Justin Cabuhat and Aileen Cordero to represent IIT Chicago-Kent in Thomas Tang International Moot Court Competition
Second-year students Justin Cabuhat and Aileen Cordero will represent IIT Chicago-Kent in the 2012 Thomas Tang International Moot Court Competition regional tournament at Florida Coastal Law School in Jacksonville October 19 and 20.
In this year's competition, students will argue a case related to the Alien Tort Statute.
The Thomas Tang International Moot Court Competition is sponsored by the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) Law Foundation. The competition is open to all students but is especially designed to reach out to Asian Pacific American law students, to provide them with an opportunity to showcase their writing and oral advocacy skills, and to provide scholarships.
Team member Justin Cabuhat earned his undergraduate degree in criminology, law and society from the University of California, Irvine. Teammate Aileen Cordero graduated magna cum laude from Bradley University with a degree in international studies with minors in health sciences and women's studies.
The competition is named for the late Thomas Tang, a senior judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Appointed by President Jimmy Carter in 1977, Judge Tang was the first Chinese American named to the federal judiciary. During his 18 years on the Ninth Circuit, he wrote more than 400 opinions on American Indian law, labor practices, and individual rights. Judge Tang was a strong supporter of NAPABA and its activities, including the creation of its international moot court competition, which was renamed after his death in 1995.
A native of Phoenix, Judge Tang served in the United States Army during World War II and the Korean War. He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of California at Santa Clara and his law degree from the University of Arizona College of Law. After a brief stint in private practice, Judge Tang served as deputy county attorney of Maricopa, Arizona, and as assistant attorney general of Arizona. He was elected to the Phoenix City Council and spent seven years as a judge of the Superior Court of Arizona. Judge Tang returned to private practice prior to his appointment to the federal bench.
IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law is the law school of Illinois Institute of Technology, a private, Ph.D.-granting institution with programs in engineering, psychology, architecture, business, design and law. Chicago-Kent's trial advocacy teams have won numerous individual student honors and regional and national competitions, including the 1988, 2007 and 2008 National Trial Competition championships. In 2008, Chicago-Kent became the first law school to win both the National Trial Competition and the National Moot Court Competition in the same year. In 2009, Chicago-Kent successfully defended its championship in the National Moot Court Competition. In addition, U.S. News & World Report this year ranked Chicago-Kent's trial advocacy program third in the country.
