Story and photos by Maria Iacobo
In his last semester at USC Law, Alex Zalkin ’11 may have left an indelible mark. With a basketball.
Zalkin organized a basketball game between USC and UCLA law schools with the proceeds supporting the public interest organizations at each school. The game – “L.A. Supreme Court: First Annual USC Law vs. UCLA Law Charity Basketball Game” – saw enthusiastic crowds for both teams fill the bleachers at a Galen Center practice court. From the quality of the game, you would have thought the teams were filled with former college basketball stars and not budding lawyers.
Zalkin sought to stage the contest after learning of an annual match between two New York City law schools.
“We’ve got a built-in rivalry with UCLA,” explained Zalkin, who decided to host a similar game in Los Angeles.
Zalkin and Student Bar Association president Alberto Munoz ’11 took the idea to UCLA’s SBA president, who was immediately on board.
“We conducted tryouts for the players and had an application process for the coaches,” said Munoz. “It was great to see the whole school behind the game. Students from all three classes tried out for the team.”
Not one of the players who made the cut – 17 from the 40 who tried out – had played college ball. To remedy that, Munoz and Zalkin enrolled a team in the university-wide intramural basketball league. The practice paid off; one of the law school teams won the intramural league championship.
Game day saw head coach Hayden Alfano and assistant coach Ramon Ramirez dressed in their Trojan best; Alfano sported a cardinal velvet jacket, and both men wore cardinal and gold ties. Derek Lipkin ’12 ably served as the play-by-play announcer and conducted half-time activities with the audience.
The two teams battled it out with UCLA topping USC with a final score of 58 – 41.
Although USC lost the contest, the true winners are the student organizations at both schools. Through these programs and clinics, law students volunteer at public interest organizations throughout the city of Los Angeles, providing legal assistance to underserved communities while gaining valuable experience. Approximately $4,000 was raised for each school.
For USC, the proceeds will go to the Public Interest Law Foundation, Legal Aid Alternative Breaks and Street Law. UCLA’s proceeds will fund their Public Interest Law Foundation, student-coordinated network of volunteer legal aid clinics, Education & Law Society and their chapter of the National Women’s Law Students’ Organization.
Zalkin and Munoz hope the competition becomes a tradition for the law schools.
“Next year’s SBA board is already planning to stage the contest again,” said Munoz. “It was an event that brought our law school together. We also had a post game party with UCLA which was definitely fun.”
“I had a great time, other than losing the game,” said Zalkin. “It really took me back to high school basketball games with the fans, uniforms and the announcer. To have started with an idea and see it turn into a reality was a great experience.”
“I look forward to coming back as an alum next year,” said Munoz.
“And beating UCLA,” added Zalkin.
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