The MSLA Sports Negotiation Competition presents an exciting opportunity for students to experience negotiation in a sporting context. Like the MULSS Negotiation Competition, the aim is to come to an agreement with the opposing team that is agreeable to your client, taking into account their interests and the factual circumstances of the situation.

The MSLA Negotiation Competition will give students a realistic experience of matters vital to the sports industry. The prompts will be based on current sports law transactions and disputes with all rounds being judged by practicing sports lawyers. Some of the matters competitors may experience could include:

• Negotiating a sponsorship agreement

• Negotiating a plea deal in response to an ASADA/WADA Investigation

• Negotiating a player contract

• Negotiating a player transfer between two sporting clubs

Competitors will also be encouraged to bring in relevant outside knowledge of the sporting industry to improve their chances of coming up with a positive outcome for their client. For example, if negotiating a sponsorship agreement for a club, you may wish to research how much other clubs have been paid for their sponsorship agreements.

In addition, some rounds may involve pre-prepared contracts to encourage competitors to think of additional clauses and creative solutions to provide a mutually beneficial solution to all parties involved.

Each round of the competition will be judged by a practicing lawyer or expert in the sport law field. All rounds will be conducted at Melbourne Law School with the Grand Final potentially being held externally.