
The UMass Legislation BLSA Moot Courtroom workforce of Danielle Owens, JD candidate ’23 (remaining) and Camaran Pottinger, JD/MPP candidate ’24 gained to start with put for Finest Petitioner Short Award at the Northeast Regional Thurgood Marshall Moot Court docket Level of competition held final weekend in Atlantic City, NJ. This was the regulation school’s to start with overall look at the opposition.
UMass Law’s Black Law College students Association (BLSA) is celebrating an outstanding functionality at the Northeast Regional Thurgood Marshall Moot Courtroom Level of competition held previous weekend in Atlantic City, NJ.
Danielle Owens, JD prospect ’23, and Cameran Pottinger, JD/MPP applicant ’24, gained the Best Petitioner Temporary Award with a rating of 97.5/100 for their short about unconstitutional and discriminatory university admissions attempts.
The staff state-of-the-art from two preliminary rounds on February 9 to the Sweet Sixteen round on February 10, when they have been eradicated by a staff that ultimately attained the finals.
The National Black Legislation Pupils Affiliation (NBLSA) offers minority law pupils with the abilities important to be successful in the lawful profession. The Thurgood Marshall Moot Court Levels of competition was produced to give NBLSA customers with an opportunity to enrich their transient composing and advocacy competencies.
According to Owens, president of the UMass Legislation Black Law Learners Association, the reality sample for the transient was centered on the current U.S. Supreme Court docket situations of College students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard College and Students for Honest Admissions v. College of North Carolina. Owens and Pottinger were being assigned the place of Petitioner and represented the fictional group Advocates for Fair Lawful Schooling, which appealed to the Supreme Courtroom. They experienced to argue that the diversity admissions initiatives at the fictional HBCU Hillman College or university have been unconstitutional and discriminatory.
“I was really shocked when we gained our scores right before the oral part of the levels of competition but even far more shocked when the final results have been declared at the closing gala,” explained Owens. “We ended up competing in opposition to teams from Yale and Columbia and other T-14 schools in the Northeast region. Not to say I did not assume we stood a probability, but I was not completely certain we would earn.”
“It was actually an honor and enjoyment to symbolize UMass Law on a larger stage,” Pottinger extra. “I am certainly grateful that I stepped out of my consolation zone and reached this kind of a large accomplishment.”






















BLSA Moot Court docket group competition Cameran Pottinger (remaining) and Danielle Owens with Coach Prof. Julie Baker.
Their first-place temporary was based mostly on unconstitutional and discriminatory university admissions attempts and acquired a rating of 97.5/100.
Competition offered legislation college students with discovering alternatives and assurance
“By collaborating in this competitiveness, I mainly learned how to vocally advocate for clients,” Owens mentioned. “Writing the quick gave us a great foundation to form our oral arguments for the upcoming step of the competitiveness, but the tough element was receiving on my ft and the practice of talking in advance of a court.”
“From this encounter, I acquired to get about my nerves and just communicate,” claimed Pottinger. “Very soon into the competitors, I acquired that I realized the scenario regulation and the specifics like the back of my hand, and it turned a lot easier to advocate for my shopper.
“The most worthwhile talent that I attained in the course of this opposition was arguing on equally sides in just one day. To be equipped to voice a passionate stance on one particular side and arrive again a few of hrs afterwards to argue the other side is drastically essential in the lawful discipline. As a upcoming lawyer, I will seem back on this knowledge as I anticipate my opposing counsel’s arguments in advance of I phase into a courtroom,” she extra.
Moot Courtroom Team Mentor and UMass Regulation Director of Advocacy Applications Julie Baker praised Owens and Pottinger for their penned and oral advocacy capabilities and for how very well they represented UMass Regulation School in its 1st look in this competitiveness. “This is a fantastic entry into this level of competition for UMass Law, and we search ahead to constructing on this achievements in future many years and making a lot more alternatives for our college students to develop and showcase their advocacy expertise,” Baker said. “I could not be prouder of our team.”


The BLSA Mock Demo group produced a powerful displaying at the Constance Baker Motley Regional Mock Demo Competition. From remaining are Coach Prof. Michael Hasday and Competitors Ina ChangTorres, Kaitlyn Pichardo, Ashley Sanches, Danny Martinez, and Decide Kevan Cunningham, who volunteered to get the job done with the group for more than a year.
Mock Demo workforce was amazing in preliminary rounds
UMass Law’s BLSA Mock Demo team of Ina Chang Torres, Daniel Martinez, Ashley Martinez-Sanchez, and Kaitlyn Pichardo also turned out an exceptional functionality at the Constance Baker Motley Regional Mock Trial Opposition, held through the very same NBLSA party last weekend.
The competitors is designed to produce courtroom existence, oral advocacy, and lawful studying techniques whilst collaborating in the many phases of a demo. Participants employ the Federal Guidelines of Evidence, criminal and civil treatment, analytical techniques, and advocacy.
“They did a good career in their two preliminary rounds and had been narrowly excluded from advancing to the Final 4,” said Baker. “We had been told that the scores were being ‘very, really near.’ All of our learners obtained a great deal of praise from their judges, spectators, and co-competitors.” These opinions have been echoed by the team’s mentor, Viewing Professor Michael Hasday, who accompanied the team to the level of competition in Atlantic Town.
The UMass Regulation students competed against eight teams in the mock trial competitors and 18 in the moot court levels of competition.
One particular sure rationale for the teams’ successes? Retired Massachusetts District Court docket Decide Kevan Cunningham volunteered his time to do the job with UMass Law BLSA mock trial students for about a year, coming to the legislation faculty for practices just about every other week and holding trial advocacy panels and workshops open up to all regulation students. “We are pretty grateful and appreciative to Choose Cunningham for all his time and experience, and we seem forward to continuing to operate with him in the foreseeable future,” said Baker.
In addition to Judge Cunningham and Professor Hasday, the BLSA teams had been supported and coached by Assistant Dean of Learners Julie Cahill, Director of Academic Achievement and Assistant Professor Amy Vaughn-Thomas, and Lawful Abilities Professors Jennifer Davis, James Freeley, and Rebecca Moor.










