La Verne Law Team Wins at Thomas Tang Moot Court Competition

Two students from the University of La Verne College of Law brought home awards from the western regional Thomas Tang Moot Court Competition, which was held online November 6.

The Thomas Tang Moot Court Competition is an appellate advocacy competition sponsored by the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA). The competition provides Asian Pacific Americans and other students the opportunity to argue legal cases to official judges in a fictitious court.

Miguel Caloca, JD ’21, and Herber Ramirez, JD ’20, represented the university at the competition and were coached by Dean McVay, adjunct professor and moot court competition advisor.

The duo finished second for the western regional title and won third place for best brief.

“After 16 rounds of arguments, we were ready to deliver, and all that arduous work paid off,” Ramirez said. “Competing online gave us flexibility and trained us to become better oral advocates.”

The final teams to compete for the western regional title alongside the University of La Verne were from Cal Western Law School and University of California, Hastings College of Law. Both students were grateful for the opportunity to compete together and thanked McVay for preparing them well.

“This was a unique experience and gave us an understanding of what it might be like to work virtually in the future,” Caloca said.

“I am tremendously proud of these students, McVay said. “They presented an award-winning case…to see their determination together has been a rewarding experience.”

To learn more about the University of La Verne College of Law, please visit law.laverne.edu.