The first competition globally to focus exclusively on the role of the lawyer in the mediation room concluded after a three-month journey spanning four training sessions, six rounds, and a valedictory attended by some of India’s most distinguished voices in dispute resolution.
The Virtual Mediation Advocacy Competition (VMAC) 2026, the first competition of its kind globally to focus exclusively on the role of the lawyer in the mediation room, concluded on August 9, 2026, after a three-month journey that brought together law students, professional mediators, and leading figures from India’s dispute resolution community.
Conceptualized and organized by SettleWiseNow, and co-hosted with the International Arbitration and Mediation Centre (IAMC), Hyderabad, VMAC 2026 drew 42 teams and 93 participants from across India and Sri Lanka. The competition was supported by over 70 professionals who participated as assessors and mediators across its various rounds.
About VMAC
VMAC was built on a recognition that mediation advocacy (the skill set a lawyer brings to the mediation room on behalf of a client) has rarely been the subject of structured competition or formal training in Indian legal education. While mediation as a dispute resolution mechanism has grown considerably, the role of the mediation lawyer has remained largely untrained and untested.
VMAC sought to address this gap by offering participants not just a competitive platform, but a comprehensive training programme developed by SettleWiseNow in collaboration with IAMC Hyderabad and The PACT. The competition was open to law students globally, and its inaugural edition saw participation from institutions across India and Sri Lanka.
Access to the competition was widened through the VMAC Scholarship, awarded ahead of the competition to three teams selected on merit through a preliminary scholarship round: The Concord Team from Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi; Team Ford from National Law University, Jodhpur and National Law University, Delhi; and Team ConsensusX from O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat.
The Training Phase
The competition began in June 2026 with four training sessions that formed the foundation of the VMAC experience. These sessions were curated and formulated by SettleWiseNow, covering the core competencies of mediation advocacy: pitching mediation to clients, drafting effective mediation briefs, deal-making at the table, and engaging with mediators in a live session. IAMC Hyderabad and The PACT contributed to the delivery of the training programme.
Underpinning the training phase was the Online Training on Mediation Advocacy developed by SettleWiseNow in collaboration with The PACT and the Asian School of Cyber Laws (ASCL), which provided participants with a structured academic grounding before the competition rounds commenced.
The Competition Rounds
The preliminary phase of VMAC unfolded across three rounds in July 2026, each building on a single evolving factual matrix drawn from a cross-border investment dispute.
Round 1, the Deal Making Session, placed participants in the role of counsel for opposing parties in a complex transaction involving a century-old Indian infrastructure company and a Singapore-based investor seeking to develop a hydro-power project in Himachal Pradesh. Participants were assessed on their ability to identify interests, negotiate across positions, and construct a commercially and legally durable agreement. The Best Deal Makers Award for this round was sponsored by Crest Law Partners.
Round 2 advanced the factual scenario: the deal had given rise to a dispute, and participants, now acting as client-facing counsel, were required to assess the situation, understand their client’s interests, and make a persuasive case for mediation as the appropriate path forward. The round was designed to replicate the dynamics of a genuine first client meeting. The Best Mediation Pitch Award for this round was sponsored by Polaris Legal.
Round 3, the Mediation Round, required participants to first produce a written mediation brief before stepping into a full mediation session presided over by a professional mediator. The round demanded both the written precision of a well-crafted brief and the live advocacy skill needed to navigate a mediation session in real time. The Best Mediation Brief Award for this round was sponsored by SettleWiseNow and IAMC Hyderabad.
The knockout rounds (Quarter-Finals, Semi-Finals, and the Grand Final) were conducted in August 2026 as full mediation sessions, each presided over by a professional mediator. The involvement of practising mediators and mediation lawyers as assessors brought a level of professional authenticity to the competition that set it apart from conventional law school ADR events.
Panel Discussion and Valedictory Ceremony
The ceremony opened with the inaugural address by Mr. Vikas Singh, Senior Advocate and President of the Supreme Court Bar Association, who spoke on the ethical and professional duty of lawyers to advise clients toward settlement wherever appropriate, emphasising that the credibility a lawyer builds through honest counsel is what endures through a career.
The panel discussion was moderated by Mr. Gokul Narayan, Founder and Director of SettleWiseNow, and brought together Ms. Laila Ollapally, Founder of CAMP Arbitration and Mediation Practice; the Honourable Mr. Justice D. Bharath Chakravarthy of the Madras High Court; Mr. AJ Jawad, CEO and Registrar of IAMC Hyderabad; and Ms. Rukmani Menon, Director of SettleWiseNow. Opening the discussion, Narayan framed the central question of the event, how the legal profession can deliberately train mediation advocates rather than producing them by accident:
“We currently produce good mediation advocates by chance, by accident, relying on natural talent to do work that was deliberately meant to be done by training.”
