Terra Firma Chambers’ Robert Skinner has led a team of students from Glasgow University to the finals of the International Negotiation Competition (INC) at Handong University in South Korea.

Having won the Scottish leg of the competition, the University of Glasgow's Diploma in Professional Legal Practice team earned the right to represent Scotland at the INC 2014 hosted by Handong International Law School in Pohang, South Korea from 24th to 27th June.

The INC is a competition in which teams of two law students representing a party/client negotiate either an international transaction or the resolution of an international dispute with opposing teams.  In the initial three rounds, Scotland were involved in negotiating different commercial contract scenarios with teams from Germany, Norway and Japan.  Other teams competing at the event included the eventual winners USA, New Zealand, Canada, Australia, Switzerland, Russia, India and Singapore.  In a strong field of 18, the Scottish team finished in a very credible 4th place.

The competition provides a supportive educational and competitive environment in which law students can appreciate the significance of effective communication and negotiation in representing clients, structuring transactions, and resolving disputes.

Robert, who coached the team on a pro bono basis, is also a member of the Glasgow Legal 40, a group of legal alumni of the University of Glasgow which provides a networking and mentoring service, exclusively for Glasgow Diploma students.