
The University of New Mexico
NEWS RELEASE
Contact: Laurie Mellas, 277-5915
March 15, 2006
UNM Law Students Win National Moot Court Competition
University of New Mexico School of Law students outperformed 29 moot court teams from across the United States to earn the 2006 Hispanic National Bar Association's Moot Court Competition, the first UNM team to win this national title.
The championship prize included $4,000 in scholarship funding, which will be divided among UNM team members Denise Chanez, Elaine Lujan and Damian Lara. They represented UNM at the competition held this past week in Seattle, Washington.
Supreme Court justices from the state of Washington and judges from the Colorado Court of Appeals, Oregon Court of Appeals and Texas Court of Appeals presided over the final round between UNM and the University of Wisconsin.
Judge Joseph Alarid of the New Mexico Court of Appeals coached the UNM team. Several local judges, attorneys, and professors also volunteered time to judge practice rounds.
UNM defeated George Washington University, Washington, D.C., and Hamline University, St. Paul , Minnesota, in preliminary rounds. UNM later defeated DePaul University, Chicago, Illinois, and Catholic University, Washington, D.C., before advancing to beat the University of Wisconsin.
The University of New Mexico is the state's largest university, serving more than 32,000 students. UNM is home to the state's only schools of law, medicine, pharmacy and architecture and operates New Mexico's only academic health center. UNM is noted for comprehensive undergraduate programs and research that benefits the state and the nation.
www.unm.edu