ua law logo high res
law.arizona.edu | Link                                                                                  February 12, 2014

Greetings!

 

This week we focus our profiles on some extraordinary recognition of faculty and students at the College.

 

Let me highlight one exceptional moment up front: Professor Jim Anaya was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.

 

Below we say more about Jim, and take note of recent acclaim earned by our students and alumni.

 

Until the footnotes,

 

Marc

 

The Arizona Law Trial Teams

Last Thursday, with an inaugural address by California plaintiff's attorney Thomas V. Girardi, we launched our Civil Justice Initiative. This week we continue to celebrate Arizona Law's strength in trial practice by describing the bold exploits of our trial teams.

 

This year's trial teams are composed of six students - Josh Barton '15, Heather Goodwin '16, Robson Hauser '14, Sean Kelly '15, Michelle Moore '15, and Omar Vasquez '14. The students were selected based upon their performance during the Jenckes Competition. They began practice in the fall to prepare for the National Trial Competition. This competition is sponsored by the American College of Trial Lawyers and the Texas Young Lawyers Association, and is widely considered to be among the most prestigious law school trial level competitions in the country.  

 

This year, our teams joined 19 others from 11 law schools at the University of Oklahoma in Norman. Teams competed in 3 preliminary rounds, with the top 8 teams going forward to the semi-final round (the Elite Eight, for all of you basketball fans).  In order to advance to the national finals, the teams had to win their Elite Eight trial.  

 

Team 1, composed of Heather Goodwin, Omar Vasquez, and Sean Kelly had a narrow loss to the University of Colorado.

 

Team 2 composed of Robson Hauser, Michelle Moore, and Josh Barton went undefeated in the competition (winning all 5 trials). They will compete at nationals in Austin, Texas on March 26-30.  


Both Team 1 and Team 2 will be practicing over the next few weeks to prepare for nationals. While only one team advanced, it is a group effort to win.   

 

Participants spend 10-20 hours a week preparing for the competition. The teams meet at least twice a week for 3 hours each session. In these meetings, students run the trial from start to finish with coaches (Tom Mauet, Brian Chase, and Joel Feinman ) and team members providing feedback. In addition to practices, the students their materials, learn the rules of evidence, and determine strategies for trial. The students must also meet with their teams outside of practice to work on trial strategy and case theories.

 

We are very proud of both teams' performances. They follow a long tradition of producing great trial lawyers at Arizona Law.

Please help me congratulate these students as they prepare to compete against the top schools in the country. Teams -- congratulations on your success in regionals. You make us proud.

 

 

 
Alumni
Brian Chase '11 and Joel Feinman '07

It probably will not surprise you to learn that the coaches of the Arizona Law trial teams are themselves trial advocacy stand-outs. The coaches, Brian Chase ('11) and Joel Feinman ('07) both achieved recognition of their trial abilities while students at Arizona Law and have continued their trial work in practice.  

 

Brian, a two-time Wildcat (BA'08, JD'11), chose Arizona Law specifically for its strengths in trial practice. "For law school, I looked at many options, but Arizona Law was the best. It offered the best education for the best price. Plus, I knew I wanted to be a trial lawyer, and with Professor Mauet at Arizona Law, I was confident I would receive superb training and trial experience."

 

Brian was right. As a student, he won the 2011 William T. Birmingham Award for Advanced Trial Advocacy and the Jenckes Closing Argument Competition in 2010.

 

These days, Brian manages his own law firm, the Law Office of Brian Chase, PLLC , where he specializes in plaintiff's personal injury work and criminal defense work. He also runs his own computer consulting/computer forensics company, Chase Technology Consulting, that helps lawyers deal with everything from digital evidence and computer forensics to picking the right software for their offices.

 

This year was Brian's first year as official coach of the Arizona Law Trial Team, though last year he served as an assistant coach for the team and organized the regional competition, which Arizona Law hosted for the first time.

 

While it is his first official year as coach, Brian is no stranger to mock trial. Brian was himself a student on the Arizona Law team, the University of Arizona undergraduate mock trial team, and an undergraduate mock trial coach. Brian has participated in mock trial in one form or another for almost a decade.  

 

Outside of his law practice, computer consulting, and mock trial work Brian is a volunteer for Therapeutic Riding of Tucson. He is also board member for the Pima County Bar Association's Young Lawyers Division.  

