Two students from the University of Aberdeen School of Law have taken a respectable third place after representing Scotland in an international competition.
Diploma in Legal Practice (DPLP) students Katrina Hall and Alexander Owen made their way to last week’s international final event after triumphing against teams from the universities of Glasgow, Edinburgh and Strathclyde at the Scottish National DPLP Negotiation competition in April.
The teams had to conduct mock negotiation exercises relating to partnership and lease disputes and were scored across the two scenarios on their preparation, conduct of the negotiation and post-negotiation reflection.
Katrina and Alexander then participated in the online International Negotiation Competition, hosted by the National University of Singapore and the Singapore International Mediation Institute.
The competition is the oldest and most renowned inter-university competition, which focuses on international legal negotiation for law students from all over the world.
The duo was coached by DPLP tutors Linda Fyffe and Jo Hardie, and Dr Susan Stokeld.
Linda Fyffe, a partner at local law firm Laurie & Co, and a tutor on the Diploma, said: “It was a pleasure to coach Katrina and Alex. Their achievement is outstanding given the high standard of the teams competing. They both worked extremely hard, and I am proud to have mentored them.”
Senior lecturer Dr Susan Stokeld said: “On behalf of the School of Law, I would like to congratulate Alex and Katrina for their success. This is an extraordinary achievement for our students and School of Law in an international forum.”
Both Katrina and Alexander have secured traineeships with leading firms: Katrina begins her traineeship at DWF in Edinburgh this September, while Alexander starts his with CMS in 2022.