Team Cardiff reach final of national negotiation competition

Two Cardiff Law students have their eyes on the prize after reaching the finals of this year’s National Negotiation Competition.

Third year LLB students, Tom Eastment and Aaron Morant form Team Cardiff and will join 11 other duos in the final of the competition, due to take place on 27 March 2021.

The annual competition, which is sponsored by the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR), is a highlight in the law calendar, with students from across the UK battling through rounds designed to test their negotiation skills. The competition focuses on collaborative-based discussion and requires a confident awareness of wider interests, creative options, and persuasion techniques.

This year’s semi-finals took place on 20 and 27 February via Zoom due to COVID-19 restrictions. However, as in previous years, the Cardiff team still needed to prepare thoroughly for their scenarios which saw them compete against Reading and Nottingham Trent universities. Their first scenario required them to negotiate a hypothetical situation where the building of wind turbines encroached upon fishing waters and their second scenario was concerned with an intellectual property issue resulting from a diet and fitness book written by a social media influencer.

Professor Julie Price who has worked with the team said, “Tom and Aaron were fantastic ambassadors for the School of Law and Politics. They are both skilled negotiators. That was exciting to watch via Zoom which obviously introduced its own range of quirks and changes to the way that students are used to negotiating. I’m looking forward to seeing Tom and Aaron compete again in the final and wish them the very best of luck.”

Law students at the School of Law and Politics are able to develop a range of skills via extracurricular activities which focus on the development of practical competences including negotiation and client interviewing.

Find out more about the National Negotiation Competition on the CEDR website.