Auckland law students negotiate way to another win

The Transatlantic Negotiation Competition gives law students from around the world an opportunity to hone their negotiation and communication skills in a transnational setting, with particular emphasis on the importance of cross-cultural negotiation and communication in resolving disputes and facilitating client agreements.

This year it was held online, and the winning team members Airu Teng, Gulliver MacDonald, Lauren Hansen and Maddison Lewis, together with coaches Arianna Bacic and Spencer Barley hunkered down in an inner-city Airbnb for the duration.

Sharing a space enabled them to manage the competition’s sometimes testing hours and saw them able to prep seamlessly, all the while enjoying a lot of fun, food and laughter.

The team defended the University of Auckland’s title as reigning champions across two preliminary and three knock-out rounds against Syracuse University, Georgetown University, Stetson University, UC San Francisco and the University of Houston, most of which took place in the early hours of the morning.

For the finals, the team logged on at 4am to represent an antique curator seeking to protect his reputation after providing a potentially inauthentic item to a television programme loosely based on Antiques Roadshow.

The team’s other negotiation scenarios included an energy crisis and a Friends-inspired problem in the quarter finals. Team member Lauren Hansen says this led to an entertaining and very human negotiation around switching apartments while keeping everyone happy.

From the first preliminary round to the finals, Lauren says they faced collaborative, energetic and impressive competitors.

“Our coaches also made the competition a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Skilfully balancing the preparation required with ensuring we had enough downtime, sleep, good food and comic relief, they always put our well-being first and displayed exemplary leadership.

“The competition is a wonderful opportunity to learn to negotiate in the Zoom environment, and we learnt to make the most of its helpful functions like chat, and to navigate challenges like building rapport through the screen.”

Airu Teng says the negotiation skills she learnt over the course of the competition have equipped her with essential skills for her future and bolstered her confidence as she looks to embark on a career in law.

“I felt supported by my teammates and coaches, and we truly functioned as a team, which went into making this an enjoyable experience. The stellar outcome was a bonus, and the most rewarding part of the win was the fact that it reflected all of our hard work and commitment.”

Coaches Arianna and Spencer say the win is a true testament to the team’s dedication and talent and thank the law faculty and the wider alternative dispute resolution community for all of the support.