Tapping into her career-long commitment to public service and student mentorship, Erin Han has joined the Judge Rand Schrader Pro Bono Program at UCLA School of Law as its director.

Han initially joined UCLA Law in 2014, and she comes into her new position after spending the past decade in the law school’s career services office, most recently as assistant director and counselor for J.D. students. With her move to the Schrader Program, she takes over for Grace Meng, the program’s inaugural director, who recently became the executive director of the David J. Epstein Program in Public Interest Law and Policy.

“Erin brings a true gift for mentoring and supporting students, which we know will be invaluable for inspiring a lifetime commitment to pro bono and public service in UCLA Law students,” Meng says. “She has worked with students who are focused on public interest careers, including those seeking public interest post-grad fellowships, as well as students who want to make pro bono work a staple of their private sector careers. This gives her an uncommon perspective on the value of pro bono to the professional development of all law students.”

Han’s commitment to public interest law and pro bono legal services runs deep, with expertise in education, youth, and disability law. Before she came to UCLA Law, she was a senior staff attorney with Legal Aid Chicago and a staff attorney with the San Diego Volunteer Lawyer Program, providing legal representation to foster and at-risk youth in need of educational advocacy. Han has also taught education law and legal writing as an adjunct professor at multiple law schools, developed strong pro bono programs with volunteer attorneys, and forged strong relationships with legal services and other public interest organizations nationwide.

“UCLA Law's Judge Rand Schrader Pro Bono Program, in collaboration with our partners, provides essential legal services to the most vulnerable residents of Los Angeles and surrounding counties,” Han says. “In addition to fostering legal skills outside the classroom, many students develop a greater connection to the local community and an appreciation for diverse voices through the pro bono clients they serve. Moreover, the opportunity to participate in pro bono early in law school is crucial to the development of professional identity for many students, who make pro bono a career-long practice. I am honored to guide the program into its next chapter and am grateful for the incredible foundation already set by Grace Meng in her tenure as director.”

Han earned her B.A., summa cum laude, from Duke University and her J.D., cum laude, from Boston College Law School, where she won the Lewis S. Gurwitz Graduation Award for commitment to public interest law and the Champy Fellowship for public interest work.