DETROIT – Fifteen law schools from across the country participated Friday, March 25 in the 2022 Jaffe Transactional Law Invitational. This year, the invitational hosted two divisions, a virtual division and an in-person division at the Southfield offices of the firm sponsor for the competition, Jaffe Raitt Heuer and Weiss.

Winners were:

Negotiations In-Person Division

• Buyer’s Counsel 1st Place: Michigan State University College of Law
• Buyer’s Counsel 2nd Place: University of Kansas School of Law
• Seller’s Counsel 1st Place: University of Tennessee College of Law
• Seller’s Counsel 2nd Place: Emory University School of Law & University of Colorado Law School

Negotiations Zoom Division

• Buyer’s Counsel 1st Place: University of San Diego School of Law
• Buyer’s Counsel 2nd Place: Wayne State University Law School
• Seller’s Counsel 1st Place: University of Detroit Mercy School of Law
• Seller’s Counsel 2nd Place: Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law

Drafting (Overall)

• Buyer’s Counsel 1st Place: Charleston School of Law
• Buyer’s Counsel 2nd Place (Tie): University of San Diego School of Law and Wayne State University Law School
• Seller’s Counsel 1st Place (Tie): University of Detroit Mercy School of Law and University of Tennessee College of Law

This innovative, live-round invitational is part of a skilled learning experience created and supervised by Wayne Law Associate Professor Eric Zacks. Third-year students Lindsey LaForest, Madison Light, and Kate Smigelski are the chairpersons of this year’s competition. The program is supported by the Jaffe Transactional Law Competition Fund, established in 2018 by Michigan-based law firm Jaffe Raitt Heuer and Weiss.

The Jaffe Transactional Law 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 18 attorneys – offered feedback following the completion of each round.

Wayne Law alumnus and co-founder of the Wayne Law Jaffe Transactional Law Team Justin Hanna of Jaffe Raitt Heuer and Weiss served as one of the judges. “Jaffe 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.  As a student-managed program, it offers learning in organizational skills, as well as the substantive practice of engaging in effective business transaction negotiation and preparing of documents.  The broader (and growing) regional and national participation is a tribute to the success of Professor Zacks’ vision and the Wayne Law students’ execution.  It further advances acknowledgement of the quality and effectiveness of a Wayne Law degree.”

Attorneys serving as judges were:

• Asma Al-Khshali ’20, Schenk & Bruetsch
• Joshua Borson ’13, Jaffe Rait Heuer & Weiss
• Jackson Buday ’21, Troutman Pepper
• Scott Carter ’21, Warner Norcross & Judd
• Brandon Corcoran ’21, Kerr Russell
• Marguerite Donahue ’87, Jaffe Rait Heuer & Weiss
• Danielle Graceffa ’06, Invest Detroit
• Justin Hanna ’15, Jaffe Raitt Heuer and Weiss
• Thomas Kelly, Wolfson Bolton
• Sara Kruse ’96, Jaffe Raitt Heuer and Weiss
• Steve Magliore ’08, Honigman
• Linda Paullin-Hebden ’89, Warner Norcross & Judd
• Kelsey Postema ’21, Wolfson Bolton
• Alan Schenk, Distinguished Professor of Law, Wayne State University Law School
• Peter Sugar ’70, Jaffe Raitt Heuer and Weiss
• Holli Targan ’85, Jaffe Raitt Heuer and Weiss
• Joe Zannetti ’20, GKN Automotive

"It was wonderful to have so many schools competing, and we were excited to be able to host teams in-person again,” said Professor Zacks. “We are building, with Jaffe’s support, a wonderful training program for the next generation of transactional attorneys. We also are fortunate to have so many alums willing to donate their time as volunteer judges to provide valuable feedback to the student competitors.”

To learn more about the Jaffe Transactional Law Competition, visit go.wayne.edu/jaffe.

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Contact: Nikki Taylor-Vargo

Email: nikkitv@wayne.edu