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The USC Mock Trial Team is taught
and directed by one magnificent
Head Coach, two wonderful
Senior Assistant Coaches
and five brilliant Assistant
Coaches. The Team's Head
Coach is also its co-founder.
All of his Assistant
Coaches are alumni of
the program.
Head Coach -
Olu K. Orange, Esq.
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Attorney Olu K. Orange attended civil
rights 'Mecca' Howard
University in Washington
D.C. for both his
undergraduate and
law degrees, a Bachelor
of Arts in Legal
Communication and
a Juris Doctorate,
respectively. At
Howard, Orange amassed
an impressive array
of accolades including
recognition as an
American Mock Trial
Association All-American
Attorney, the Huver
I. Brown Medal for
Excellence in Trial
Advocacy, the Earl
Davis Award |
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for Excellence in Public Interest Advocacy
and two consecutive
Lewis F. Powell
Medals for Excellence
in Trial Advocacy
from the American
College of Trial
Lawyers and the
American Bar Association.
The Powell Medals
are awarded annually
by the ACTL and
the ABA to a small
group of advocates
who distinguish
themselves as the
nation's best.
In addition to his own competitive activities,
Orange also served
as an Adjunct Coach
of Howard University's
Mock Trial Team.
His students became
the first (and
still the ONLY)
team to capture
two AMTA national
titles during the
same competitive
season, winning
BOTH the National
and National Championship
Tournaments, back-to-back.
Further, they consistently
ranked in the top-ten
during his three
year tenure.
Orange, Pre-Law Advisor Monique Sosa,
and a dedicated
student executive
committee founded
the University
of Southern California
Mock Trial Team
in 2001. Since
its inception,
the USC Mock Trial
Team has attended,
and placed in,
AMTA National Tournaments
every competitive
season.
As an educator, Orange is committed to
spreading the availability
of instructional
trial advocacy
nationwide. To
that end, he serves
as a member of
the national Board
of Directors of
the American Mock
Trial Association.
In 2006, Orange
served as Visiting
Faculty for the
Winter Trial Advocacy
Workshop at Harvard
Law School. At
Harvard, Orange
lectured and critiqued
law students in
the area of direct
and cross examination
of witnesses, with
special emphasis
on various impeachment
and control techniques.
He also served
as a Trial Advisor
and a Trial Judge.
At USC, Orange
is an Assistant
Professor (adjunct)
in the Department
of Political Science.
As a practitioner, Orange handles criminal
and civil litigation
in his Southern
California law
practice and serves
as a Felony
Attorney with the
Los Angeles County
Indigent Criminal
Defense Appointments
Panel. Recently,
Orange was elected
to serve as a member
of the Executive
Board of the Los
Angeles Chapter
of the National
Lawyers Guild,
one of America's
most progressive
human rights legal
organizations.
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| Senior Assistant
Coach - Hooman Kazemi (J.D.
2007) |
| Third year Assistant Coach, Hooman Kazemi,
joined the USC Mock Trial
team as an International
Relations major in 2002.
As a team member, and Captain,
he contributed to USC's
ascent to national recognition.
While at USC, he received
the Freeman Foundation's
Explore East Asia: China
Scholarship. Currently
a 3L at Loyola Law School,
Hooman recently earned
the 'First Honors' award
in Trial Advocacy. |
| Senior Assistant
Coach - Michael Kelly (J.D.
2007) |
| Fourth year Assistant Coach, Michael Kelly,
has served the USC Mock
Trial Team every year since
its inception. As a co-founder
of the Team, he majored
in Political Science and
researched the American
jury selection process
as a McNair Scholar. Michael
was recently selected by
Head Coach Orange as USC's
second intstitutional member
of the AMTA Board of Directors.
Michael is currently a
3L 'Loyola Scholar' at
Loyola Law School. |
| Assistant Coach - Prashanth Chennekesavan (J.D.
2010) |
| Prashanth Chennakesavan participated
in mock trial during all
four of his undergraduate
years. As a competitor,
Prashanth won several awards,
including an All-American
Attorney Award at the 2006
National Championship Tournament.
He is the first person
in USC history to earn
the award with a perfect
ranking. Passionate about
teaching and working with
students, Prashanth also
teaches LSAT preparation
courses. |
| Assistant Coach - Francis DiGiacco (J.D.
2009) |
| Francis DiGiacco participated in mock
trial for three years of
his undergraduate career.
As a competitor, "Frankie" earned
recognition as an All-American
Witness and captained a
team to USC's highest national
ranking in the 2005 National
Championship Tournament.
Frankie now attends the
Univeristy of San Diego
School of Law as a Faculty
Honor Scholar. |
| Assistant Coach - Justin Gaynor (J.D.
2010) |
| Justin Gaynor joined the USC Mock Trial
Team in 2003 with no prior
mock trial experience.
His stellar work ethic
earned him recognition
as one of the Team's best
attorneys during his second
and third years. Justin's
honors include multiple
Outstanding Attorney awards,
one of which carries a "Perfect
Attorney" designation.
He starts classes at Loyola
Law School this fall of
2006. |
| Assistant Coach - Jeffrey Mendoza (J.D.
2010) |
| Jeffrey Mendoza served the USC Mock Trial
Team as a Team Captain
for multiple tournaments
and successfully completed
his collegiate trial advocacy
career as a 2006 National
Tournament competitor.
Known as "Mendoza," he
is a profound motivator
and encourages a task-oriented
approach to accomplishing
objectives. Mendoza earned
his undergraduate degree
in Communication and is
currently a United States
Marine Corps JAG program
candidate. He will begin
law school in the fall
of 2007. |
| Assistant Coach - Maryam Parsioon (J.D.
2009) |
| Maryam Parsioon was one of the founding
members of the USC Mock
Trial Team. She has both
collegiate and high school
mock trial experience.
After USC, Maryam served
as a Team Advisor to high
school students for five
summers with the National
Student Leadership Conference
(NSLC) on Law and Advocacy.
Maryam later worked as
an NSLC Program Director.
She starts Southwestern's
J.D.program in the Fall
of 2006. |
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