Quinnipiac University School of Law
Society for Dispute Resolution
NEW!! Fall 2024 Update
On Saturday, September 14th 2024, the Quinnipiac Law Society for Dispute Resolution hosted its annual intramural competition! Interested students were given the opportunity to compete in two rounds of competition consisting of a negotiation round and client counseling round. Students were then selected for spots on the Society for Dispute Resolution’s competition team. The Society for Dispute Resolution intramural is unique in the aspect that students get to practice practical lawyering skills and that the intramural is open to interested 1L students. This year, we proudly welcomed twenty-two members to our team! We would like to thank all of our student volunteers and attorneys who came in for the day to make the intramural a success!
The Society for Dispute Resolution will be sending teams to the following competitions this fall:
ABA Regional Negotiation Competition (November)
ABA Regional Arbitration Competition (November)
Cardozo CINEMA Intellectual Property Negotiation Competition (November)
Looking to the future, the Society for Dispute Resolution will be hosting an ABA competition in person this February at the Quinnipiac School of Law in North Haven, CT. The competition will be either client counseling or representation in mediation. If anyone is interested in volunteering their time as a judge or mediator for the Society for Dispute Resolution, please send an email to sdr@quinnipiac.edu or achura@quinnipiac.edu .
2023 - 2024 Year in Review
As the 2023-2024 competition season winds down, The Society for Dispute Resolution would like to provide an update that recognizes all of the competitors, coaches, and judges who contributed to this season's successes.
Introduction to Client Counseling and Negotiation Workshop In Person (September 12th, 2023)
The Society for Dispute Resolution paired up with Dean Carrie Kaas (co-director of the Quinnipiac Center on Dispute Resolution) to present Quinnipiac School of Law students with an opportunity to get an introduction to negotiation and client counseling techniques that can be utilized in any aspect of lawyering.
2023 Annual Society for Dispute Resolution Intramural: Quinnipiac School of Law: In Person (September 23rd, 2023)
Each year, the Society for Dispute Resolution hosts an intramural competition where Quinnipiac School of Law students have the opportunity to compete for a spot on our competition team. Teams of two participate in two rounds: a mock negotiation and client counseling. This year, we were proud to welcome twenty-four new members to our competition team! Thank you to all of our volunteers and executive board members who helped to make the intramural a success!
ABA Regional Negotiation Competition: Fordham University School of Law: Virtual (November 10th, 2023)
Team 1: Hannah Tucci (1L) & Bridget Smestad (1L)
Coached by: Brendan Holt, Joseph Capretta, David Heuvelman
Team 2: James Rusiecki (1L) & Brian Bobka (1L)
Coached by: Emily Kaas-Mansfield, Mark D’Augelli, Riley Powell
Competitors participated in mock negotiations surrounding topics such as property disputes as well as criminal charges.
Cardozo School of Law CINEMA (IP & Entertainment) Negotiation Competition: In-Person (November 12th, 2023)
Team 1: Megan Frederick (2L) & Caroline Noyes (2L)
Coached by: Kyle Serilla, Danielle Gitzen, Katie Stahl, and Aubrey Davis
Team 2: Amanda Blake (4L) & Alexander Valenti (2L)
Coached by: Jill Durso, Mark D’Augelli, Bridget Ertl, Saloni Naik
Team 3: Alexandria Chura (2L) & Nicholas Verardi (3L)
Coached by: Christine Taylor, Jessica McDade, and Charles Dumais
Competitors participated in mock negotiations surrounding real life intellectual property disputes.
ABA Regional Arbitration Competition: Fordham University School of Law: Virtual (November 18th, 2023)
Team 1: Bridget Ertl (3L), Saloni Naik (3L), Daniel Biskup (2L), & Jonathan Thompson (2L)
Team 2: Daniela Ramos (1L), Abigail Stock (1L), Natasha Silva (1L), & Alexandra Luehrman (1L)
Coached by: David Reif, Sam Morton, Mark D’Augelli, Bridget Ertl, Saloni Naik
Teams competed in full-on arbitration rounds alternating between lawyers and clients surrounding a product liability dispute.
