In partnership with Wayne State University Law School, Taft supported the 2026 Wayne State Taft Transactional Law Invitational on March 27 in the firm’s Southfield office. The national competition brought together 22 teams from 20 law schools across the country.

The Wayne State Taft Transactional Law Invitational is a key component of Wayne State’s experiential learning program. Established in 2014 by Professor Eric Zacks and Wayne Law alumnus and Taft partner Justin Hanna, the program continues to grow through the support of the Taft Transactional Law Competition Fund.

The competition challenges students to build essential drafting, negotiation, and counseling skills through a simulated mergers and acquisitions transaction. After a semester of drafting and revisions, teams participate in negotiation rounds and receive feedback from experienced transactional attorneys.

Taft attorneys, including Justin Hanna, Connor Schram, Daniel Harwood, Mark Rubenfire, Lauren Lambert, Max Shuart, Will Friedman, Evonne Xu, Marguerite Donahue (Ret.), and Bruce Kahn (Ret.), along with Wayne Law alumni and other practitioners, served as judges for the competition.

The following law schools were recognized as winners:

Buyer’s Counsel

• First Place Negotiations: William & Mary Law School
• Second Place Negotiations: University of Kansas School of Law
• First Place Drafting: University of Kansas School of Law
• Second Place Drafting: Wayne State University Law School

Seller’s Counsel

• First Place Negotiations: Lewis & Clark Law School
• Second Place Negotiations: University of Tennessee College of Law
• First Place Drafting: University of Nebraska College of Law
• Second Place Drafting: University of San Diego School of Law