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New Zealand wins world negotiation title
Budding future lawyers Sophie Atkinson and Charlotte Kirkcaldie have secured victory for New Zealand at the International Negotiation Competition for Law Students in the US.
The pair, chosen to represent the country after winning the New Zealand law schools competition, beat 15 other teams from around the globe, including Harvard University, after three days of intense competition in Orlando, Florida.
Sophie, a law clerk with Bell Gully in Wellington, and Charlotte, who is in her final year at Otago University's law school, are thrilled at the win.
"It was a great experience to be able to attend the event and meet up with law students from so many different backgrounds - and naturally to win the competition was just fantastic!," says Sophie.
The negotiation competition involved two teams of two negotiators each trying to get the best outcome for their prospective clients in a prescribed situation. In Florida, the teams took part in three separate rounds of negotiations over a scenario from the movie-making industry. Representing either the fledgling film production company or other players in the movie business, the negotiating teams were judged on factors such as planning, teamwork, ethics and the outcome.
Teams were assigned scores for each round and after a final tough round against a team from Denmark (in fact Australian and Welsh students on exchange to a Danish university), the Kiwis emerged winners.
Sophie and Charlotte received sponsorship from the NZ Law Foundation to attend, and they were accompanied by Selene Mize of Otago University's law faculty, as coach.
After their win, Sophie and Charlotte were invited to be among the judges at next year's international competition in Singapore.
"We're already looking forward to the chance to be part of the competition again - but on the other side. Having only participated in negotiations it will be interesting to see the different styles of other teams. We'll certainly appreciate what the competitors are going through!," says Sophie.
