University of Cincinnati College of Law students place first, second at case competition

Congratulations to the University of Cincinnati College of Law teams who took first and second place at the fifth annual Diversity Case Competition held January 13-14, 2023. Desianique Hamm and Marques Jones, first year law students, received first place honors, while Lilian Tapia Fernandez and Micaela Betham-Garcia, also first year students, took second place. Six teams from Cincinnati Law participated.

 “We are very proud of our students and the hard work they put in during this competition. Their strong showing reflects not only their legal and counseling skills, but also the academic excellence of the program at Cincinnati Law,” said Denise Durbin, Assistant Dean, Center for Professional Development. “Programs like the case competition put a spotlight on the growing importance of diversity and inclusion within the legal industry. We’re happy to help lead the way in this endeavor.”  

Identifying new ways to address the lack of diversity in the legal profession is one of the reasons Cincinnati Law and local law firm Keating Muething & Klekamp PLL (KMK) partnered to create the nation’s first and only Law Student Diversity Case Competition. The case competition was born out of a talent identification strategy—an approach to amplify the diversity talent pipeline. Traditionally, legal employers use the “fit” interview when making hiring decisions and selection is often based on GPA and rank. The case competition allows participants to display the skills required to succeed in the workplace, giving prospective employers an idea about what they can do instead of just who they are.

Working in two-person teams, the students engaged in a simulated work experience based on a client issue delivered in a format that resembled the Multistate Performance Test (MPT), a skills assessment component of most jurisdictions’ bar exams.  

By responding in real time to new information through simulated client and partner interaction, the students demonstrated skills left unmeasured in law school classes. Further, these simulations exposed them to the assignment process encountered in law firms. They also interacted with supervising attorneys and Fortune 500 corporate counsel and gained experience managing feedback.

Potential employers benefitted too by meeting and connecting with diverse talent they may never see through the traditional hiring process.

This year’s competition was comprised of 34 law students, making up 17 teams from six law schools in Ohio and Kentucky. Participating law schools included Salmon P. Chase College of Law at Northern Kentucky University, the University of Akron School of Law, the University of Cincinnati College of Law, the University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law, the University of Louisville Louis D. Brandies School of Law, and the University of Toledo College of Law.

Photos: Joseph Fuqua II