| |
 |
|
The USC Mock Trial Team is taught
and directed by a magnificent
cadre of instructors.
With the exception of
founding Head Coach,
Olu K. Orange, all coaches
are alumni of the program, or were coached by alumni of the program.
Head Coach -
Olu K. Orange, Esq.
 |
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 |
|
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.
At USC, Orange is an Assistant Professor
(adjunct) in the
Department of Political
Science. Orange
has twice earned
University-wide
recognition from
the USC Center
for Excellence
in Teaching (USC-Mellon
2005 & 2007). As
an
educator, Orange
is committed to
spreading the availability
of instructional
trial advocacy.
Thus, he also
serves
as a member of
the national Board
of Directors of
the American Mock
Trial Association.
In
2006, 2007 and
2008, Orange
served as a
Faculty Teaching
Team member for
the Winter Trial
Advocacy
Workshop at Harvard
Law School. At
Harvard, Orange
lectured and
critiqued Harvard
Law
students on direct
and cross
examination
of witnesses,
with special emphasis
on various impeachment
and control techniques.
Moreover, Orange
was selected
by Director
Peter
Murray to demonstrate
the faculty Closing
Argument and
Opening Statement
in 2007
and 2008, respectively.
Orange also teaches deposition and trial advocacy skills programs for attorneys
nationwide as
a faculty member
for the National
Institute For
Trial Advocacy
(NITA). 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.
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| Coach - Hooman
Kazemi, Esq. |
 |
Hooman Kazemi, Esq. serves as a Deputy
Public Defender with
the Los
Angeles County Public
Defender's Office.
Mr. Kazemi is an alumnus
of USC and
the USC
Mock Trial team. He
attended USC from
2000-2004, earning
a Bachelor of Arts
in International Relations,
with an emphasis in
International Political
Economy. From 2002-2004
he was a member of
the Mock Trial team,
serving in every capacity
from trial witness
to closing attorney
and team captain in
that time. |
|
While at
USC, Mr. Kazemi was
awarded the Freeman
Foundation's "Explore
East Asia:
China" Scholarship. He was also awarded awarded
USC's Alumni Achievement
Scholarship in 2000.
After receiving scholarship offers from numerous law schools, Mr. Kazemi enrolled
at Loyola Law School
of
Los Angeles, ranked in
the top 5 for trial advocacy
in the nation, and the
highest ranking in trial
advocacy on the west coast.
At Loyola, Mr. Kazemi earned a position
on the Byrne Trial Advocacy
team, upon which
he represented Loyola in 2007
at the
National Trial Competition, hosted by the American College of
Trial Lawyers. Additionally,
Mr. Kazemi participated
in both the Trial Advocacy
and Advanced Trial Advocacy
courses offered at
Loyola,
earning First Honors
(highest grade) in both. During all
three years of law school Hooman worked with the USC team as an Assistant
Coach
to the program. |
| Assistant
Coach - Katharine J.
Liao, Esq. |
 |
Katharine J. Liao, Esq. is currently an associate
with Jackson Lewis
LLP, practicing labor
and employment litigation.
Prior to joining Jackson
Lewis, Ms. Liao received
her Juris Doctorate
from Boston University
School of Law, where
she participated in
the Criminal Defense
Clinic. Ms. Liao received
her Bachelor of Arts
in Communication, emphasizing
Law, Media and Society,
with a Minor in Business
from the University of
Southern California in
2004. |
|
While receiving her undergraduate degree,
she was a captain of
the USC Mock Trial team,
receiving Outstanding
Witness and Outstanding
Attorney awards. Ms.
Liao also served as
a Conflict Resolution
Specialist
for the Asian Pacific
American Dispute Resolution
Center, providing mediation
services to low-income
Los Angeles residents.
She volunteers with
various organizations
such as
Public Counsel of Los
Angeles, Habitat for
Humanity, Los Angeles
Reading to Kids, Ocean
Park Community Center
and the Los Angeles
Downtown Women's Center.
|
| Assistant Coach - Sara Holl (J.D.
2010) |
 |
Sarah Holl is in her second year at Loyola
Law School. She competed
on the USC Mock Trial
team from 2005-2007,
where she earned top
honors as both an Outstanding
Attorney and Outstanding
Witness.
This past summer (2008), Ms. Holl served
as an intern
at the
San
Diego
Public
Defender's Office
and the Alliance
for Children's
rights. In both positions
she worked diligently
to provide access to
justice for those
who would not otherwise
have it. |
|
| |
| Assistant Coach
- Elena Otero-Keil (J.D.
2010) |
 |
Elena Otero Keil is a second year law student at the University of Southern California.
She graduated from Cornell University in 2007 where she competed on the University's Mock Trial Team.
As a competitor, Ms. Keil won several "Best Attorney" Awards on the regional and national levels. She has the distinction of being the first person hired to coach with the USC Mock Trial Team who was coached by a prior Team member (Dylan Letrich).
|
| Ms. Keil has a firm commitment to early education and plans to continue her support of literacy programs through her future pro-bono practice. After completing law school, Ms. Keil plans to begin work in corporate transactional law, specifically project finance and capital markets.
In her free time, Ms. Keil enjoys reading and spending time with her friends and family. |
|
| |
| Assistant Coach
- Kilie Latendresse (J.D.
2012) |
 |
Kilie Latendresse competed as a member
of the USC Mock Trial
for
two
years,
serving
as a team member
and Captain during
that time. She graduated
in 2007 with a BA
in Philosophy and
a minor in Spanish
and currently works
as a practice assistant
for the securities
litigation group
at Orrick, Herrington
& Sutcliffe LLP,
a law firm in downtown
Los Angeles. Ms.
Latendresse will
start her Juris Doctorate
program in the Fall
of 2009. |
|
|
|
