Third-year law student Lauren Skidmore believes the best learning happens outside the classroom. She put her philosophy into practice by helping to organize the first Canes Contract Challenge for local law students. Teams received negotiation prompts at the competition and had to think through them critically. Drafting contracts against the clock placed the students in a real-life business law scenario.
With the assistance of Marcia Narine Weldon, director of the Transactional Skills Program, adjunct faculty member Paul Berkowitz, and Program Coordinator Aleyda Mejia, Skidmore created practical, creative contracts to test students' every skill. She saw the competition as the training ground for mistakes and improvement that will lead students to success after graduation.
"It was important to me that students felt like they were being judged on things that actually matter in practice—advocacy, strategic thinking, and problem-solving—not just theoretical legal knowledge," Skidmore said. "Pulling everything together with Professor Weldon, Professor Berkowitz, and the events team was a team effort, and seeing it all come together made the long hours totally worth it."
In the first negotiation round, judges examined how teams understood their client's interests and evaluated complex negotiations. Skidmore watched students transform from hesitant negotiators to zealous practitioners who thought creatively to get the best deal for their clients.
As the time ticked down, so did the teams. After days of competition, the initial 12 teams were down to two University of Miami law teams in the final round. In the most demanding negotiation round, students had two hours to learn about their client, what issues they hoped to resolve, and draft a fair contract.
Finalists Ashley Emanuel and Frank Rubio were more than ready. They selected their strongest arguments and anticipated their opponent's rebuttal. Pulling off their previous negotiation strategies, the duo faced their biggest challenge head-on.
"Staying focused on the big picture was key to our strategy and success," Emanuel said.
Emanuel and Rubio's confidence led them to victory. The judges found that the Miami Law team's swift negotiations and effective contracts represented professional practitioners' work. The winners received a $5,000 award, thanks to the generosity of Preston Clark, J.D. '08, a former Student Bar Association president and co-founder and president of Law Insider, a subscription-based contract database and resource center that helps lawyers and law students draft and negotiate contracts. The students will use their prize money to fund their legal studies.
The students encourage all law students to enter the challenge in the future. Rubio feels no one can lose because every competitor leaves with the greatest prize: experience.
"[The competition] was the best learning experience of my law school career," Rubio said. "You're guaranteed to walk away with a deeper understanding of contract drafting and negotiation."
Skidmore looks forward to seeing the challenge attract more competitors and industry professionals as judges. She sees the Canes Contract Challenge as an opportunity every student should tackle for real law experience they can take to a future firm.
"These competitions are about growth, and the fact that two UM teams made it to the finals just showed how much students here are willing to put in the effort to learn and improve," Skidmore said. "It also reinforced what I already knew—Miami Law is building something special when it comes to transactional training."
Read more about Miami Law’s transactional skills program.
