NLU DELHI – HERBERT SMITH FREEHILLS
INTERNATIONAL NEGOTIATION COMPETITION, 2019
Jointly organized by Herbert Smith Freehills LLP and National Law University Delhi, the HSF-NLU Delhi International Negotiation Competition is a one-of-its-kind event in India. The sixth edition of this event will be held from 6-8 September 2019. An invite-only competition, INC seeks to provide budding lawyers opportunities to hone their negotiation skills, an area which is of increasing importance in today’s globally interconnected world.
The participants from each team assume the role of international lawyers, representing their clients in a series of negotiations with the other party. This year, the competition will witness the participation of around 40 teams from around the world. The competition offers a lot in terms of experience and learning, and the problems are interesting and relevant to real-life situations. With the competition expanding over each edition, it entails a great opportunity for all participants and attendees to learn varied legal aspects through these negotiation simulations.
The Best Negotiation Team is awarded a cash prize of GBP 1000 (INR 90,000 approx.), while the Runners-Up receive a cash prize of GBP 500 (INR 45,000 approx.). The Best Negotiator and the team with the Best Negotiation Plan receive a cash prize of GBP 100 (INR 9,000 approx.) each. The team which best represents the spirit of negotiation through their communication skills receives the ‘Spirit of the Competition’ award and cash prize of GBP 100 (INR 9,000 approx.) The winners in the previous edition 2018 were: National University of Juridical Sciences (WBNUJS), Kolkata, while the runners-up were the University of Oxford.
The following are the award winners for 2019:
1) Winners: University of Oxford
2) Runners’ up: Macquarie University
3) Best Negotiator: Lousia Dimarco (University of Technology Sydney)
4) Best Negotiation Plan: Sydney University Law School
5) Spirit of the Competition: Obafemi Awolowo University
A total of nine countries, including India, Japan, Australia, United Kingdom, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, Kenya, Germany, Singapore, and Poland participated in the competition.
The judges for the Finals’ round were:
Mr. Chris Parsons (Partner and Chairman, India Practice, Herbert Smith Freehills LLP)
Ms. Manjaree Chowdhary (Executive Director and General Counsel, Maruti Suzuki India)
Ms. Meera Singh (General Counsel, KPMG India)
Mr. Rakesh Prusti (General Counsel, OYO)