Butler University mock mediation team takes home four awards in recent tournament

Butler University mock mediation team takes home four awards in recent tournament
Butler University mock mediation team takes home four awards in recent tournament
Butler University’s first mock mediation team recently won three awards at the Brenau Invitational Mediation Tournament in Gainesville, Georgia, with Rus Hunter and Anthony Murdock winning Top Mediator honors and Hunter and Nick Fox winning Top Advocate/Client awards.
 
“Our goals were to have fun, compete with passion, and represent Butler in a first-class way,” Butler Prelaw Advisor Jim McKnight, who coached the team with Butler College of Business Career Mentor Jerry Pitt, said. “This team certainly did that. The tournament environment was similar to a law school Socratic method style class, so it will serve these students well in their future law school careers.”
 
The tournament took place over two days, with a briefing and two mediation sessions on the first day and a final mediation session on the third day. The Butler team and other university teams took turns serving as plaintiffs, defendants, attorneys and mediators, with the goal of negotiating a settlement within 90 minutes.

Sessions were presided over by practicing lawyers from northern Georgia, who also gave the students feedback on their performance.
 
“Conflict resolution is so important, and the ability to listen is even more crucial to success,” Murdock said. “Mediation teaches us how to do both things, so it was rewarding to be a part of the team.”