KU Law earns third consecutive national transactional law title
LAWRENCE – A team from the University of Kansas School of Law extended KU Law’s winning streak this spring, earning top honors for the third consecutive year at the Wayne State Taft Transactional Law Invitational.
Third-year law student Kaegan Cowan and second-year law student Emily Weiss traveled to Southfield, Michigan, in late March to compete against 21 teams from law schools across the country. For the third year in a row, KU Law brought home one of the competition’s top prizes — best draft. Cowan and Weiss were also recognized for second-best negotiation, making KU Law the only team to receive multiple awards at this year’s competition.
“It was an honor to represent KU Law in a national competition,” Cowan said. “I am tremendously proud to have earned these awards with Emily while competing on behalf of KU. Our success is a testament to the quality of the KU alumni who coach the transactional law teams, along with the quality of education we receive in every class at KU.”
The team was coached by Polsinelli attorney Jackie Jeschke, a 2024 KU Law graduate and former winner of the competition herself.
“Getting to work closely with a KU Law alumna who is actively practicing transactional law was invaluable,” Weiss said. “Our coach dedicated time to meaningful conversations about what the competition would look like and how it compares to real-world deal work.”
The Wayne State Taft Transactional Law Invitational challenges students to develop essential drafting, negotiation and client counseling skills through a simulated mergers-and-acquisitions transaction. Over several months, competitors draft and revise transactional agreements before participating in live negotiations judged by practicing attorneys.
Weiss said the experience provided a rare opportunity for students interested in transactional practice to gain hands-on training outside the litigation-focused experiences common in law school. Preparation for the competition included weekly strategy meetings, drafting letters of intent, revising agreements and participating in practice negotiations.
“My partner, Kaegan, and I spent countless hours getting familiar with the material and getting into the mindset of our client,” Weiss said. “It was an amazing reminder of what all of this schooling is for.”
Alex Platt, professor of law and director of the Polsinelli Transactional Law Center, said KU Law’s continued success reflects both the strength of the law school’s transactional curriculum and the dedication of its students and alumni coaches.
“Our faculty provides rigorous training in business, commercial and transactional skills that prepares our students for these competitions. We are also fortunate to be able to draw from a deep bench of top-tier transactional attorneys in the Kansas City area who generously serve as coaches,” Platt said. “But above all, the program thrives because of the sheer brilliance, work ethic and dedication of our KU Law students. It’s fantastic to watch their hard work translate into well-deserved recognition.”
Platt added that transactional law competitions give students an advantage as they begin their legal careers by exposing them to the realities of transactional practice in a competitive environment.
“Having gone through the intense process of drafting, redlining and negotiating a deal gives these students the ability to hit the ground running when they start a career in transactional practice,” he said.
Student participation in transactional law competitions is supported by the Polsinelli Transactional Law Center, a partnership between KU Law and Polsinelli. The center offers courses, competitions, symposia and programming designed to prepare students for careers in transactional law.