Native American Law Students, Lawyers To Gather at UW

Two events at the University of Wisconsin–Madison Law School this week will bring together Native American law students and lawyers, judges and scholars from across the country.

The Fifth Annual National Native American Moot Court Competition begins Thursday (Feb. 20) at the Law School and runs through Saturday. Twenty-five teams from as far away as Hawaii will compete, making the event the largest competition ever sponsored by the National Native American Law Students Association and the first national moot court competition hosted by the Law School. In conjunction with the competition, the 11th Annual Coming Together of the People’s Conference will take place Saturday at the Law School. The conference will feature several seminars on issues important to Native Americans.

“The fact that these two events are joined together is even more significant because there are aspects of both legal issues and cultural, environmental and business issues being discussed,” says James Thomas, assistant dean of the Law School. “For those persons having interest in Native American culture, academic issue and governance, and how that blends with cooperation and bridging gaps in this country, this is a unique opportunity.”

The Indian Law Students Association and the Law School are co-hosting the events, which are the highlight of the ILSA’s yearly activities.

The Moot Court Competition gives Native American law students the opportunity to practice arguing cases while competing against law students from other universities. Last year, 19 teams participated at Oklahoma City University.

The semi-final rounds of the Moot Court Competition will start at 1:30 p.m. Friday and will be held simultaneously in two moot court rooms at the Law School. The final round begins at 3 p.m. Friday in the Foley Moot Court Room. Both sessions are open to the public.

Moot Court Competition awards will be presented at the ILSA’s annual banquet, starting at 6 p.m. Friday in Tripp Commons of the Memorial Union. Keynote speaker is William S. Richardson, former chief justice of the Hawaii Supreme Court and the first person of native descent to hold such an office. Banquet tickets are $15 for students and $20 for non-students.

Topics to be discussed at the Coming Together of the People’s Conference on Saturday include tribal courts, taxation, federal laws and citizenship.

Speakers include Ho Chunk Nation Tribal Court Judge Mark Butterfield; Curtis Berkey of the U.S. Department of Justice; Robert Clinton of the University of Iowa Law School; Chris E. McNeil, legal counsel for the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe; UW Law Professor Richard Monette; Frank Pommershiem of the University of South Dakota Law School; and Scott Taylor of the University of New Mexico Law School.

A pow wow at 6 p.m. on Saturday in Tripp Commons will conclude the events.

To volunteer for bailiff help Thursday or for more information about the Moot Court Competition contact Mike Oeser at (608) 276-4065. For more information about tickets to the awards banquet, the pow-wow or the Coming Together of the People’s Conference, contact Leslie Parker Cohan at (608) 241-9028.