Third-year law student Sofia Mitchell wins ‘National Law Review’ writing contest

Mixing her passion for writing and her interest in employment law, third-year FIU Law student Sofia Mitchell put pen to paper and won the National Law Review‘s Law Student Writing Competition for February for her article, Filling the Gap: Immigrant Status as Title VII’s Missing Piece.

Noticing gaps in federal statutes that failed to provide victims of immigrant status discrimination with adequate protection inspired her to craft the article. The article addresses the issue by suggesting that Title VII may be an appropriate vehicle to resolve the dilemma.

Mitchell was inspired to enter the writing contest after taking Professor Kerri Stone’s Employment Law course and Stone’s seminar:  Employment Discrimination.

“Professor Stone fosters a depth and perceptive sensitivity for employment law that was instrumental in helping me write my article,” Mitchell said. “She taught me the law and I applied it to an area that I wanted to explore. Professor Stone encourages her students to take advantage of contests. I simply followed her advice, she truly is an inspiration.”

The original full-length paper was written for the seminar course and modified to meet the contest requirements.

“Sofia wrote a wonderful paper that deserved to be published. Her ideas were fresh and innovative, and her reasoning and research were outstanding,” Stone said.

Outside of the classroom, Mitchell has participated in community service activities and various citizenship drives. She has also taught Civics to fifth and sixth graders through FIU Law’s Math & Civics Summer Institute program and is a volunteer with the Guardian Ad Litem organization. As graduation day approaches, Mitchell has her eyes set on practicing employment law.

The National Law Review’s on-line edition was created by a group of in-house attorneys and business leaders who wanted an easy to use resource to capture legal trends and news as they first start to emerge.

Mitchell’s article will be circulated, via e-mail, to different professional organizations.