UC law students compete in first-ever Deal-Makers competition

At the end of spring semester, 30 students took part in the first-ever Deal-Makers Competition at the University of Cincinnati College of Law.

Led by Professor Sean Mangan, co-director of the Corporate Law Center, student participants worked with local attorneys, drafted purchase agreements, and negotiated with each other.

The students broke into six teams of which half were sellers and the other half buyers. After hearing instructions and receiving all necessary documentation on Friday afternoon, the students began drafting and negotiating their deals through Sunday.

The prompt of the competition was based on a real-life situation Mangan experienced while working as an attorney. He worked closely with fellow law professor Felix Chang to refine the scenario, and thus created the unique transactional competition. The target company was a local outdoor outfitters store being bought by a larger, regional store similar to REI Co-op.

Though students who participated did not receive class credit, they experience they had was invaluable. “It was awesome to see so many students show up for an entire weekend not to earn credit, but to learn about transactional law and experience it firsthand,” Mangan said.

After reviewing the purchase agreements and other accompanying documents, Mangan and judges named Deal #4, consisting of rising 3Ls Michael Goldman, Edward Rivin, Lindsay Burley and Emily Hughes, as the winning deal. Winners will receive a $250 cash prize.