Mock Mediation Club Wins First Place at International Law School Competition

March 22, 2015

Undergraduate students win 1st place at International Law School Competition. From left, Jonathan Quintyne (International Relations major), Dylan John (Construction Management major), Dick Calkins (President, International Academy of Dispute Resolution), Jessica Shanken (International Relations major), and Tashai Gilman (Sociology major)

A team from Georgia Southern University’s Mock Mediation Club was one of 4 undergraduate mediation teams invited to participate at the International Law School Mediation Tournament in Des Moines, Iowa (March 18th – 21st 2015) as a result of their outstanding performance at the undergraduate International Mediation Competition in Fall 2014.

Georgia Southern University was the only undergraduate institution to break into the semi finals for both Mediation and Advocacy, and ended the competition by winning 1st place in Advocacy in the world. In addition, the team won 9th Place Mediation Team and 5th Place Advocate/Client (individual award). This is a huge accomplishment as the team competed against teams comprised of law school students worldwide.

The Mock Mediation Club at Georgia Southern was started in October, 2013, and is advised by Dr. Laura Agnich.  Student members come from diverse and interdisciplinary majors including Criminal Justice & Criminology, Psychology, Sociology, International Relations, Biology, Education, Nursing, Engineering, and Construction. The Club is known for their work in training international mediation teams and has been recognized by the Sri Lankan ambassador to the U.S. for this work. Currently, Georgia Southern’s Mock Mediation Club trains mediation teams from Sri Lanka, Canada, and Brazil in both mediation and advocacy.

Students’ travel to the law school competition was supported by the Department of Criminal Justice & Criminology, Student Affairs and Enrollment Management, and the SGA.