IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law teams earned second and sixth place finishes in the American Bar Association’s (ABA) Law Student National Representation in Mediation Regional Competition held on February 15 and 16 in Chicago. This is the first time the law school has participated in the tournament.

Sponsored by the ABA Section of Dispute Resolution, the Law Student National Representation in Mediation Competition is designed to acquaint the law students with advocacy skills in alternative dispute resolution processes, specifically mediation. IIT Chicago-Kent competed against law school teams from Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Wisconsin and the Dakotas.

Pictured from left: Dana Pownall '14, Maria Zyskind '16, Martha Drouet '14 and Michael Barnes '14

Michael Barnes ’14 and Martha Drouet ’14 are the members of the team that reached the finals by coming out of the semifinal round with a 51-point lead. IIT Chicago-Kent faced off against a team from Marquette in a close battle during the final round before losing by a score of 71 to 69. Dana Pownall ’14 and Maria Zyskind ’16 were on the IIT Chicago-Kent team that came in sixth place. Both teams were coached by Chicago attorney Ian Bucciarelli.

Barnes earned a degree in history and political sciences from Northern Illinois University. Drouet completed her undergraduate education in visual anthropology and art history at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Pownall received her bachelor’s degree in neuropsychology from Washington University in St. Louis. Zyskind earned a bachelor of the arts degree in political science and philosophy from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.