Boyd Students Win Second Place at 2011 Regional Client Counseling Competition

William S. Boyd School of Law students, Madana Hermiz and Daniel Ryan, were placed second in the Regional American Bar Association Client Counseling Competition on February 12-13 at Chapman University.

Hermiz and Ryan worked with Professors Jean Sternlight and Rebecca Scharf to prepare for the competition. Additionally, Professors Kate Kruse and Nancy Rapoport assisted the students by running through problems that could occur in professional responsibility, the topic for this year’s competition.

Ryan said that he and Hermiz learned how to ask the right questions, structure their language and advice to ensure that they did not give any speculative answers and promises to the client. Moreover, they also had to ensure that the client felt safe and believed he or she was in the hands of professionals.

“What was most useful was the experience of how to handle the variables of prospective clients' situations without subjecting oneself to professional discipline and/or a malpractice suit,” Ryan said.