A group of University of Wisconsin law students have achieved excellent results at the regional competition in Minneapolis last week.
The UW Black Law Students Association sent two two-person teams to compete in the Fredrick Douglas Moot Court Competition and an additional four-person team to compete in the Thurgood Marshall Mock Trial Competition.
Both of these competitions ran from Feb. 17-21 at the National Black Law Students Association 2010 Midwest Regional Convention, UW BLSA sophomore Sir Williams said.
Williams added all three teams proceeded to the second rounds in the four-round competition, with the third-year student pair Sherrice Perry and Brandy Jackson advancing to the FDMCC semi-finals.
“We were very pleased with our performance and results,” Perry said. “Advancing to the semi-final round was quite reassuring, and our hard work paid off. It was overall just a great opportunity.”
According to both Perry and Jackson, they were given a mock case in September and had to develop oral arguments, along with a 20 to 40 page brief, and deliver them in front of judges at the convention.
The entire UW BLSA chapter also competed for the title of NBLSA Midwest Region Chapter of the Year, for which only 15 percent of the 45 Midwest chapters were considered, Williams said.
The University of Chicago ultimately received the award.
“In order to compete for the title, you have to go through the process of being interviewed by a committee and submitting a scrapbook about what your chapter has done. This weeds out a lot of schools, so it’s an honor to even be considered,” Williams added.
Williams was also elected to the position of NBLSA Midwest Region Chair. He said his primary duty is to represent the region’s interest on a national level, relay national information to the regional chapters and put on regular NBLSA events.
“My main goal as region chair is to get more chapters involved,” Williams said. “I would like to see 90 to 100 percent participation at regular conventions. Involvement is how we are going to get the most out of this organization.”