The winners of last week's DMH Stallard negotiation competition with judges Faye Didcote and Neil Farrow.

The winning streak continued at Sussex Law School last week when two undergraduate students won the DMH Stallard Negotiation Competition. 

Yordanos Feseha (Year 2 LLB) and Ian Dick (Year 3 LLB) emerged as winners on 2 December after a closely contested final, which saw the pair stave off competition from fellow students Beatrice Webster (LLM International Human Rights) and Caitrin Kearny (Year 3 LLB) to secure a cash prize and a one-week placement at law firm DMH Stallard. 

Making their decision, judges Faye Didcote and Neil Farrow – both from DMH Stallard – commented that the standard had been “very high” throughout the competition. 

Convenors John Jupp and Lara Walker added that the level of preparation and the professional manner in which all students conducted themselves had been particularly impressive. 

Involvement in the competition enables students to test and develop their negotiation skills, which are essential for lawyers to enable them to serve the best interests of their clients. 

Speaking after their win, Ian said that the competition had helped him and Yordanos to develop their time management, team work and communication skills, as well as the professional legal etiquette required to practice as a solicitor. 

He said: “We particularly liked the variety of scenarios provided for the purposes of the negotiation. One week we would be looking for solutions surrounding trespass and defamation issues, and the next week we would be negotiating investment funds. This provided a great opportunity to develop skills across a wide ambit of practical issues and solutions.” 

The experience proved equally rewarding for the runners up, Beatrice and Caitrin, who urged other students to take part in the competition. 

Caitrin said: “Negotiation is a skill that will be needed in such a wide range of careers. The competition did not require excessive research into black letter law, but was based more on understanding the goals of your client and structuring the negotiation to reflect those aims. I would definitely recommend the competition to any students wanting to build their confidence in their legal skills, and I feel that I have come away from the competition self-assured in my legal ability.”

More information about skills competitions, including the DMH Stallard Negotiation Competition, can be found on Sussex Law School's Skills Competition page.