1/30/04—The final round of Boston College Law School’s internal Client Counseling competition was held on January 29, 2004. The winning team of Alison Lasseter and Megan Smiley defeated the second finalist team of Keturah Martin and Sarah Wellings, and will represent BC Law at the regional competition in New York in February.

"All of the finalists proved how very capable they are when pressed by a client with a very challenging agenda,” said Director of Advocacy Programs Alexis Anderson. “All four students will be very able lawyers and counselors for their future clients! My congratulations to all of them and we wish the winners the very best as they prepare to represent the school in the Northeast Regionals.”

View photos from the competition

The Client Counseling Competition provides an opportunity for law students to develop valuable skill in interacting with and proposing solutions for clients. The competition simulates an office environment "consultation" in which the attorneys meet their client for the first time. Each team of two attorneys attempts to obtain the legally relevant information from the background factual context and then supplies the client with a preliminary summary of the client's legal position and the client's possible actions.

The purpose of the competition is to promote greater knowledge and interest among law students in the preventative law and counseling functions of law practice and to encourage students to develop interviewing, planning and analytical skills in the lawyer-client relationship through an enjoyable and positive process. The competition simulates a law office consultation situation in which law students, acting as attorneys are presented with a typical client matter. They must conduct an interview with a person playing the role of client and then explain how they would proceed with the hypothetical situation. Each situation poses both legal and ethical dilemmas with which the attorneys must deal. All relevant background will be provided to the competitors.

Judges for the finals were Cathy Niedich, LICSW, from the Roxbury District Court; Gary Gill-Austern, alumnus and past winner of the CC competition, and of counsel at Nutter, McClennan & Fish; and Joseph Liu, who teaches property and intellectual property at BC Law.