After several years hiatus, student arbitration moots have returned to The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law (Catholic Law). In January, the “Arbitration Team” competed in the Tulane University International Baseball Arbitration competition in New Orleans, Louisiana. Approximately 40 teams from schools throughout the country competed. The competition simulates the Major League Baseball’s (MLB) formal salary arbitration process.

In MLB, if a player and a team are not able to agree on a salary, they agree to settle the dispute by appearing before a neutral arbitrator, who looks at the “midpoint,” or the median between the player and the team’s asks. If the arbitrator finds the player is worth even a penny more than the midpoint, the player receives his full ask. If the arbitrator finds the player is worth even a penny less than the midpoint, the team receives its full ask. The stakes are high for both the player and the team, due to the high salaries in MLB.

The competition was the first the Arbitration Team attended, and was an excellent opportunity to gain arbitration practice, develop brief writing skills, and network with professionals who work in the world major league sports. Many of the judges are professional player managers or attorneys for the major league baseball association.

The Arbitration Team consists of ten members: Dan Johnson (3L), Lydia Korostelova (3L), Marcy Kosinski (3L), Samantha Hungerford (2L), Eleni Moukas (2L), Phoebe Gresser (2L), Chris Schwarz (2L), Robert Dickson (2L), Julio Veizaga (2L), and Julia Bockman (2L). Professor Robert Destro is faculty sponsor to the team, and the team was coached by Professor Marshall Breger.