The American Heritage Dictionary defines malpractice as “improper or negligent treatment of a patient by a physician,” “improper or unethical conduct by the holder of an official or professional position” or “an improper practice.”

If the men’s and women’s teams at University of North Dakota School of Law were practicing improperly, it didn’t show, as both teams beat the School of Medicine in the Malpractice Bowl, 12-6 and 18-12, respectively.

The Malpractice Bowl is a flag football game between the two schools, with men’s and women’s teams each consisting of nine players. The game has been in place since 1978. Each year the two schools alternate between booking the venue, obtaining referees and organizing a social gathering at a local establishment. This year, the game was held at Memorial Stadium, with officials from the UND Wellness Center and UND Intramurals. The post-game gathering was held at Shotgun Sally’s.

“This provides a little rivalry, which includes a few pranks on game day,” said Josh Wolfe, a student in his final semester at the law school, in an email. This past summer, Wolfe, of Esmond, served as a clerk in Judge John C. McClintock Jr.’s office. “In my first year of law school, some med students infiltrated the law school, hid and set off 10 lab timers in our Property Law Classroom. This, as well as a chalk drawing of ‘Medical School > Law School’ (reads: “medical school greater than law school”), outside the doors of the law school, provided a little incentive for retribution in the game that day.”

This year, the men’s team for the law school garnered an early lead, with a score of 12-0 at the end of the first half. In the final seconds of that game, the medical school failed to convert on 4th down and goal as time expired. The law school’s defense also caught two interceptions.

The three scores for the women’s law school team came from huge plays: an 86-yard quarterback sweep, an 80-yard interception return and a 60-yard pass.

“From my understanding, the men’s law school team has pretty much dominated the series, winning at least 14 of the last 17 Malpractice Bowls,” Wolfe said.

McClintock also competed in the Malpractice Bowl as part of the Men’s Law School team from 1983 to 1985.

“It’s a very fun, friendly rivalry. It’s very competitive,” McClintock said.

McClintock recalled that for the social gathering, the dean of the school who lost the bowl would buy a keg for the gathering, which had been held at a bar called Frenchie’s.

During McClintock’s tenure on the team, the law school won the first year and lost the two years after that.

“The medical school had some pretty good athletes, including former football players,” McClintock said.