Students from 29 law schools around the U.S. tested their deal-making skills at the Second Annual Transactional Lawyering Meet March 31 to April 1.

The meet tripled in size from last year, reflecting demand for the competition, which is the first anywhere to let prospective transactional lawyers match wits with peers.

Simulating transactions is more complex than trials, said Karl Okamoto, professor of law, director of the school's Business & Entrepreneurship Law Program and creator of the competition.

"With moot court, you are doing simulations based on past events," Okamoto said. "How you simulate transactions is very different. It's about what's going to happen in the future."

All 28 visiting teams were invited to take part, and Okamoto had to turn some schools away. Law schools from American University, Boston College, Brigham Young University, Cornell University, Emory University, Hofstra University, Indiana University, Loyola Los Angeles, Michigan State University, New York University, Northern Kentucky University, South Texas College of Law, Southwestern Law School, Temple University, University of California-Davis, University of California-Los Angeles, University of Colorado, University of Georgia, University of Houston, University of Maryland, University of Missouri-Kansas City, University of Oregon, University of Pennsylvania, University of Pittsburgh, University of Richmond, Washington and Lee University, Western New England College of Law and William & Mary took part, as well did Drexel.

This year's meet required teams of students representing a fictional restaurateur and potential investor and operating partner to hammer out an agreement for a partnership that would create a national chain of panzerotti shops.

Their performance was judged by distinguished practitioners from premiere law and finance firms as well as general counsel offices in the region.

The competition is a boon to students, said Joan Weinman Schwartz, the associate general counsel for Airgas Inc, who along with Jason Koenig, a principal with Hale Capital Partners, Charles Middleton, the senior vice president and tax counsel for Oxbow Corporation and Kenneth E. Young, a partner with Dechert, judged the final round and then demonstrated how veterans would handle the same deal.

"This is the training you don't get in most law schools," Schwartz said. "When I was in law school, we didn't get to do anything like this."

In the end, the judges declared the team from Western New England the winners and their fellow finalists from UCLA as runners-up.

Michigan State student Jennifer Long said she benefited tremendously from comments she received from the practitioners who judged her rounds.

"It was really good getting feedback from somebody in the profession," Long said. "I'm a 3L, so I can't do this again next year, which is unfortunate."