■ Student Engagement
Numerous students and judges at the Wayne State Jaffe/Taft Transactional Law Invitational smile and pose for a picture as many stand and others are seated at a large conference table in their business attire.
Students and judges at the Wayne State Jaffe/Taft Transactional Law Invitational.

2023 Wayne Law Jaffe/Taft Transactional Law Invitational hosts 19 schools, names winners

Nineteen law schools from across the country competed in the March 2023 Wayne State Jaffe/Taft Transactional Law Invitational hosted at the Southfield offices of Jaffe Raitt Heuer & Weiss, which is now part of Taft, a national firm with offices across the country.

The invitational is part of a skilled learning experience created and supervised by Associate Professor Eric A. Zacks and Taft attorney and Wayne Law alumnus Justin Hanna. Third-year students Muhannad Al-Ujayli, Muhammad Siwani, Trevor Lloyd and Andrew Vailliencourt served as chairpersons of this year’s competition. The program is supported by the Jaffe Transactional Law Competition Fund, established in 2018 by Jaffe/Taft.

The competition helps students develop drafting, negotiating and counseling skills, with two-member teams representing a buyer and seller involved in a complex acquisition. After a semester of drafting and revising, the negotiations brought the teams together for two rounds of competition. The panel of judges — composed of 20 attorneys — offered feedback following the completion of each round.

“Taft is proud to be a supporter and participant in this important and practical educational program for law students throughout the country interested in transactional practice,” said Hanna. “Since its inception as a locally centered program for Wayne Law students, the Wayne State Jaffe/Taft Invitational has grown to include teams from regionally and nationally recognized law schools. It offers important practice-based learning with respect to effective business transaction negotiation and agreement preparation. The expanded regional and national participation is a tribute to the success of Professor Zacks’ vision and the execution by the Wayne Law student chairpersons hosting the event.”

Participating from Wayne State University Law School were Connor Schram, Danny Harwood, Camran Astani and Ameera Hashwi. Wayne Law tied for first-place negotiations with Georgetown University Law Center in the best Buyer’s Counsel.

“This was our largest competition ever, and it was wonderful to have so many schools attend from across the country,” said Zacks. “We are helping to prepare, with Taft’s support, students for the real world of transactional law. We are grateful to all of the practicing attorneys who volunteered to act as judges for our competition. Their feedback to the students is perhaps the most valuable part of the competition.”

Four individuals (two women & two men) in business attire smile and pose for a photograph together next to each other as a woman from the group holds a chrome colored award plaque inside a conference room area at the Wayne State Jaffe/Taft Transactional Law Invitational in March 2023.
Several individuals sitting at a table discussing amongst one another inside a room together dressed in business attire from the Law School at the Wayne State Jaffe/Taft Transactional Law Invitational in March 2023.
Five individuals (one woman & four men) in business attire smile and pose for a photograph together next to each other as a man from the group holds a chrome colored award plaque inside a conference room area at the Wayne State Jaffe/Taft Transactional Law Invitational in March 2023.
Various competitors and winners from the Law School at the Wayne State Jaffe/Taft Transactional Law Invitational in March 2023.
Learn More
For more information about the Wayne State Jaffe/Taft Transactional Law Competition co-curricular program, visit go.wayne.edu/jaffe.

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