NEWS & EVENTS

Print Page

Press Releases


New York State Bar Association Announces Second Annual Mediation Tournament

Competitive Event for Law Students Attracts National Interest By Highlighting Importance of Mediation Skills

 New York, NY; March 2, 2020 —The New York State Bar Association’s Dispute Resolution Section has announced its Second Annual Mediation Tournament.  It is scheduled to take place from March 20 – 21 in NYC at the American Arbitration Association – International Centre for Dispute Resolution and New York International Arbitration Center.  While last year’s Inaugural Mediation Tournament limited participation to law schools based in New York State, the 2020 Tournament has garnered a heightened level of interest and will be hosting law schools registered from East Coast to West Coast, ranging from New York and Connecticut to California.

As more courts adopt mediation protocols and law schools increasingly teach the importance of these skills in the classroom setting, the Second Annual Tournament will enable 12 teams of law students to develop and display both advanced mediation and advocacy skills.  The Tournament will be judged by an esteemed group of experienced mediators and practitioners and a variety of cash prizes will be awarded to the winning teams and mediator.

“It is very rewarding to see the Tournament achieving a higher level of prominence and greater recognition beyond New York.  As law schools continue to offer an expanding variety of dispute resolution programs, we feel that the Tournament will continue to grow in stature by empowering law students to test and sharpen their skills in a different kind of learning environment,” said Leslie Berkoff, Co-Chair of the Mediation Committee of the Dispute Resolution Section of the New York State Bar Association and a partner at Moritt Hock & Hamroff LLP, who founded and launched the Tournament.  “The Tournament is truly unique in that it allows students to participate as mediators, advocates and in-house client representatives.  Having the event evolve and achieve a greater amount of recognition should make for an even more impactful experience as students are placed in a position to receive valuable evaluations on their skills from some of the leading experts in the field, while having the opportunity to network with top legal talents in the industry.”

Final Round Judges for the Second Annual Mediation Tournament have been confirmed and include: the Honorable Anthony Cannataro, Citywide Administrative Judge of Civil Court of the City of New York, the Honorable Leonard B. Austin, Associate Justice of the Appellate Division, Second Department of the Supreme Court, State of New York, the Honorable A. Kathleen Tomlinson, Magistrate Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, and the Honorable Sarah L. Cave, Magistrate Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.

In addition, the law firm of Moritt Hock and Hamroff LLP has announced that it will be sponsoring and providing CLE credit to the attorneys who have agreed to judge the Tournament.

# # #


  Back to Press Releases