 

 Joel Feinman has every reason to be proud of his mock trial work. Joel, a member of the Pima County Public Defender's Felony Team, has coached the Cholla High School Mock Trial Team since 2007, adding the Arizona Law trial team to his repertoire in 2011.

 

Like Brian, Joel also garnered advocacy awards as a law student; the William T. Birmingham Advanced Trial Advocacy Award in 2006 and the Jenckes Closing Argument Competition in 2005 and 2006.

 

Joel, an Arizona native, completed his undergraduate studies at Northwestern University, returning to his native state to earn a dual degree (Masters Degree in Latin American Studies and JD) from the University of Arizona in 2007.

 

In addition to his commitment to mock trial, Joel has been recognized for his trial work at the Public Defender's office. In 2011 Joel received the "Rising Star Award" by the Arizona Public Defender Association. And, in 2012, Joel received the ""Rule 11 King" award" from Judge Deborah Bernini of the Pima County Superior Court.

 

Those of you in the Tucson community may remember Joel from the remarkable story of his Mount Kilimanjaro climb with his mother in 2007.

 

In addition to all he does for the law school, Joel serves on the Board of Directors for Planned Parenthood, the Arizona State Bar Mentorship Committee, and as a mentor for the Pima County Juvenile Court Mentorship Program. I hear rumors that in his spare time, he is building himself a new dining room table.

Faculty
Professor James Anaya   

 

All of us in the Arizona Law community are aware of the profoundly important work that Professor James Anaya has done throughout his career, and most recently during his highly successful tenure (for two terms) as the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

 

The world has taken notice as well. Jim has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.   

 

This is an exceptional honor, demonstrating the extraordinary impact that his leadership has produced.  

 

As a Regents' Professor and the James J. Lenoir Professor of Human Rights Law and Policy, Jim has been teaching international human rights, constitutional law, and issues concerning indigenous peoples at Arizona Law since 1999.

 

He has been all over the world, not only as an advisor but as a lawyer. He represented indigenous groups from North and Central America in landmark cases before courts and international organizations. For example, in Awas Tingni v. Nicaragua, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights for the first time upheld indigenous land rights as a matter of international law.

 

Please join me in celebrating his achievements and the recognition they have earned worldwide.  

Footnotes

Coming soon!

  

Alumni Authors Needed

The College of Law will host a booth at this year's Festival of Books.  We are looking for alumni authors to join us.  If you are interested, please contact Nancy Stanley 

 

Networking Nosh at Arizona Law  

Lewis Roca Rothgerber Lobby 

  

February 27 4:30-6:00 p.m.

  

March 27 4:30-6:00 p.m.

  

Connections between alumni and students strengthen the Arizona Law community.  To help facilitate those connections, we are launching a new networking series. If you are an alum willing to return to campus to spend time with and advise students, please sign up by emailing Marissa White.

 

  

Alumni Reception in San Diego

Thursday, February 20, 2014 - Electra - 700 West E. Street, San Diego, CA  92101  RSVP here.

 

 

Law College Association Annual Dinner and Awards Ceremony in Phoenix 

Friday, April 4, 2014 5:30 - 9:00 - U of A College of Medicine, 550 E Van Buren St, Phoenix, AZ  85004 

Register here. 

 

 

Looking for a way to make an impact?   
Make a donation to our student scholarship fund.   Every dollar invested produces a solid return and helps to alleviate the burden of educational debt for a student. 

 

   

 

****************************************************************************************************************************************** 

 

Last week, we enjoyed a lecture from Tom Girardi, we hosted a naturalization ceremony for new U.S. citizens, and Assistant Secretary of the Interior and former Arizona Law Professor, Kevin Washburn passed through to help teach a gaming class and say hello to old friends We also hosted the 13th Annual, Sonoran Desert Public Interest Career Fair --the largest ever.  67 students took part in 144 interviews with 44 different interviewing agencies. What a week!

In the coming weeks, we prepare for a visit from former FBI agent Terry Hake, our Law College Association Annual Dinner, and a conference on Veteran's Advocacy. I hope to see many of you in the coming weeks as well.

 

Marc

 

Marc Signature      






Marc L. Miller 
Dean & Ralph W. Bilby Professor of Law 
James E. Rogers College of Law    

Stay Connected

Like us on Facebook   Follow us on Twitter   View our profile on LinkedIn   View our videos on YouTube   Email   Wildcat
 Online Giving | law.arizona.edu/give | Link

Copyright © 2013. All Rights Reserved.