Two 3Ls won regional competition in Jan.
—Submitted by Cherise Latortue
Two USC Law students, Anna Stubblefield '09 and Kaprisha Vallecillo '09, placed seventh at the National Black Law Students Association (NBLSA) Frederick Douglass Moot Court Competition held in late March.
The third-year students, who won the Western Region Competition, were one of 16 teams to earn a spot in the finals. They placed seventh in the national contest, which concluded at the 41st Annual NBLSA Convention in Irvine, Calif., March 19 to 21.
"I am thankful to have had the opportunity to refine my persuasive writing oral and advocacy skills," said Vallecillo.
The team began preparing for the competition last semester. This is the first year USC Law students have participated in the intermural moot court program.
"Our coaches, Nikhila Raj and Elizabeth Gonzales, used their moot court experience to prepare us for the grueling questions that we were faced with at the regional and national level of the competition," Vallecillo said. "We were excited to advance to finals, especially since the odds were stacked against us; many of our competitors all had attorney coaches and had participated in the competition in prior years."
Stubblefield and Vallecillo's competitors came from schools such as Georgetown School of Law, University of Pennsylvania Law School, Harvard School of Law, University of Virginia School of Law, New York University School of Law, Columbia School of Law, University of Chicago School of Law, and University of Texas School of Law, as well as a variety of other law schools across the nation.
Four of USC Law's Black Law Students Association members will serve on the western region executive board for the 2009-10 academic year: Cherise Latortue- Regional Chair; Rosezetta Upshaw- Attorney General; Christine Harding- Membership Director; Aysha Pamucki- Frederick Douglas Moot Court Director. The Regional Chairs also sit on the national executive board of NBLSA.
This academic year, BLSA Co-Presidents Cherise Latortue and Sunita Bali served on the WRBLSA executive board.
NBLSA was founded in 1968, and is a national organization formed to articulate and promote the needs and goals of black law students and effectuate change in the legal community. As the largest student-run organization in the United States with over 6,000 members, NBLSA is also comprised of chapters or affiliates in six different countries including The Bahamas, Nigeria, and South Africa. Organized into six regions (Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Southern, Mid-West, Rocky Mountain and Western Region), the organization has over 200 chapters. The Western Region of NBLSA comprises Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon and Washington.
NBLSA encourages the development of the talented, socially conscious lawyers of tomorrow. Each year, the organization holds an annual convention to engage in legal activism and prepare new generations of black lawyers to "effectuate change."
Additionally, the Frederick Douglass Moot Court and Thurgood Marshall Mock Trial Competitions are held during its annual convention. NBLSA's notable alumni include President Barack Obama and former Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall.
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