My name is Zara Joshi, and I am a 3L at UCLA School of Law. I was born and raised in Los Angeles. For undergrad, I attended UCLA and double majored in Psychology and Political Science.  After graduating in 2020, I began working in real estate and gained experience working on residential and commercial transactions. I received my real estate salespersons license in 2021, and I now plan to pursue my broker’s license.

While in real estate, I worked with disclosure documents and purchase agreements, which sparked an interest in the legal aspect of the business. It was this curiosity that led me to applying to law school in 2022.  I then began my legal studies at Loyola Law School.

My interest in real estate is what led me to law school, however, I discovered so many more areas of interest as I continued my legal education. For my 1L summer, I was a Judicial Extern to the Honorable Carl Moor at the California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, Division Five. I had the opportunity to review appellate briefs and aid in researching and drafting legal opinions regarding civil, criminal, and family law issues.

While I enjoyed my 1L experience, I am a Bruin at heart, and hoped that I could return to UCLA. I applied to UCLA Law as a transfer student after completing 1L, and I was accepted! While transferring was a big change, the UCLA Law community welcomed me with open arms. I found that the students were incredibly kind, and the faculty went above and beyond to ensure my academic success. Since arriving at UCLA, I have joined the editorial board of the UCLA Journal of International Law & Foreign Affairs, and I have enjoyed being a UCLA Law tour guide and volunteering at admissions events.

During my 2L summer, I worked as a summer associate at Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell LLP in Century City, where I had the opportunity to work on various projects related to real estate, corporate, and tax matters.

Law school has no doubt been challenging; however, UCLA fosters such a supportive and caring environment that makes this journey so rewarding. I am so happy with my decision to transfer to UCLA Law, and I would be happy to talk more about my experience and answer any questions you may have about UCLA Law!

Contact Zara at studentambassador6@law.ucla.edu.

For questions related to the application or admissions, you can email admissions@law.ucla.edu.