Law Students Start Spring Semester With a Competitive Edge

The 157 first-year Ole Miss law students gained insight into a lesser-known realm of the legal world – the one where they are not standing in the courtroom before a judge, but instead sitting with other attorneys working toward a common goal to create a document memorializing the agreement reached – the transactional side.

The 10-day intensive class originated from students' suggestions more than 15 years ago.

"We convened a group of students to talk about how the law school could do a better job with skills training and were told that we were doing a good job with litigation skills training in our clinics, trial advocacy board, moot court board and classes, but that we could improve in transactional work," said Matthew Hall, associate professor and Jesse D. Puckett Jr. Lecturer.

"So, we started thinking how could we do good transactional training."

Building on content knowledge learned in the first semester – contracts – the contract drafting and negotiations class was born.

Most people are familiar with litigation work through television and movies, but students were less familiar with transactional work. This includes things such as drafting statutes, settlement agreements and contracts.

Chandler Campbell, from Memphis, Tennessee, was able to glean future possibilities from the in-depth class.

"It allowed us to expand our knowledge in an area of law that many might not otherwise experience until completing an internship or entering practice," he said.

"As a (first-year student) still exploring different practice areas, this exposure has been especially valuable in shaping my interest in transactional law, including areas such as entertainment law, health care, and mergers and acquisitions."

The contract drafting portion introduces students to transactional work and helps them develop writing skills that differ from legal research and writing courses.

"We're working on precise wording rather than on sentences, paragraphs, arguments and so it's a very different focus," Hall said.

Students not only acquire skills to draft contracts, but also statutes, regulations, criminal plea agreements, wills and trusts, and property settlements for family law.

The class helped Ranlissihia Tickles, from Centreville, understand how to advocate for clients and apply legal doctrine when drafting legal documents.

"I learned how a single word in a contract can change meaning, responsibility and outcomes, an attention to detail that will shape my work throughout law school and beyond," she said.

The work begins before drafting words on paper, though, Hall said.

"In the negotiation portion of the course, we focus on negotiating to achieve your client's goals and also on forging an effective partnership with the other side," he said. "We teach students about their negotiation style and focus on how to succeed regardless of individual style."

Partnerships and collaboration benefit students now.

"This class stood out because of the emphasis on group work and team building alongside practical legal skills," Tickles said. "Learning how to collaborate, communicate and problem-solve as a team mirrored what the legal profession looks like and made the experience more meaningful."

Campbell agreed.

"The collaborative nature of the course creates an environment where we can learn, grow and uplift one another, all while building competencies that are extremely valuable in legal practice," he said.

The program culminates in two days of intense negotiation, with the top 32 students earning invitations to try out for the national championship-winning Negotiation Board. The team competes against other law schools around the country. Four will earn places on the team.

The law school's winter intersession class is the only one like it in the country, and employers take notice.

"Employers tell us that this program sets our students apart and equips them with valuable real-world practice skills," Hall said.

"When employers have students from multiple schools, our students are particularly well prepared for actual, nitty gritty, practical, legal questions, and this is in part due to this class."

Students realize the benefits of the school's course offering, commitment to skills training and putting what they learn into practice.

"It provides both hard and soft skills that translate not only to transactional law but to the practice of law more broadly," Campbell said.

Top: Ole Miss law students Chandler Campbell (left) and Ranlissihia Tickles plan their negotiations strategy as part of the school's contract drafting and negotiating winter intersession course for first-year law students. The only one of its kind in the country, the 10-day intensive course teaches students the transactional side of law, exposing them to future career opportunities. Photo by Srijita Chattopadhyay/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services