The University of Mississippi School of Law Negotiation Board team of 3L Camille Atkins and 2L Summie Carlay were named as the National Runner-Up at the conclusion of the 2024 California Sports Lawyer Negotiation Competition, hosted at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California, Feb. 23-24.
Atkins and Carlay competed against 18 schools from throughout the nation over the course of the two-day competition. Prominent sports attorneys and agents from the West Coast served as judges for the competition, with Atkins and Carlay competing in front of and networking with many notable figures in the sports and entertainment industry, including Tom Yee, agent for football superstar Tom Brady.
The two teammates shared a common acumen in their preparations for the competition besides being law students. Both are former college athletes. Atkins, a native of Huntsville, Alabama, played soccer for Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tennessee, as an undergraduate student. Carlay, a native of Laurens, South Carolina, played football for the University of South Carolina Gamecocks and The Citadel Bulldogs as an undergraduate student.
Atkins and Carlay earn the Negotiation Board’s second external competition placement for the spring external competition season. In January, 3L Hayden Park placed among the Final Four at Baylor University Law School’s The Closer National Transactional Law Competition, hosted by Baylor University Law School in Waco, Texas. The Negotiation Board will be competing in an additional six external competitions this Spring 2024 semester.
The Negotiation Board, as well as Atkins and Carlay, thank UM Law alum Patrick Strong, attorney at Balch & Bingham LLP in Birmingham, Alabama, for serving as the team’s coach over the course of their preparations. The team’s success was no doubt attributable to Strong’s generous extensions of his expertise, knowledge, and time. The team and board further thank Jeremy M. Evans, sports and entertainment attorney and founder of California Sports Lawyer in Los Angeles, for hosting the world-class competition.