Bringing Law to Life
UCLA Law Magazine | Summer 2025 | Volume 47
Launched over 50 years ago, UCLA Law’s clinical program— widely credited as the first of its kind— lets students put their lawyering skills to work on behalf of real clients.
“Our wide array of clinics provides students diverse opportunities to learn while effecting real change,” said Nina Rabin, director of the program. “As innovators in this area, we have created clinics that give students exposure to a broad range of substantive areas and advocacy methods, all of which are making a difference in people’s lives locally and globally.”
These are some of the clinics that UCLA Law currently offers.
Tribal Legal Development Clinic
Caelin Marum ’26 wants to leverage the law to improve health for people in tribal communities. She has gotten a head start with the Tribal Legal Development Clinic, where she recently helped strengthen domestic violence protections for one California tribe. Founded 25 years ago and supported with funding from the Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation, known previously as the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, the clinic provides students— many of whom, like Marum, are members of Native Nations— with hands-on experience in meeting clients’ legal needs while creating a pipeline of tribal law experts. “A lot of problem-solving in our communities has to be done from a legal perspective. And going to UCLA Law to study was a really easy choice,” Marum said.
Frank G. Wells Environmental Law Clinic and California Environmental Legislation and Policy Clinic
Three decades after their first case — helping to keep stormwater pollution from vehicles out of the ocean— Wells Environmental Law Clinic students continue to make waves protecting resources and preventing pollution. By contributing research to local lawsuits and California Supreme Court and federal appellate court briefs, the students help strengthen air quality monitoring requirements and environmental impact reviews. By providing research for congressional legislation and for action by the United Nations, they address the use of plastics and the impacts of rising temperatures. Students in the California Environmental Legislation and Policy Clinic recently testified before a state assembly committee and the California Coastal Commission. They celebrated Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signing of AB779, a groundwater bill they helped write that protects small farmers and disadvantaged communities. Still making an impact are the many clinic graduates committed to community empowerment and environmental law. Shana Lazerow ’97 was an early Wells Clinic student and is currently the legal co-director at Communities for a Better Environment. “I still believe this is the way to bring about a just, sustainable world,” she said.
Documentary Film Legal Clinic
Roll out the red carpet! Students in the Documentary Film Legal Clinic are breaking into Hollywood— most recently providing legal services for Shuffle, winner of the documentary feature competition at the 2025 South by Southwest Film and TV Festival. Additional credits include Emmy-winning and -nominated films, plus Netflix, HBO, and PBS documentaries. Counseling on clearance, including copyright, privacy, defamation, and distribution issues, helps filmmakers tell their stories and prepares students for legal careers. “The clinic not only gave me a strong foundational education in media and intellectual property law, but it also taught me how to use that education to help real clients solve real problems,” said Alexandra Kolsky ’22, who worked on the Emmy-winning Free Chol Soo Lee as a student and is now an attorney at Venable.
“This class is everything that law school should be. It embodies the ideal that the best way to learn is to do.”
Supreme Court Clinic
All law students study U.S. Supreme Court cases, but those in UCLA Law’s Supreme Court Clinic actually help represent clients. Just this year, their efforts led to a unanimous victory in Thompson v. United States, in which the Court held that a defendant cannot be convicted under a statute prohibiting false statements if his statements were merely misleading but not false. The students also persuaded the Court to hear an appeal in Villarreal v. Texas, which Professor Stuart Banner will argue in the fall. The issue in Villarreal is whether the Sixth Amendment right to counsel guarantees defendants the ability to discuss their testimony with counsel during overnight recesses. For these cases and many others since 2011, students have researched and written briefs. “It’s the kind of experience that few lawyers encounter, and I learned so much from the process,” said clinic student Albert Tian ’25.
Prisoners’ Rights Clinic
Arguing before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, students in the Prisoners’ Rights Clinic helped advance civil rights claims brought by a client who was blinded in one eye after cataract surgery and another who was severely beaten by other prisoners after officers failed to protect him. “Students come to understand that prisoner plaintiffs deserve first-rate lawyering, and that with very hard work, they are capable of providing it,” said Professor Aaron Littman, clinic founder and faculty director. Indeed, they are: The clinic secured victories in all five of its cases decided in 2024. After writing briefs for two of those cases as a student, Joe Gaylin ’24 — now a federal district court clerk— said, “This class is everything that law school should be. It embodies the ideal that the best way to learn is to do.”
“The opportunity to now use my education to help advance policies that protect the rights of immigrant communities like mine is a full-circle experience.”
