When UCLA School of Law hosts a new tournament called the Verdict, starting on Oct. 16, it will be presenting a first-of-its kind law school jury-trial competition.

While most trial advocacy competitions ask lawyers or judges to score students on their courtroom performances as a proxy for what lay jurors would find persuasive, the Verdict includes lay jurors who submit verdicts on the merits. Like in real trials, the winning team will be the one that best persuades the juries.

Students in UCLA Law's Appellate Prisoners' Rights Clinic
L to R: Appellate Prisoners’ Rights Clinic students Benjamin Levine ’21, Ilse Gomez ’21, Amaris Montes ’21, and Alberto De Diego Carreras ’21.

When the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit convened over Zoom on May 4, a panel of judges heard oral arguments that were delivered by several highly skilled advocates — four of whom were UCLA School of Law students.

UCLA Law alum Dana Ontiveros

When recent UCLA School of Law graduate Dana Ontiveros ’21 sits down to work each day in the Los Angeles office of Snell & Wilmer, she is able to tap into the vast array of skills that she gained during her time in law school. While she spends the bulk of her hours working in the firm’s commercial litigation group, with additional projects in corporate and securities law and real estate, she consistently finds her mind returning to many of the lessons she enjoyed most at UCLA Law — the ones centering on tax law.

UCLA Law student Enrico Trevisani
UCLA Law Trial Team member Enrico Trevisani ’22 delivers the opening statement at the Tournament of Champions.

The annual ranking of the top law school trial advocacy teams in the country has been released, and the A. Barry Cappello Trial Team at UCLA School of Law is No. 1 for the second year in a row. The success comes after a record-breaking season for the law school’s trial team, including landmark wins in the most esteemed competitions in the country.

UCLA Law clinics support Yurok Tribe
The first day of commercial fishing in 2019 on the Klamath River.

For thousands of years, the Yurok people have looked to the Klamath River Basin close to California’s northern border for a rich variety of nutritional and cultural sustenance: salmon from the river, elk and berries from the forests, and mussels and clams along the coast, among other culturally significant species. But the arrival of European settlers in the 19th century brought changes that impeded tribal members’ ability to harvest on their ancestral territories.

Lowell Milken and Jill Horwitz
Lowell Milken and Jill Horwitz

With the philanthropy world on the precipice of revolutionary change, UCLA School of Law has established the Program on Philanthropy and Nonprofits, devoted to cutting-edge research, training, and policy in this dynamic and evolving area of the law and society. It will reside within the law school’s Lowell Milken Institute for Business Law and Policy (LMI).

UCLA School of Law 1L Convocation

As the 2021-22 school year got underway, UCLA School of Law welcomed a class of new students who are among the most accomplished ever to join the law school.

Crowd gathered outside the U.S. Supreme Court on June 26, 2015, after the court’s decision in Obergefell v. Hodges.
A crowd gathers outside the U.S. Supreme Court in 2015 after the decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, which relied on data from the Williams Institute, legalized same-sex marriage.

When a same-sex marriage ban was overturned in California, a federal court cited research from UCLA School of Law's Williams Institute 30 times. President Barack Obama used Williams's research in an executive order prohibiting workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. And after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of marriage equality, Justice Anthony Kennedy described the institute's research as the deciding factor.

UCLA Law public interest fellowships
Clockwise from top left: Maya Chaudhuri ’21, Shaunita Hampton ’21, Idalmis Vaquero ’21, Ming Tanigawa-Lau ’21, Melodie Meyer ’20, Joseph Yankelowitz ’21, and Hayley Hofmann ’21.

Highlighting the proud track record of UCLA School of Law students who aspire to be leaders in public interest law, seven recent graduates have earned esteemed post-graduate fellowships from top organizations in the field.

UCLA Law alumnus Rand Schrader

Visitors to the 6500 block of Hollywood Blvd. find themselves surrounded by monuments to Los Angeles greatness. There are Walk of Fame stars for Frank Sinatra and Orson Welles. The building on the corner bears a massive mural featuring generations of Lakers legends. And above the intersection, a street sign recognizes another L.A. icon. It reads: “Schrader Bl.”

Subscribe to Alumni
News
See All