UCLA School of Law’s trial team finished in second place at the National Board of Trial Advocacy’s 2019 Tournament of Champions, which took place at American University Washington College of Law in Washington, D.C., from Oct. 23 to 26.
Ten years ago, the UCDC program opened its doors for students at University of California law schools to spend a semester in the nation's capital, where they get an unparalleled view of the country's legislative, court and policy-making machinery at work. Over the years, nearly 370 UC law students — including more than 100 from UCLA Law — have walked through those doors.
The A. Barry Cappello Trial Team at UCLA School of Law ranks as the third-best trial team in the nation, according to the 2018-19 Trial Competition Performance Rankings compiled by Professor Adam Shlahet and the Fordham University School of Law.
In 2018-19, the Critical Race Studies program named the first recipients of the Erika J. Glazer Endowed Scholarship for first-year law students who are dedicated to achieving equity for Los Angeles' African American communities. The scholarships were made possible by a $250,000 gift from Glazer, a philanthropist who focuses on building strong communities throughout L.A.
Willis is a Los Angeles native who is the first in her immediate family to have attended college. She earned her bachelor's degree from St. Catherine University in Minnesota, where she majored in political science and critical studies of race and ethnicity; and a master's degree in cultural anthropology from Graduate School and University Center of the City University of New York, where she served as a student representative on the admissions and departmental elections committees. While in school and in between her undergraduate and master’s programs, Willis worked as a data analyst, coordinator and manager at organizations addressing fair housing, women’s health, access to mental health resources, education and environmental justice. She hopes to work in L.A. as an advocate for improving access, opportunity and outcomes for African American and other historically underrepresented communities. She also has interests in data security, government ethics, labor and environmental regulation and election law.
The Ziffren Center for Media, Entertainment, Technology and Sports Law hosted its third annual One Year Out panel on September 26, bringing recent alumni back into the fold to talk to current students about launching careers in entertainment law.
Nathan Cox’s time at UCLA School of Law included the launch of a technology company, work with leading professors in tax law and honors as part of UCLA Law’s moot court and mock trial programs. In recognition of his efforts, Cox ’19, who is now working in the San Diego office of Cooley, received the 2019 Bruce I. Hochman Award for Excellence in the Study of Tax Law.
Two years ago, UCLA School of Law’s Ziffren Institute for Media, Entertainment, Technology and Sports Law launched the Documentary Film Legal Clinic, a creative enterprise among law students, veteran media attorneys and independent filmmakers.
Three UCLA School of Law students have received Skadden Fellowships to pursue public interest law after they graduate. The two-year fellowships, presented annually since 1988, are among the most prestigious and competitive awards for public interest law students.
Offering broad access to a preeminent legal education and career in the law has been core to UCLA School of Law since the start, and the school has had remarkable success in its efforts to attract, educate and propel to success “first-gen” students — people who are the first in their families to earn a college degree. Today, about one in six of the school’s J.D. students is first-gen, a higher percentage than that reported by any top law school.
Bolstering UCLA School of Law’s instruction in corporate governance, business ethics and related subjects, alumnus William Kahane ’74 and his wife, Elizabeth Kahane, have committed $1million to launch a new corporate governance course and programming at UCLA Law’s Lowell Milken Institute for Business Law and Policy.