Immigrant Family Legal Clinic and Immigrants’ Rights Policy Clinic
Winning an asylum claim for a young adult with severe mental illness was a particularly sweet victory for the law students at the Immigrant Family Legal Clinic, which serves the students and families at the RFK Community Schools in Koreatown. Previous clinic students had obtained humanitarian visas for the client’s mother, who was a victim of human trafficking, and four younger siblings. This is just one of the many success stories from the country’s only immigration law clinic that’s located on a K-12 public school campus. Clinic students help families at the school obtain residency, earn visas, gain work authorization, and more. “I would recommend the clinic to anyone interested in learning about immigration law and making a difference in students’ and their families’ lives,” said Lauren Kiesel ’20.
Students in the Immigrants’ Rights Policy Clinic lead research and advocacy to support immigrant communities in California. The work is especially meaningful to Soraya Morales Nuñez ’26, a former DACA beneficiary whose clinic efforts are focused on preserving state sanctuary laws. “The opportunity to now use my education to help advance policies that protect the rights of immigrant communities like mine is a full-circle experience,” Morales Nuñez said.
Community Lawyering in Education Clinic
Students in the Community Lawyering in Education Clinic are working to address inequities in the child welfare reporting system through projects that challenge the use of predictive algorithms and the targeting of low-income people of color.
“Clinical education is really valuable because it gives students a chance to figure out their own solution to problems.”
Human Rights Litigation Clinic
“Clinical education is really valuable because it gives students a chance to figure out their own solution to problems,” said Cathy Sweetser, director of the Human Rights Litigation Clinic. The approach is working. Clinic students brought a class action lawsuit challenging the use of force by private contractors against immigration detainees. A hearing is currently pending in federal court.
Veterans Legal Clinic
Appealing benefits claims, resolving landlord-tenant disputes, and clearing criminal records are just some of the ways Veterans Legal Clinic students have supported veterans. “Working on behalf of clients who truly needed dedicated representation helped me bridge the gap between legal theory and real-world advocacy and was the most meaningful part of my time at UCLA Law,” said Army veteran Gabriel Henriquez ’25.
Patent Clinic
When Beeline Wheelchairs needed a patent for the design of their invention of a low-cost, customizable wheelchair constructed from old stop-sign posts, the Patent Clinic took them on as a client. The result, “System for Construction of an Adjustable Wheelchair and Method of Using the Same” (U.S. Patent No. 9,974,703), is just one of the 26 issued patents that students have obtained for nonprofit pro bono clients. Students screen and select clients and draft and file their applications. “We receive hundreds of emails requesting representation and select clients who are traditionally excluded from access,” said Eugene Chong, director of the clinic.
“Working on behalf of clients who truly needed dedicated representation helped me bridge the gap between legal theory and real-world advocacy and was the most meaningful part of my time at UCLA Law.”
Street Law Clinic
“Street Law Clinic has been my favorite class I have taken in law school,” said aid Alondra Ulloa ’25 of her experience teaching legal topics to Los Angeles high school students— many of whom may have had negative experiences with the law. “[Having] my students ask critical questions, challenge ideas, and even express interest in pursuing legal careers was incredibly rewarding for them and educational and empowering for me. It reminded me why I chose this path in the first place: to make the law more accessible, and to help others see it as a tool for empowerment rather than just a source of harm.”
Mediation Clinic
Nica Aranaga ’25 calls working in the Mediation Clinic the most rewarding part of her legal education. She and her fellow student mediators help couples navigating the divorce process divide property, decide on parenting plans, and discuss spousal and child support obligations. But the clinic benefits go beyond the legal skills learned. “It has taught me how to listen carefully, respond intentionally, and help clients reach meaningful resolutions, even in highly charged situations,” Aranaga said. “I never expected to develop this kind of interpersonal skill in law school, and I know it will serve me throughout my legal career.”
Talent and Brand Partnerships / Name, Image and Likeness Clinic
Helping score deals is more than a game at the new Talent and Brand Partnerships / Name, Image and Likeness Clinic, where law students advise UCLA student-athletes on licensing, merchandising, branding, and endorsement matters during team presentations and one-on-one clinic sessions. This win-win collaboration between the law school’s Ziffren Institute and UCLA Athletics helped UCLA earn a 2024 NIL Awards nomination for Best Institutional NIL Program.
Read more in the 75th Anniversary edition of the UCLA Law magazine.
Celebrating 75 Years of UCLA Law
Join the dean of UCLA School of Law, Michael Waterstone, UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk, and distinguished faculty, students, and alumni as we celebrate 75 years of UCLA Law. This video tribute honors our history of legal innovation and vision for shaping tomorrow's legal landscape. From groundbreaking scholarship to producing leaders who have transformed the practice of law, UCLA Law continues its tradition of excellence while looking boldly toward the future.