A group of law students focused on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender legal issues will offer law students the first ever diversity-based moot court competition on campus this year, along with a host of other services.
Members of the group Outlaws are organizing the competition, where students will submit legal briefs, present oral arguments and have a chance to advance to a national competition in Los Angeles.
Emily Farrell, CQ a third-year law student who led the group last year, said the competition is just one way Outlaws provides a forum for LGBT issues on campus.
“Really the purpose (of Outlaws) is to encourage diversity understanding within the school population and encourage awareness,” Farrell said.
Moot court competitions are a good way for students to practice being an attorney, she said, and it also looks good on a resumé. Most law firms expect potential employees to have practiced at least on the University level, if not in national competition.
The competition is just one piece of what the 20 to 30 group members will do this year. The group also brings speakers to campus, such as television pundit and former Clinton administration aide Keith Boykin, CQ who addressed a large crowd in the EMU Ballroom last October.
Several members of the group will be attending the National Lesbian and Gay Law Association’s annual conference and career fair, known as Lavender Law. CQ The conference will be held in San Francisco during the first week in September. CQ
Farrell said it is the most widely-attended gay rights law conference in the nation and provided the most benefit for student dollars. The trip, like the moot court competition, was funded in part by student government. University students will join hundreds of students from around the country, as well as hundreds of practicing attorneys, in workshops on topics such as workplace discrimination and making law schools more welcoming to LGBT students.
When Outlaws recently asked the ASUO for money to attend the conference and organize the moot court competition, the groups’ proposal said the events were needed to compensate for a lack of gay-friendly programs at the law school.
“The UO School of Law currently has little programming that includes diversity-based Moot Court competitions, and the students have been dissatisfied with diversity programming at the law school in general because they feel underrepresented,” the proposal stated. “By taking on this responsibility for both Lavender Law and Moot Court, Outlaws is being proactive in addressing those needs as they have arisen.”
But in an interview, Farrell said the University provides a “pretty good” environment for LGBT students. “You run into trouble with people in general with any diversity issue. Law school’s generally a little bit more conservative.”
For the most part, students react well to Outlaws and Farrell has not received any complaints from members, she said.
Eric Winn, CQ a third-year law student who has been involved in gay rights groups since he was an undergraduate at Gonzaga University, CQ said the University has been very welcoming, particularly Career Services.
The only time tensions build on campus is when military recruiters come to visit, Farrell said. Universities that accept federal funding must allow military recruiters on campus, but such visits often raise the ire of groups protesting military hiring policies, which exclude self-described gays and lesbians.
This year Outlaws will raise money to purchase pillows and clean bedding for members of the military. Farrell said she found that many servicemen don’t have pillows or go without clean bedding.
“We wanted to show people that we’re not against the military, we’re against the discrimination itself,” she said.
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