Third-year law student Debra Bulluck, and second-year law student Sarah Davis, won several awards at the 12th annual Nelson Mandela International Negotiations Competition during March, in Brooklyn, N.Y.
The competition, which is housed by the National Black Law Student Association’s (NBLSA) convention, had 28 teams competing. Despite Bulluck having never participated in a negotiation competition, and Davis having only competed in the American Bar Association competitions at the law school, they walked away with three awards.
“I think it’s important to be able to step outside your own perspective,” Davis said, “Having a chapter in NBLSA gives us that ability where it didn’t exist before.”
Davis won National Best Negotiator for the overall competition. As a team, both Bulluck and Davis won National Best Negotiators in the second preliminary round and were the highest scoring team overall.
“In preparing for and being able to observe, it allowed Sarah the opportunity to have the hands-on experience and mine was the indirect experience of watching the ABA competition,” Bulluck said. “It allowed me to see how the judges would give feedback, see Sarah’s negotiation style and that really worked to our advantage.”
Davis said once they both decided to go, they prepared by picking up any resources they were able to get their hands on.
Because the college of law does not have a chapter of NBLSA, Bulluck’s first step towards competing was to establish Wyoming’s own chapter. Bulluck and Davis were the first UW law students to compete in this competition.
“They were embarking on a new adventure for the university, for the law school,” Associate Professor of Law, and Bulluck’s adviser, Darrell Jackson said.
This entire experience has taught Bulluck to take the step in creating change instead of relying or waiting on others.
“It’s beyond what Sarah and I were able to do, it’s showing other students that they too can make their college experience, their law school experience what they want it to be and I knew this was an organization I wanted to be a part of since my one-L year,” Bulluck said.
Bulluck expressed the importance for students to be a part of this association because it gives them perspective and creates a finer sense of understanding how the law affects people differently. Having this perspective is valuable especially when interacting with clients or in any law firm.
“If we don’t have that infrastructure for inclusion, we’re not really doing what we set out to do as an institution as a whole,” Bulluck said. “This is an opportunity for our students to be exposed to a different perspective that will make them a well-rounded attorney.”
