UNM's Mexican American Law Student Association was recently honored as Law Student Group of the Year by the Hispanic National Bar Association.
The Hispanic association awarded the group at its 26th Annual Convention in Philadelphia in October. The law association is actively involved in community service, mentorship programs, food drives, fund-raising and trial competitions and has a history of serving the community, members said.
At the same convention, Patricia Madrid, New Mexico attorney general and a former association member, was recognized as the Latina Lawyer of the Year. Madrid received her law degree from UNM in 1973 and was an editor of the New Mexico Law Review.
"MALSA is certainly deserving of recognition for their good work," Madrid said. "I remember the group as being very welcoming of Hispanic students. I believe the group was instrumental in building the confidence of Hispanic students to become exceptional law students, lawyers and judges."
Joseph Sapien, the association's president, said the organization was excited and proud to have won the honor.
"It really is a tribute to the 30-year history of the organization and the fact that MALSA is successful because of the dedication and devotion of its membership, the hard work throughout the years," he said.
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Sapien, a third year law student, said the organization will sponsor a Hispanic Judges Reception in January to honor New Mexico judges.
Sapien said juggling the demands of law school with the association's many activities is challenging but rewarding.
"Most of the members give of their individual time because of the fact that they want to assure the success of MALSA members in law school but we also want to be able to contribute to the community and give back to the community and be able to help out in any way possible," Sapien said.
Last week, members of the volunteer association were involved in a Thanksgiving food drive to assist the less fortunate and a mock LSAT program at universities throughout the state for prospective law school students.
The association is a nonprofit student organization that is open to any law student at UNM.
"You don't have to have a Hispanic background to join," third-year law student Bryan Hess said.
Josh Myers, a second-year law student, said he joined MALSA because he has always been interested in Hispanic issues.
"I think it's great that our student group has been recognized in this way," he said. "The credit is due to all the individual members' efforts and the coordination efforts of Joseph Sapien."
One of the association's primary goals for the 2001-2002 school year is to establish the MALSA Foundation to provide funding for members to participate in job fairs, court competitions, national conferences and conventions and to assist third year members with bar scholarships, according to a recent UNM statement. The association is also involved in mentorship programs for first year law students, undergraduates and the community, it said.
Rosalie Fragoso, the association's New Mexico Hispanic Bar Association representative, attended the convention in Philadelphia along with Sapien and several others from UNM. "It was a great opportunity for me, personally, because I had never been exposed to legal professionals outside of New Mexico," she said.
Fragoso, a second year law student who works closely with her group's mentoring programs, said she has enjoyed meeting Hispanic attorneys from New York, California, Pennsylvania and Connecticut.
