Lisa McClane and Jay Odum, two second year students from UNLV’s William S. Boyd School of Law, placed first in the American Bar Association (ABA) Law Student Division National Client Counseling Competition Finals held on March 12 in Anaheim, Calif.

The pair competed against teams from 14 other schools, winning the honor to represent the United States in the Louis M. Brown International Client Counseling Competition to be held in Hawaii April 7-9.

The theme of this year’s contest was sports and entertainment law. Working on problems involving such issues as artistic performances, personal injuries, alleged defamation, and free speech, the UNLV duo performed the role of two attorneys jointly conducting an initial interview of their client. Facing actors playing the role of clients, the two attorneys had to obtain relevant information from their client, advise as to the legal and other options, and help the client decide whether to retain the attorneys.

The Client Counseling Competition emphasizes the importance of preventive law, stressing that clients’ problems can be resolved more effectively outside than inside a courtroom. Aided by Jean Sternlight, Saltman Professor of Law and Director of the Saltman Center for Conflict Resolution, McClane and Odum were successful, according to judges, because of their ability to guide their clients to non-legal as well as legal solutions.

“We are incredibly proud of the honor that Lisa and Jay have brought to our school and to the Saltman Center for Conflict Resolution,” said Sternlight. “The law school was founded on the idea that lawyers need to be prepared not only to litigate disputes when necessary, but also to help their clients avoid disputes altogether and resolve disputes creatively and informally when possible.”

The competition’s final round featured a married couple whose teenage son had been severely injured by a batted ball in a baseball game. Judges praised the UNLV team for its knowledge of relevant legal issues, empathy towards its clients, ability to quickly identify a broad array of legal issues, and its skill in explaining both the benefits and detriments of litigation given the client’s family circumstances. The duo emphasized that mediation might well prove more satisfactory than litigation for the family, given that the parents needed to spend their time and energy caring for their son, rather than attending depositions and court sessions.

“With the help of Michael and Sonja Saltman, we are now building our curriculum and programming in the

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UNLV is a doctoral-degree-granting institution of 28,000 students and 3,300 faculty and staff. Founded in 1957, the university offers more than 220 undergraduate, master's and doctoral degree programs. UNLV is located on a 332-acre campus in dynamic Southern Nevada and is classified in the category of Research Universities (high research activity) by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.