History
The Thomas Tang National Moot Court Competition was founded in 1993 by the Asian Pacific-American Law Student Association ("APALSA") of the South Texas College of Law, Houston, Texas. The competition came about as a result of an intense debate among three South Texas College of Law ("STCL") students - Kevin Pham, Pam Rea, and John Tang - over the need for a moot court competition that would celebrate the growing Asian American presence and influence in the American legal system and would simultaneously encourage law students to analyze issues that impact Americans from all backgrounds. These three students, along with every other member of the South Texas College of Law APALSA organization during 1993, mobilized their efforts, to bring about the competition as a lasting contribution to the legal education community. Rea authored the moot court case and the local rules for the competition, while Pham and Tang relentlessly sought and obtained support from the law school's administration and the local Asian American Bar Association ("AABA") of Houston, and provided leadership to the many student volunteers needed for a successful outcome. Both the Houston Chapter of the AABA and South Texas College of Law embraced the APALSA students' vision and supported their efforts, but the organization and efforts that resulted in the highly successful first year of the Tang were the result of the collaboration among law students who pursued a vision to contribute to the opportunities available to Asian American law students. The success of the Tang was realized in the first year, as law students traveled from all over the United States to participate in the competition.
Thomas Tang was a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the first American of Chinese descent appointed to the federal judiciary.
The students who founded the competition named it after the highest ranking Asian American justice at that time, The Honorable Thomas Tang, the senior judge on the Federal Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Justice Tang greatly honored the students of STCL and the participating competitors, when he personally attended the 1993 competition and presided over Final Round. In his remarks to the participating students in 1993, Justice Tang noted the efforts of the law students in creating opportunity and change, and challenged future law students to seek out ways of their own to enhance the legal profession and advance the involvement of persons from all backgrounds in our justice system.
The Tang is now administered by the NAPABA Law Foundation and the NAPABA Judicial Council, whose leadership continues to offer law students the opportunity to deepen their understanding of the complexities and strength of the American justice system as it applies to all Americans. The Competition continues to honor the late Judge Thomas Tang, a champion of individual rights, an advocate for the advancement of minority attorneys, an ardent supporter of NAPABA and the moot court competition. Judge Tang served on the United States Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals from 1977 until his death in 1995. Judge Tang's wife, Dr. Pearl Tang, continues the legacy and participates every year.
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