, Colorado.

Laramie law firm Pence & MacMillan sponsored the intraschool competition to determine UW's representatives. The top two teams in the intraschool competition advanced to the regional competition.

This year's top teams are Jodi Shea of Laramie and Temple Stevenson of Manhattan, Kan. in first place and Josh Tolin of Casper and Ryan Ford of Cheyenne in second place. All four students are returning finalists after winning the 2008 Wyoming intraschool rounds last year and competing in regionals in 2008, as well.

"It is a unique situation that the judges chose the same two teams from last year," says UW faculty supervisor of the competition and professor, James Delaney. "All four students are excellent competitors. They are able to take their knowledge and experience from last year to compete well this year."

Twelve teams competed at this year's regional competition in Denver. "Both of our teams performed extremely well in that both teams made it to the semi-final round. Josh and Ryan were in 2nd place out of twelve coming into the semi-final rounds," said Delaney. "I was quite proud of both teams' performances."

The Client Counseling Competition encourages students to develop interviewing, planning and analytical skills in the lawyer-client relationship. The competition provides an opportunity for law students to develop valuable skills in interacting with and proposing solutions for clients. Each team consists of two law students who roleplay as attorneys meeting with a potential client, played by a fellow law student.

The competition simulates a law office setting, with the student attorneys acting out the scene before a panel of three judges. This develops a professional working atmosphere, which includes explanation of confidentiality and the fee agreement.

Student competitors are also judged in areas such as analysis of the problem, moral and ethical considerations, developing alternative courses of action, providing an effective conclusion to the client meeting and post-interview reflection. A large part of the competition is also based on teamwork and how the two student attorneys work together. The competition emphasizes communication and other interpersonal skills essential to sound representation of clients.

This year's volunteer judges included attorneys from Pence & MacMillan, law school faculty and local counselors.

Photo:
Second-year law students Ryan Ford of Cheyenne, Jodi Shea of Laramie, Temple Stevenson of Manhattan, Kan., and Josh Tolin of Casper represented Wyoming at the American Bar Association Law Student Division's Regional Client Counseling Competition.
 

More photos from the intraschool competition:

First-year law students Toni and Jessica give the upperclassmen a run for their money as they advanced in the competition.	Second-year law students Tucker and Justin team up for the client counseling competition.
Third-year law student Rebekah A., serving on the Board of Advocates, organized the competition details, making sure everything ran smoothly. Josh hams it up for the camera.	Teammates Ryan and Josh make it to regionals two years in a row!