2021 ABA Client Counseling Competition

The team of Katheryn Maldonado and Nick Armah from William & Mary Law School won the national title in the 2021 ABA Law Student Division Client Counseling Competition on Saturday, March 20, 2021. Maldonado and Armah won over the team of Brennan Collins and Malory-Anne Oliver from Mercer University – Walter F. George School of Law, who finished in second place, and Tabitha Cooke and Miriam Sheppard from Campbell University – Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law, who finished in third. The Client Counseling competition addresses fundamental skills necessary for all successful attorneys, namely the ability to interview, counsel, and support a client through their legal issue. Competitors conduct an initial interview with a person playing the role of the client and then address both the client’s legal and non-legal needs. Students are called on to explain various aspects of the attorney-client relationship, build rapport, determine client goals, and consider applicable law and options that may be available to the client.