ABA Regional Client Counseling Competition: Boston College Law School: Virtual (February 2nd, 2024)
Team 1: David Heuvelman (3L) & Aubrey Davis (3L)
Coached by: Saloni Naik, Bridget Ertl, and Matt Chai
Team 2: Elia Sanchez (1L) & Rebecca Ouellette (1L)
Coached by: Emily Kaas-Mansfield, Mark D’Augelli, and Riley Powell
Competitors competed in rounds where they counseled clients in various situations with regard to education law.
ABA Regional Representation in Mediation: Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University: Virtual (February 22nd, 2024)
Team 1: Olivia Ventura (1L) & James Dobson (1L)
Coached by: Brendan Holt, Matt Chai, Megan Frederick, and Alexandria Chura
Team 2: Juliana De Castro (3L) & Robert Tedeschi (3L)
Coached by: Angela Tylock, Megan Nielsen, Samantha Morton, and Bridget Ertl
Competitors took turns playing the client and the attorney in mediation situations surrounding contract and intellectual property law.
ABA Regional Representation in Mediation Competition Hosted by Quinnipiac Law: Virtual (March 2nd and 3rd, 2024)
On top of preparing for other competitions our team was attending, the ABA chose Quinnipiac Law to host the Regional Representation in Mediation Competition in March. The entire competition team came together to organize and execute the competition. We would like to thank everyone who volunteered to be a timekeeper, room captain, judge, and mediator for their time.
SDR X The Animal Haven Charity Drive
This February, the society collected donations for the Animal Haven animal shelter in North Haven, CT. The Animal Haven is a private, not-for-profit animal shelter that has been providing refuge to homeless cats and dogs since 1948. The Animal Haven was established as a no-kill shelter, which it continues to be to this day. We were able to raise over $300 for the Animal Haven! Thank you to everyone who donated!
Western New England Law Hockey Arbitration Competition (July 2022)
Team: 2Ls Bridget Ertl (2L), Matthew Chai (2L), and Alexandra DeVito (2L)
Coaches: Kaitlyn Hennessey (’19), Rebecca DeBiase (’20 & Former CDR Fellow)
The students represented NHL Hockey Players and Team Representatives in salary negotiations.
Intramural Competition (September 2022)
After the start of the competition season, QUSL SDR hosted our annual Intramural Competition, open to all students at the law school. In this competition, students compete in two teams against each other in one round of negotiation and one round of client counseling. We had a fantastic turnout, with 40+ competitors. At the end of the competition, SDR had added 18 new members, mostly 1Ls!
St. John's Law/Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Securities Dispute Resolution Triathlon(October 2022)
Team: Ryann Glushek (3L), Vincent DeMaio (3L), and Mark D'Augelli (2L)
Coaches: James Demetriades (’18) and Alison Toumekian (’16), and local ADR Professional Gizem Alper.
This competition had our competitors jumping between roles throughout the Triathlon, preparing for securities disputes in negotiation, mediation, and arbitration, which were judged by local FINRA professionals.
American Bar Association (ABA) Negotiation Regional (November 2022)
Team 1: Megan Frederick (1L) and Lauren Christensen (1L)
Team 2: Matt Ventricelli (2L) and Aubrey Davis (2L)
Coaches: Professor Brendan Holt, Kathleen Lima (’21), Kayla Steefel (’22), Alison Toumekian (’16), and Ashley Cervin (’21).
Matt and Aubrey placed in the top 3 for the regional and advanced to Negotiation Nationals this past February. They flew out to Chicago, Illinois, where they were one of 16 teams to compete in the ABA Negotiation Nationals. In the two-day contest, the team placed in the top half of the competition and had a wonderful time.
ABA Arbitration Regional Competition (November 2022)
Team 1: Robert Tedeschi (2L), Kristen Oleskewicz (2L), Rajan Doering (1L), and Caroline Noyes (1L)
Team 2: Bridget Ertl (2L), Samantha Morton (2L), Charles Dumais (1L), and Juliana De Castro (1L)
Coaches: Christine Taylor (3L), Ryann Glushek (3L), Niki Abossedgh (3L), Mark D'Augelli (2L), and Saloni Naik (2L)
This competition was the first competition for many of our competitors. It was a great experience during a well-run ABA-sponsored event. Competitors were able to play different roles in the arbitration, both the lawyer on direct and cross, as well as the client for both.
