UH Law Students Win Top Awards at Columbia University Moot Court Competition

University of Hawai‘i law students will bring home coveted awards from a national competition held at Columbia University Law School on February 25 and 26.

• Second year law student Elika Stimpson won 3rd Place in the Best Oralist category.


• Third year Law students Keani Alapa and Maxwell Kopper won 1st Place in the Best Advocate (formerly Best Overall) category.

Another third year law student duo composed of Jeannin Russo and Mark Jensen argued in the semi-final (“final four”) round; the UH law school represented one-half of the top four teams at the competition.

The competitionʻs elimination rounds began at 9am on February 26 with the top 16 teams. The William S. Richardson School of Law had four teams participating representing one-quarter of the top 16 teams.

Bill Meheula, a Honolulu attorney who accompanied the team said, “All our students were awesome, everyone did very well.” The University of Hawaiʻi team is composed of 11 students: Keani Alapa, Maria Carmichael, Tyler Gomes, Mark Jensen, Sarah Kaopuiki, Maxwell Kopper, Ana Won Pat-Borja, Adam Roversi, Jeannin Russo, Elika Stimpson, and Sherilyn Tavares.

The National Native American Law Students Association has sponsored this competition since 1993. The William S. Richardson School of Law first participated in the competition in 1994. Between 1997 and 2011, the law school has earned a total of 23 awards in this competition.

Rare Panel of Judges

Last night Richardson law students had an opportunity to argue in front of a rare panel of judges: Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Richard Clifton, Federal District Court Judge David Ezra, and Hawaii Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Recktenwald. Before oral arguments began Judge Ezra announced to the moot court team and the audience that "This is the first time in the history of Hawaii that you have three of the highest ranking judges on the same panel: the Ninth Circuit, the federal district court, and the Hawaii Supreme Court Chief Justice."

Hawaiʻi National Native American Law Students Association Moot Court Team

The new members of the William S. Richardson School of Lawʻs Native American Moot Court Team have been selected. This year proved to be another grueling process for tryout judges, Professors Melody MacKenzie, Williamson Chang (advisor), and Carl Christensen. Each year a good number of students tryout for the team. Selecting the new team members was no easy task as numerous law students tried-out and were quite good in their advocacy skills. Tryouts were conducted over the course of two days earlier this month.

Pictured. Back row: *Mark Kaetsu, Chasid Sapolu, *Max Kopper, *David Kopper, Uilisone Tuʻa, *Keani Alapa, Jesse Smith. Front row: Captain Kaʻupena Soon, Lahela Hite, *Jeannin Russo, *Malia Gibson, *Sherilyn Tavares, and Scott Shishido.

* denotes newly admitted team member.

Our team participates annually in the National Native American Law Students Association Moot Court Competition. This year the competition (in its 18th year) will be held in Vermillion, South Dakota, February 19-20, 2009. More information about the competition is available at www.usdnalsa.org.

Last year, the Richardson duo of Ann Otteman and Jesse Smith captured Second Place in last yearʻs overall category (Best Advocates) at the competition held in Boulder, Colorado. In the past five years Richardson teams have performed well in the competition. In the years 2007-2009, Richardson teams ascended to the final oral argument round of the competition. In 2005 and 2006, Richardson teams placed Second and Third respectively for Best Brief. (see the teamʻs track record below) Prior to these years, Richardson teams consistently performed well.

If you would like to help support the team financially, PLEASE CLICK HERE to make a tax-deductible online donation.


Year Award
1997 Best Oralist First Place
1998 Best Overall Team Second Place
1998 Best Brief Third Place
1999 Best Overall Team First Place
1999 Best Overall Team Third Place
1999 Best Brief Second Place
1999 Best Brief Third Place
1999 Best Oralist Third Place
2000 Best Overall Team First Place
2001 Best Overall Team First Place
2003 Best Oralist Second Place
2005 Best Brief Second Place
2006 Best Brief Third Place
2007 Best Advocates First Place (formerly known as Best Overall)
2007 Best Oralist Second Place
2008 Best Brief First Place
2008 Best Oralist First Place
2008 Best Advocates Third Place
2008 Best Advocates Second Place
2009 Best Advocates Second Place

Federal Indian Law class offered.

Ka Huli Ao Center for Excellence in Native Hawaiian Law is offering Law 520G - Federal Indian Law. The course will be taught by Hawai'i attorney and Visiting Assistant Professor of Law, Carl Christensen.

The Federal Indian Law (Law 520G) course examines constitutional constraints on the federal government's recognition of native groups in relation to pending legal challenges to benefits for Native Hawaiians and reviews recent developments and possible future trends in federal Indian law affecting Native Hawaiians.

