UW MCHB & Heller Ehrman Contract Drafting and Negotiation Competition
Monday, February 11 - Friday, February 15, 2008

Competition Schedule and Important Dates:

Signup Begins:  Wednesday, 1/9/2008
Signup Ends:  Wednesday, 1/23/2008 at 5pm, or when the number of teams reaches 60
Problem and Rules Distributed:  Thursday, 1/31/2008
Deadline for Dropping Out:  Friday, 2/1/2008   
First Round of Competition:  Monday-Tuesday, 2/11-2/12/2008
Advanced Negotiation Rounds:  Wednesday-Friday, 2/13-2/15/2008
Deadline for Turning in Written Contract: Thursday 2/21/2008 at 6pm

Moot Court Honor Board (MCHB) Competition Committee:

Scott Baker, Competition Chair,
Dave Brown, Logistics/Scoring Manager,
*Please email all questions to either Scott Baker or Dave Brown – preferably BOTH!

David Hancock, Judges Manager,
Megan Larrondo, Judges Manager,
Dario A. Machleidt, Judges Manager,

Signing Up:

The sign-up period will begin on Wednesday, January 9 and end promptly on Wednesday, January 23rd, or when the number of teams reaches 60.   Sign-up sheets will be posted outside the MCHB office on the first floor (Room 129).  When signing-up, please include a check payable to the Moot Court Honor Board.  The sign-up fee will be $50 per team.  Please put the check in the MCHB mailbox in the general mailroom or deliver it to the MCHB office (please knock).

Competitor Package:

After the sign up period ends, the Contract Drafting committee will distribute a package via email to each team that will include: the Rules, Problem and pertinent sections from the Moot Court Honor Board Bylaws.  The problem will be distributed by email on Thursday, January 31.  Pairings for the preliminary rounds will be posted and sent out via email on Thursday, February 7.

About the Competition:

The UW Moot Court Honor Board is pleased to host its annual and newly formatted Contract Drafting and Negotiation Competition for 1Ls, 2Ls and 3Ls.  The competition provides a fun and engaging atmosphere in which to test your negotiating and contract drafting skills.  The Contract Competition allows students to role-play as attorneys and clients in a contract negotiation setting.    

Absolutely no additional knowledge of negotiating or contract drafting is required, and there will be training sessions hosted by professors and community professionals to help you improve your skills in advance of the competition.

Benefits from Participation:

The competition is fun . . .  very fun.  You get to take a break from law school and negotiate with your fellow students using problems that are very creative.   You do have to come up with a written contract.  However, the requirements are manageable with your school work – in fact, many 1L contract professors will be encouraging their students to participate.  You might hate contracts but learn that you love negotiating, or vice versa.  Sign up and try it out!  In addition, those who participate and/or advance in the competition will earn points you can use when applying to become members of the UW Moot Court Honor Board for the purposes of Cumulative Selection invitations to the MCHB.  Or you can care less about Moot Court Honor Board and simply have fun.

New Format:

First Round

As in the past, the first two nights will involve your team negotiating with another team and completing a written contract based on a problem that you are given.   Each team shall consist of two students and represent the same side of the problem on the first two nights.  After you complete the first two nights, your team and the other team will have six days to submit a final written contract that reflects the outcome of your negotiations.  This contract will be graded by attorneys from the law firm of Heller Ehrman. 

Later Rounds

Different from past competitions, however, is that the best oral negotiators from the first two nights will advance to three final rounds to test their skills against other teams using new negotiating problems.  These problems will focus more on oral negotiation skills based on secret information that each side is given.  At the end of the competition, there will be awards for Best Negotiators, Best Written Contracts and Best Oral and Written Combined Score, as well as an award for Most Likeable Team. 

On Reserve:

When we distribute the problem we will also put sample contracts on reserve in the UW Law Library.  We will also place “Getting to Yes,” a book on negotiating, on reserve.   

Tools for Drafting Contracts -- UW Law Library

Preparation for Contract Drafting:

We are scheduling two lunchtime sessions to prepare you for the competition. One member of each team is required to attend each lunchtime session. These sessions will take place in the weeks closer to the competition.

Drop Out Deadline:

We are expecting significant turnout for this competition.  As a result, any team dropping out after 2/1/2008 will be barred from participating in future moot court events. Please sign-up only if you actually intend on competing.