New York Law Schools Soccer Dispute Resolution Competition (February 2023)
Team: Alexandria Chura (1L) and Ben Flaherty (1L)
Coach: Mark D'Augelli (2L)
The pair did an outstanding job at the competition involving a mock athlete's salary negotiation representing the team in stadium negotiations with a town coalition.
ABA Client Counseling Competition (February 2023)
Team 1: Riley Powell (1L) and Joe Capretta (1L) coached by
Team 2: Madeline Diamont (1L) and Emily Rotondo (1L)
Coaches: Christine Taylor (3L), Ryann Glushek (3L), Saloni Naik (2L) and Matt Ventricelli (2L)
The pairs of 1Ls worked very hard for the competition and were extremely prepared. The teams worked off a short memo provided by the ABA for an initial counseling session with a client. SDR was very pleased with their performance!
Regional ABA Client Counseling Competition (February 2023)
While all this was happening, the SDR E-Board was also coordinating and hosting a Regional for the ABA Client Counseling competition. SDR President Christine Taylor and Internal Competition Director Sandie Samrin were extremely busy coordinating with the ABA and 18 schools assigned to our region regarding fact patterns, Zoom links, judges, and timing. On behalf of all SDR, we would love to thank all 36 judges that gave up their Saturday or Sunday (or both!) to volunteer as a judge for our competition – we could not have done it without you! Because of this support, we were able to create a seamless competition, for which we received terrific feedback from competitors, the ABA, and our volunteer judges. So, THANK YOU! We are always looking for more volunteers to help in any way, especially as competition coaches and judges. If interested – please click the link and fill out the general interest form below!
ABA Representation in Mediation Competition (March 2023)
Team: Matt Chai (2L) and Samantha Morton (2L)
Coach: Professor Brendan Holt
These two competitors worked hard and dealt with many challenges to compete in this competition, and SDR is exceptionally proud of them!
Thank you again to everyone who made this SDR Competition season fantastic – we could not have done it without you!
FALL 2022 UPDATE
On September 24, 2022, the Society for Dispute Resolution hosted its annual Intramural Competition. SDR was thrilled to host the Intramural Competition on ground, in person, for the first time since 2020! Students competed in Negotiation and Client Counseling for a chance to be invited to join the Competition Team. Following the conclusion of the Intramural, SDR is delighted to welcome 18 new members to our Competition Team!
SDR kicked off the competition season before the school year began, competing in a Hockey-Themed Arbitration Competition, hosted virtually by Western New England School of Law, over the Fourth of July weekend. On October 15 and 16, a select team will compete in the 2022 Securities Dispute Resolution Triathlon, hosted by St. John’s School of Law and FINRA. This November, two teams will represent SDR at the ABA Negotiation Competition, and one team will compete in the ABA Arbitration Competition.
If you are interested in becoming involved with QUSL’s Society for Dispute Resolution Competition Team, please click here to join the list of professionals SDR reaches out to for assistance and coaching!
Fall 2019 Update
On September 28, 2019, the Society for Dispute Resolution will host its annual intramural competition where students can try out for a chance to be on the competition team. SDR is one of the few opportunities that first year law students have to be able to try out for a competition team, and have a chance to compete in competitions such as negotiation, client counseling, and representation in mediation. Also this semester, SDR is excited to send students to the annual ABA Negotiation competition, as well as a few others, including an arbitration competition. Stay tuned for an update on those competitions.
The Society for Dispute Resolution is also excited to announce that this March, Quinnipiac will be hosting the annual ABA National Client Counseling competition. This is a huge opportunity for Quinnipiac, and SDR is currently looking for practitioners who are interested in judging. If you’re interested, please contact SDR.Quinnipiac@gmail.com for more details. Thanks to those who have helped out as a judge, mock client, or coach and those who plan to do so at the upcoming competition. Quinnipiac's strong showing within the ADR community is a result of your assistance and support!
Last Spring, SDR sent students to compete in the annual ABA Client Counseling and ABA Representation in Mediation competition. All students who competed did an excellent job, including recent graduates Taylor Matook and Catherine Fiore, who went on to compete in nationals for Client Counseling. Further, SDR also sent two students, Alyssa Bang and Patrick Hoeorle, to UConn’s first ever negotiation competition. Both competitors received excellent feedback and represented SDR well. We’re excited at the prospect of sending students again this year to all three of these competitions!
If you'd like to be more involved, please email us at: SDR.Quinnipiac@gmail.com.