KU Law continues to dominate in transactional law competitions

LAWRENCE – In early March, a team of University of Kansas School of Law students won the UCLA Transactional Law Meet for the buyer’s side of the transaction involved in the competition.

A transactional law meet involves drafting and negotiating business acquisition agreements. The competition consists of three distinct phases: preparing a proposed draft agreement on either the buyer or seller’s side of a business transaction; preparing markups for the opposing side’s draft agreement; and finally, meeting to negotiate the final aspects of the deal.

The Kansas Gold Team won the UCLA Transactional Law Meet for the buyer’s side by receiving the Best Overall Award.

"The students spent a tremendous amount of time and a lot of effort over a 2 ½-month period to learn a complex area and compete at a very high level against other law students,” said Edward Wilson, partner at Husch Blackwell and coach of the Kansas Gold team.

The team members were Steven Hendler, third-year law student (3L); Juliana Liu, second-year law student (2L); Lauren Page, 3L; and Cayden Sears, 2L. The Kansas Blue team members were Hunter Kruse, 3L; Alexandra O’Neill, 3L; Lauren Stahl, 3L, and Alexander Telesca, 3L. Bill Quick, partner at Polsinelli, coached the Blue Team.

“We are very pleased that a KU Law team received a Best Overall Award in the UCLA Transactional Law Meet,” said Kelley Sears, adjunct faculty member at KU Law and director of the Polsinelli Transactional Law Center. “That result affirms the tremendous time and effort that the students dedicated to achieving academic, practical and professional excellence in connection with the meet.”

The UCLA Transactional Law Meet was the second of three meets that KU Law has participated in this year. The first one, Baylor Law’s The Closer Transactional Law Meet, took place in January with Toni Ruo, 3L, representing KU Law.

“Toni performed admirably and represented the University of Kansas phenomenally, with a command of the facts and the law that was specifically noted by several judges,” said Quick, Ruo’s coach.

Another transactional law team rounded out the season at the 2023 Wayne State Jaffe/Taft Transactional Law Meet. That KU Law team finished in second place for the buyer’s side in the contract drafting phase of the competition. Team members were Cassidy Bee, 3L; Kyler Womack, 3L; and Sarah Wood, 3L. Kevin Wempe, partner at Gilmore & Bell, coached the team.

“We had a fun and informative time both preparing and participating in the Wayne State competition,” Wood said. “We want to thank Coach Kevin Wempe and Professor Sears for providing us support and confidence throughout the competition.”

The transactional law competition teams at KU Law are supported by the Polsinelli Transactional Law Center.

“KU Law values the Polsinelli Law Firm for establishing the Polsinelli Transactional Law Center at the law school,” Sears said. “(This center) makes possible our students’ participation in transactional law meets to further the students’ transactional law education.”