IIT Chicago-Kent wins ABA Regional Negotiation Competition

The IIT Chicago-Kent team of Kate Kosartes '13 and David McKenzie '14 is the winner of the American Bar Association's (ABA) Regional Negotiation Competition November 9 to 10 at the University of Cincinnati College of Law. Kosartes and McKenzie will join teams from nine other regions at the national finals February 7 to 8 during the ABA Midyear Meeting in Chicago.

Sponsored by the ABA Law Student Division, the Negotiation Competition promotes greater interest among law students in legal negotiation and provides a means for them 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.

In its first appearance in the Negotiation Competition, IIT Chicago-Kent sent two teams that competed against teams from law schools in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin with strong alternative dispute resolution programs. The IIT Chicago-Kent team of third-year students Michael Barnes and Martha Drouet narrowly missed making the final four, having defeated both teams they competed against in overall scores. The teams were coached by Chicago attorney Ian Bucciarelli and organized by Martha Drouet.

The winning IIT Chicago-Kent team reached the final four and competed against Ohio State in the final 50-minute negotiation involving a book publisher in a dispute with the author of a successful young adult series. Winning team member Kate Kosartes, who will receive her J.D. from IIT Chicago-Kent in December 2013, graduated with a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Iowa. Teammate David McKenzie earned an undergraduate degree in Chinese studies from DePaul University.

Founded in 1888, IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law is the law school of Illinois Institute of Technology, a private, Ph.D.-granting institution with programs in engineering, psychology, architecture, business, design and law.