[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Eleven schools competed in the American College of Law Bankruptcy Law Meet, but the U walked away as the winner.
WHAT YOU MISSED: APPLE BRINGS DIVERSITY TO THE DIGITAL WORLD WITH EMOJIS
Josh Campbell and Keith Mayer, students at the S.J. Quinney College of Law, under the direction of Professor Ralph Mabey, took first place overall honors.
The competition was about a Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Reorganization of a Vineyard in California. The first round was a debt restructuring negotiation where the U represented the debtor and the other team was the bank. In the second round, the U was a party looking to purchase the vineyard and negotiated with the Unsecured Creditors’ Committee for their client.
Campbell and Mayer became involved with the bankruptcy team after taking a course from Mabey and cite his help as a large part of their success.
“Without what we learned in his bankruptcy class and with all of the help and practice he set up for us to prepare for the competition, we wouldn’t have had any shot at entering the competition, let alone winning,” Campbell said.
Mayer said winning the competition was one of the greatest feelings he has ever experienced as a law student.
“We put in hundreds of hours of work, and to be vindicated for that work is a great feeling,” Mayer said.
Campbell said the moment that struck him as the most memorable occurred in the early hours of the morning of the competition.
“The night before the competition, at 1 a.m., Keith and I discovered a solution to a problem that we had been working on for a month without avail. It was a huge relief to have that breakthrough that close to the competition.”
The win at the bankruptcy meet gives the U an important place in the legal education rankings in the country.
“Utah law is not known for our bankruptcy program; most students come here to learn about either criminal or environmental law,” Mayer said. “So the win will hopefully bring attention to how good the bankruptcy program is here and attract students who are interested in the field.”
Campbell and Mayer hope to compete in larger competitions with more prestigious universities.
“This year we managed to beat some of the best schools in the country, but they were primarily from the West Coast,” Mayer said. “Next year we are hoping to compete in a larger bankruptcy competition that takes place in New York, and hopefully we can beat the elite East Coast schools and really make a name for Utah bankruptcy.”
@mary_royal [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]