Teresa Li, third-year law student at UC Hastings and Archer Norris law clerk, did something few law students ever do—she argued a case in the Ninth Circuit. Supervised by Archer Norris partner Gary Watt, Teresa represented a pro se plaintiff in an employment discrimination case involving the unsettled state of pleading requirements since two United States Supreme Court cases, Twombly and Iqbal. On March 16, 2011, she argued before Circuit Judges Procter Hug, William Fletcher, and Milan Smith. After Teresa laid out the reasons why the plaintiff's complaint satisfied Twombly and Iqbal, Judge Smith interjected that he thought her client has a "slum dunk" case. The decision is pending.

The oral argument audio is available at http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/media/view_subpage.php?pk_id=0000007204

Photo, left to right:  Stephen Tollafield, Asst. Director, Hastings Appellate Project;  Brian Pettit, Hastings L3; Teresa Li, Hastings L3;  Gary Watt, Director, Hastings Appellate Project.