Justice Hrishikesh Roy (Retd.), Former Judge of the Supreme Court of India, addressed the valedictory as Chief Guest and underscored the significance of VMAC in filling a gap that has long existed in legal education:
“Mediation Advocacy is a very specialized skill set. The profession has largely treated both mediator training and mediation advocacy as one, or overlooked the latter part of the skill set altogether.”
Champions of VMAC 2026
The VMAC Advocacy Champions of 2026 were Team X (TC07), comprising Sankalp Prakash Dharana and Omar Sigbathulla from O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat. The Grand Final was decided by a 3-2 verdict among the five-assessor panel, reflecting the closeness of the contest.
The Runners-Up were Team Truce Titans (TC02), comprising Tanishka Goel and Shree Chauhan from Dr. B.R. Ambedkar National Law University, Sonipat. Notably, the two finalist teams had faced each other in the very first round of the preliminary phase, meeting again in the Grand Final in a full circle.
The Grand Final is available for viewing on the Virtual Mediation Advocacy Competition’s official YouTube channel.
Special Awards
In addition to the main competition, VMAC 2026 recognised excellence across individual rounds through special awards:
Best Deal Makers (Sponsored by Crest Law Partners): Team Pisces Scorpio (TC32), comprising Diya Ramesh Deshmukh and Vanshika Ashok Sonawane of Nari Gursahani Law College, Mumbai; and Team Eagles (TC30), comprising Bhagwath R. Y. and Praghya K of BITS Law School, Mumbai.
Best Mediation Pitch (Sponsored by Polaris Legal): Team Doctrine & Co. (TC23), comprising Ihina Yadav and Vania Nayal of O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat; Team Invictus (TC34), comprising Sahil Ratre of the National Law School of India University, Bengaluru, and Krrish Nema of the National Law Institute University, Bhopal; Team Split the Difference? (TC40), comprising Vivek Rajesh Jadhav, Prakul Sisodia, and Vedang Chouhan of NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad; and Team Shinchans (TC14), comprising Vanshika Gupta and Sanchi Deshpande of the National Law School of India University, Bengaluru.
Best Mediation Brief (Sponsored by SettleWiseNow and IAMC Hyderabad): Team Sally Carrera (TC11), comprising Chinmayi HC and Shree Sudha of Alliance University, Bengaluru; and Team Median (TC21), comprising Anamittra Ravishankar and Deesha Vaibhav Dahane of Maharashtra National Law University, Nagpur.
Quiz Winners: Each of the first three training sessions was followed by a quiz, and the top-scoring teams were TC26 for the quiz on Training Session 1, Pitching Mediation to Clients; TC42 for the quiz on Training Session 2, Drafting Effective Mediation Briefs; and TC36 for the quiz on Training Session 3, How to Close a Deal and Effectively Use a Mediator.
The People’s Choice Award recognized the top 10 teams based on engagement on LinkedIn over the course of the competition, with each of the 42 teams posting about their VMAC journey. The award was presented by Legal League Consulting. Team Pisces Scorpio (TC32) received the highest engagement and was named the People’s Choice winner.
Partners
VMAC 2026 was supported by an extensive network of institutional and industry partners. Polaris Legal, Crest Law Partners, Samvaad Partners, Fox Mandal and Associates, Indus Law, and ALMT Legal served as Supporting Partners. Certjuris joined as Academic Partner. The Asian School of Cyber Laws served as Technology Partner, and The PACT served as Mediation Advocacy Partner. AskMM participated as AI Partner. Legal League Consulting joined as Strategic Management Partner. SCC Online and SCC Times served as Media and Resource Partners, and Lawctopus and Lawctopus Law School joined as Outreach Partners.
Organising Committee
The competition was made possible by the efforts of its Organising Committee: Anubhab Banerjee, Romit Sarkar, Aanchal Chandani, Manvi Pahwa, Kashish Goel, and Harsh Kumar Shukla. The Advisory Board comprised Mr. AJ Jawad, Ms. Rukmani Menon, Mr. Gokul Narayan, and Ms. Shuchi Nagpal.
Looking Ahead
Closing the valedictory, Anubhab Banerjee reflected on what VMAC set out to achieve: “We started this with the belief that Mediation Advocacy needs its own stage, and Mediation Advocacy needs its own movement. It was a thought, it was an idea, all that we started with 6 months back, and I feel we have begun to move the needle on mediation advocacy, and we want to make it much bigger and larger.”
VMAC looks forward to its next edition, continuing its mission of training the next generation of mediation advocates. More details are available at www.vmacompetition.com.
