First Place: Leora Kaplan
Junior., Canyon Crest Academy
Leora plans to attend college with a major in
political science and later apply to law school.
Excerpt from Leora Kaplan’s 2007 Essay:
Customers, clients and patients are the ones who end up paying for the costly trials and multimillion dollar verdicts. Companies are going bankrupt from multimillion dollar payouts to individuals too lazy to work. Instead they take
advantage of a legal system that was created to protect us. Created to insure equality. Created to permit those accused of a crime to have
representation. Large corporations are being taken advantage of by the public. Some individuals sue even though they know that it is a frivolous lawsuit. They think, why not? They assume that a successful company will settle just to make the accusation “go away.”
Second Place: Carly Rask
Senior., Chula Vista High School
Carly Rask will be attending UCLA in the fall. After completing her undergraduate studies at UCLA with a major in civil engineering she plans on obtaining her Masters Degree and entering the field of architecture. She has won numerous scholarships and awards.
Excerpt from Carly Rask’s 2007 Essay: As people continue to take advantage of the court system, harming both the businesses and consumers, there is something that can be done by those who will fight against this vicious cycle of lawsuits. As citizens of the U.S., we have the right and the responsibility to improve the court system, which affects so many aspects of our lifestyle....All that is needed is instead of considering these outrageous lawsuits as an amusing joke, take a little time to recognize that this is not a laughing matter…. The biggest obstacle is only our own apathy.
