Published on February 7, 2017  
Negotiation Team Photo 2017

For the second year in a row, a team from Cumberland advanced to the National Finals of the American Bar Association Law Student Division Negotiation Competition.  The competition took place February 3rd and 4th in Chicago at the ABA Headquarters.  Cumberland was represented by Kevin Bufford (3L) and Jacey Mann (2L).  This was Bufford’s second trip to the National Finals.  Bufford and Mann went up against teams from the University of Houston and the University of Georgia in the preliminary rounds and advanced to the semi-final round, where they faced competition from Western New England School of Law. 

The National Negotiation Team is getting accustomed to success.  Not only was this the second year in a row that a Cumberland team reached the National Finals, but it was also the third time in the last four years - and each of those teams advanced to the semi-finals of the National competition.  Additionally, the last two years Cumberland had two teams advance to the final round of their regional competition, with Bufford and Mann winning their region this year.

The ABA Law Student Division Negotiation Competition starts in the fall with over 200 teams competing in 10 regions.  The top 20 teams advance to the National Finals.  The semi-finals consist of the top 16 teams after the preliminary rounds, with the top 4 from the semi-finals advancing to the championship round.  This year’s team was coached by Brian Turner (’95), with assistance from April MacLennan (’14) and Rachel Cobble (’16).  Members of the team are selected in the fall from the Henry C. Strickland Negotiation Competition.

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 6,101 students from 45 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.