Sponsors

Bloomberg-law Drexel Practical-law-company Alston-bird Braww Cozen Eckert-seamans Gibson-dunn Goldberg-kohn Katten Kirkland-ellis Manatt Mckenna-long Paul-hastings Schnader Sidley-austin Sullivan-cromwell

Frequently asked questions

What is the National Transactional LawMeet®?

The National Transactional LawMeet® is the premier interscholastic competition for law students interested in transactional practice. Future litigators have scores of "moot court" opportunities that provide them a courtroom experience. The Transactional LawMeet® provides future business lawyers a taste of "doing deals." You can read more about past Meets at the National Law Journal, Bloomberg Law, Legal Intelligencer, and New York Lawyer.

When and where will the Meet be held?

The Regional Meets for the 2014 National Transactional LawMeet® will be held on February 28, 2014 at six host law schools, including: 1) Western New England University School of Law in Springfield, MA (New England Region); 2) Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University in New York City, NY (Mid-Atlantic Region); 3) University of Georgia School of Law in Athens, GA (Southeastern Region); 4) University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law in Kansas City, MO (Midwestern Region); 5) Northwestern University Law School in Chicago, Illinois (Midwestern Region); and 6) UCLA Law in Los Angeles, CA. We are in the process of securing two more host schools.

The National Meet will be held on Thursday and Friday, April 3 and 4, 2014. The location is to be determined.

As a law student, how can I participate?

Participating teams are generally selected by a faculty sponsor at each law school. How a faculty sponsor selects team members varies from school to school. If you would like to know who the faculty sponsor is at your school or if you would like to register a team, please email us at contact@lawmeets.com. While some schools select teams through a faculty sponsor, other schools select teams through student organizations. Similar to Moot Court Boards, many schools are creating Transactional LawMeets® Boards to facilitate practical learning experiences for students interested in a transactional practice. To learn more email us at contact@lawmeets.com.

Can LLM students participate on a team?

Yes.

Are there any prerequisites or recommended prior course work for participating in the Meet?

Generally, we assume that team members will have completed their 1L year (although 1L students are free to participate) and have taken the basic business law course. But there are no required prerequisites. The Meet is open to any interested student.

How many members are on a team? How many teams can each law school have?

Each team may have up to three members but only two can participate in any given round. The third may only participate in a given round as an observer. Each school may register up to two teams. While a school can register up to two teams, the teams cannot participate in the same Regional Meet.

How do teams prepare for the Meet?

All teams will be working on a common transactional problem. Each team will be provided with a case statement that sets out the factual background for the problem and introduces the parties to the transaction. All teams will be provided with a precedent form of agreement. Teams will also receive a video recording of an interview with their respective client and will have an opportunity to communicate with their client as they prepare the proposed draft agreement. We will provide research guidance. Generally, however, teams will be left on their own to figure out and find the resources they require.

Are there restrictions on the resources we can use to prepare? How much help can we get?

It is expected that teams will work primarily on their own in drafting the agreement and mark-ups and in preparing for the Meet. Only two team members will be allowed to participate in a round (with the option of having a third member observe during each round), and no other person may be present or consulted during a round. Generally, teams are expected to use and rely upon their own, independent work product. Keeping this general principle in mind, there are no restrictions on the outside resources, including outside experts such as practitioners and law professors, that a team may consult in developing their independent work.

How much work is involved? Can I receive course credit?

The time commitment is a decision you and your teammates must make. Past Transactional LawMeet® teams have reported spending “hundreds of hours” preparing for the Meet. Many schools offer participants in the Meet course credit (similar to moot court teams). This is a decision of each individual law school and should be discussed with the faculty sponsor. For more information regarding credit.

What exactly will we be required to do and by when?

For the Regional Meets, each team will be required to submit a proposed draft agreement by February 7, 2014. In addition, each team will be required to submit a mark-up of one draft agreement submitted by one of the teams they will encounter during the the Regional Meet. The mark-ups are due on February 21, 2014. Teams that advance to the National Meet will have an opportunity to submit a revised draft agreement by March 14, 2014, however revisions are not required. Teams advancing to the National Meet are required to submit one mark-up of a team they will negotiate during the preliminary rounds of the National Meet by March 28, 2014.

What happens at the Meet?

At the Meet, teams participate in "rounds", each one and a half hours in length. During each round, teams come together to attempt to resolve the open issues and reach an agreement for the benefit of their respective clients. These rounds are conducted before a panel of experts from practice who judge each team's performance and provide feedback to the teams at the end of each round.

How does a team "win"?

The primary goal of the Meet is to provide each participant a meaningful and engaging simulation of transactional practice. The competition setting provides motivation. The overwhelming response from past participants is that they learned more about transactional practice from the Meet experience than any other law school activity. Our mission is to provide that learning experience.

However, we recognize the value of competition. Teams are scored by experts from practice using a system that is a version of an elimination ladder. This system is designed to select the best performing teams from each side. The two strongest teams (one from each side) from each region will be invited to participate at the National Meet. A similar elimination ladder system is used at the National Meet. At both the regional and the national level, we will award two finalist awards, two champion awards and recognize the two best draft agreements. For the Inaugural 2010 Transactional LawMeet®, the University of Georgia School of Law and Indiana University Maurer School of Law tied for first place honors. In 2011, Western New England University of Law edged out University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Law for the National Championship title. In 2012 the University of Pennsylvania earned first place after negotiating with Salmon P. Chase College of Law at Northern Kentucky University during the final round. Last year, the University of Southern California and William Mitchell College of Law were awarded National Champions.

More information?

The case statement for this year's Meet will be distributed on Friday, December 13, 2013. Prior to that date, all registered teams will receive access to a team only website. There you will find complete team instructions as well as copies of the materials from and video recordings of past Meets. In the meantime, if you have any questions please feel free to email us at contact@lawmeets.com.