Western State students Steven Alvarado and Melissa Padilla, coached by Adjunct Professor Paul Smith, won first place in the National Sports Law Negotiation Competition, edging out 39 other teams from the U.S. and Canada.

“It was an honor and privilege to represent Western State College of Law this past weekend at the competition. We had lots of fun and finished in first place out of 40 teams,” Melissa Padilla posted on her LinkedIn profile. Western State’s team edged out competitors from Georgetown, Berkeley, and Fordham among others.