The Black Law Students Association held its 39th annual Southern Regional Convention on Jan. 14 through 17 at the Paul M. Hebert Law Center and Sheraton Convention Center — the first time the University has hosted the convention. It was also the first time the Southern Region and Rocky Mountain Region held a joint convention. The convention is hosted at a different school each year.”We hope to be part of the [convention’s] rotation now,” said Jack Weiss, chancellor of the Paul M. Hebert Law School. With 2,100 members in 49 chapters, the Southern Region of BLSA is the largest. This year’s convention hosted more than 300 students from 18 states and Puerto Rico. More than 30 law schools were represented.Jonathan Brown, president of BLSA at LSU, said he was glad the administration was supportive in planning the event. He said the conventions are the biggest event of the year for BLSA. The convention’s events included a mock trial competition, a moot court competition, a law journal symposium and two community service projects. The winners of the mock trial and moot court competitions will go on to the national level of competition.The University did not compete this year because five University students are on BLSA’s regional board.But University students still had a chance to practice courtroom skills. One of the community service projects involved helping a group of high school students in Scotlandville hold a mock court competition.The BLSA volunteers served as co-counsel, witnesses and jury members.Ashley Mayes, a second-year law student, helped tally the results for the Chapter of the Year Competition. She said schools are graded according to how well they fulfill BLSA’s national and regional initiatives. The convention has always been important in giving students a chance to network with other law students from different states, said Ray Diamond, LSU BLSA faculty adviser. “[The convention] is important to and for the law center. It helps raise support for diversity, which the Supreme Court has said is of compelling interest in American law schools,” Diamond said. Diamond started this year as the BLSA faculty adviser. He said taking on the task was not overwhelming because he knew all the students and knew the administration would be supportive.Cachavious English, Regional Chair of BLSA , is in his last semester of law school at the University of Alabama. He said his experience in Baton Rouge has been pleasant. “It’s a typical down South college town,” he said. The convention ended with an awards banquet and a Cabaret Party held at the Sheraton.–Contact Mandy Francois at [email protected]