UCLA School of Law alumnus Travis Bell ’17 has received the first Ambassador Award ever presented by Gideon’s Promise. The award goes to a person who supports the Gideon’s Promise mission to raise the standard of indigent defense by building a movement of public defenders.

Three UCLA School of Law students have won prestigious fellowships through which they will serve immigrants and indigent defendants after they graduate in May. In addition, one recent UCLA Law graduate earned a fellowship for his work in helping people who are incarcerated in California.

The UCLA School of Law will recognize and acknowledge Professor Jyoti Nanda at U. Serve L.A. for her dedication to and leadership in strengthening UCLA School of Law's public service ethic.

Phoebe Kasdin '18 came to UCLA School of Law with an unwavering commitment to help those who are struggling. She leaves as the first UCLA Law alum to receive a two-year fellowship that will allow her to provide holistic representation to indigent mothers who are facing criminal charges and a panoply of related troubles, including family destabilization and loss of child custody.

Thanks to the work of UCLA School of Law's Criminal Defense Clinic, five Southern California community members recently received pardons for old criminal convictions from then-Gov. Jerry Brown. All five of the clients represented by UCLA Law students received pardons during a flurry of criminal justice-related activity in Gov. Brown's waning months in office.

Sidewalk vendors in Los Angeles live on subsistence wages earned from an honest day's work. Over the past year, however, these community entrepreneurs have experienced increased police harassment, arrests, onerous criminal justice debt, and even incarceration. These and other findings are documented in a new report issued by law students in UCLA School of Law's Criminal Defense Clinic.