The class allows enrolled students an opportunity to learn a very complex and unique area of law and the relevance of federal Indian law to Hawai'i. Only a limited number of Hawai'i attorneys have experience in federal Indian law and Prof. Carl Christensen is one of the few.

A fundamental understanding of federal Indian law, largely through the Federal Indian Law course, has been attributed to the William S. Richardson School of Law's Native American Moot Court Team's success in the past several years. For three straight years in a row, Hawaiʻi's Native American Moot Court team reached the final round of the National Native American Law Students Associationʻs annual moot court competition. CLICK HERE to read about this yearʻs win.

In 2007, returning Native American Moot Court team members wrote a commentary, in the Honolulu Advertiser, on the Akaka Bill and federal Indian law. CLICK HERE to read commentary.

From Azusa, California to Manoa

Ann Kanoelehua Otteman a third year law student and a finalist in this year's National Native American Law Students Association's moot court competition talks about the need for Native Hawaiian attorneys and law students. Ann took Second Place with her partner Jesse Smith. CLICK HERE for Honolulu Advertiser article. Find out what Ann had to say in the video below.



As part of our community outreach, for the next several weeks, we are providing a series of video clips of law students (and a few lawyers) on our blog. These law students and lawyers share their experience either in law school or in the legal profession.

We invite you to watch these brief video clips and hear what these inspirational people have to say.

Chasid and Ka'upenaikaika talk about the Fed Bar Conference

Second year law students, Chasid Sapolu and Ka‘upena Soon shared their thoughts regarding their experience at the Federal Bar Association's 34th Annual Indian Law Conference.


Chasid Sapolu, "The 2009 Fed Bar conference was a one-of-a-kind opportunity to meet and interact with numerous individuals from the Indian law community and to recognize the actual expanse of this community throughout the many regions of this country. As attendees, we were exposed to the significant issues that are currently at the front of this community’s focus. We also met some of the current and future leaders in this community, and discussed the issues that Native Hawaiians were experiencing here in Hawai‘i. Overall, my experience at this year's Bar conference was amazing, I would definitely recommend any individual who is interested in Native issues to attend in the coming years."

Ka‘upena Soon, "The Fed Bar conference was really enjoyable. I got a chance to meet a lot of people involved with Native American law. Attending the plenary sessions were pretty informative. The gaming issues were particularly interesting, especially since the Salazar decision just came out and we were able to hear various viewpoints on the case. The conference provides an environment that helps law students, professors, and attorneys who share similar viewpoints to discuss hot legal topics makes for a great networking event. I would definitely recommend attending this event in the future. It provides a good opportunity to really get to know a lot of people in Federal Indian law. The feel is completely different from moot court, in that you can really enjoy yourself and enjoy others."

After the conference ended, the Hawai‘i visitors went to Santa Fe town, 2-3 blocks from their motel rooms.

For Third Consecutive Year, UH Places Among Top Teams

UH Law School Moot Court Team Again Finishes Among the Top Teams In National Competition

HONOLULU ­­­– Students from the University of Hawai`i’s William S. Richardson School of Law successfully defended their title and won second place again at the National Native American Law Students Association’s Moot Court Competition. More than 40 teams from 17 law schools across the United States competed. This marks the third year in a row that a University of Hawai`i Law School team competed in the final round.

“Once again our students worked very hard and did an outstanding job in this intense national competition,” said Avi Soifer, Dean of the Law School. “We are very proud of all these students and very grateful to all the members of the legal community who helped them prepare so well for the national competition.”

The 17th annual National Native American Law Students Association’s Moot Court Competition was hosted this year by the law schools at the University of Colorado and Denver University. Law students compete by arguing both sides of a simulated appeals court case both orally and in writing.

Third year law student Ann Otteman and second year law student Jesse Smith completed five oral argument rounds before reaching the final round. Otteman and Smith took second place in the Best Advocates category, while a team from Columbia Law School finished in First Place. This category represents the top team of competitors in the oral argument portion of the competition.

Other students who competed included third year law students Rafael Renteria, Christopher Santos, and Terrence Thornburgh, and second year law students Lahela Hite, Chasid Sapolu, Scott Shishido, Ka`upena Soon, and Kau`i Yamane. Six of these students also reached the top 16 team bracket. These Hawai'i law students were accompanied by Joni Domingues and Uilisone Tua.

Hawai`i judges, attorneys, and law professors helped to prepare Hawai`i’s teams. The judges included federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Richard Clifton, District Court Judges David Ezra and Michael Seabright, and Magistrate Judge Leslie Kobayashi.

The Honolulu Advertiser also had an article on this.