Thomas Tang Moot Court Competition

The Thomas Tang International Moot Court Competition, also known as the Tang, is a moot court competition sponsored by the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, attracting participants from law schools in the U.S. and Asia.

History

The Thomas Tang National Moot Court Competition was founded in 1993 by the Asian Pacific-American Law Student Association ("APALSA") of the South Texas College of Law, Houston, Texas. The competition came about as a result of an intense debate among three South Texas College of Law ("STCL") students - Kevin Pham, Pam Rea, and John Tang - over the need for a moot court competition that would celebrate the growing Asian American presence and influence in the American legal system and would simultaneously encourage law students to analyze issues that impact Americans from all backgrounds. These three students, along with every other member of the South Texas College of Law APALSA organization during 1993, mobilized their efforts, to bring about the competition as a lasting contribution to the legal education community. Rea authored the moot court case and the local rules for the competition, while Pham and Tang relentlessly sought and obtained support from the law school's administration and the local Asian American Bar Association ("AABA") of Houston, and provided leadership to the many student volunteers needed for a successful outcome. Both the Houston Chapter of the AABA and South Texas College of Law embraced the APALSA students' vision and supported their efforts, but the organization and efforts that resulted in the highly successful first year of the Tang were the result of the collaboration among law students who pursued a vision to contribute to the opportunities available to Asian American law students. The success of the Tang was realized in the first year, as law students traveled from all over the United States to participate in the competition.

The students who founded the competition named it after the highest ranking Asian American justice at that time, The Honorable Thomas Tang, the senior judge on the Federal Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Justice Tang greatly honored the students of STCL and the participating competitors, when he personally attended the 1993 competition and presided over Final Round. In his remarks to the participating students in 1993, Justice Tang noted the efforts of the law students in creating opportunity and change, and challenged future law students to seek out ways of their own to enhance the legal profession and advance the involvement of persons from all backgrounds in our justice system.

The Tang is now administered by the NAPABA Law Foundation and the NAPABA Judicial Council, whose leadership continues to offer law students the opportunity to deepen their understanding of the complexities and strength of the American justice system as it applies to all Americans. The Competition continues to honor the late Judge Thomas Tang, a champion of individual rights, an advocate for the advancement of minority attorneys, an ardent supporter of NAPABA and the moot court competition. Judge Tang served on the United States Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals from 1977 until his death in 1995. Judge Tang's wife, Dr. Pearl Tang, continues the legacy and participates every year.

Outreach

The Competition is open to all students but is especially designed to reach out to APA law students and provide them with an opportunity to showcase their writing and oral advocacy skills and compete for scholarships totaling $10,000.

List of past champions

  • 1993 John Marshall Law School – Tara Taylor/Anita Michaels
  • 1994 Loyola University Chicago – Jinah Yun/Jennifer Gong
  • 1995 University of Oklahoma – Aditi Dravid/Bonnie Richardson/Kirti Vaidya
  • 1996 Loyola University Chicago – Rana Abbasi/Shenazz Mansuri
  • 1997 Loyola University Chicago – Kristin Corl/Grace Wee
  • 1998 University of California Davis – Sandra Tm Chong/Rochelle Hao
  • 1999 Loyola University Chicago – Stacy Bardo/Esther Hong
  • 2000 Loyola University Chicago – Alison Ozawa/Emmy Wang
  • 2001 Loyola University Chicago – Susan Danial/Zarin Khan
  • 2002 University of Florida – Steven Klein/Bradley Harper
  • 2003 Loyola University Chicago – Julie Kiley/Cindy Nguyen
  • 2004 University of California Hastings – Mervyn Deganos/Bonnie Lau
  • 2005 Southern Methodist University – Melissa Iyer/Michael Ma
  • 2006 Loyola University Chicago – Nicholas Lee/Joy Park
  • 2007 Loyola University Chicago - Caroline Kwak/Huda Krad
  • 2008 Southern Methodist University – Bill Richmond/Lindsey Griffin
  • 2009 University of California Hastings - Yumi Nam/James de los Reyes
  • 2010 University of Pennsylvania - Vivian Lee/Ali Stoffregen
  • 2011 University of California Hastings - Elaine Kuo/Erin Pham
  • 2012 University of Colorado - Surbhi Garg/Leah Gould
  • 2013 University of California Hastings - Byron Huang/Joy Siu
  • 2014 South Texas College of Law - Crystal Dang/Katrisha Shirley
  • 2015 Southern Methodist University - Dorlin Armijo/Emily Liu
  • 2016 Southern Methodist University - Alstyn Bennett/Barret Armbruster
  • 2017 Loyola University Chicago - Jasmine Stanzick/Emily Olivera
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