Energizing law students from across Southern California to engage in the fight for social justice for a wide range of workers, immigrants, inmates and others, students from the National Lawyers Guild chapter at UCLA School of Law hosted their second annual Liberation Lawyering Conference on March 2.

More than 200 law students, law professors, practicing attorneys, community advocates and organizers came to the law school for an all-day program highlighting activist voices.

More than 300 members of the UCLA School of Law community gathered for the second annual U. Serve L.A. celebration on April 9, raising $100,000 for UCLA Law’s initiatives in public interest law.

Rising rents have caused unprecedented housing insecurity in Los Angeles County, according to an in-depth report that UCLA School of Law students and faculty prepared with attorneys at Public Counsel.

UCLA School of Law has awarded 14 postgraduate fellowships, including seven University of California President's Public Service Law Fellowships, to 2019 graduates committed to practicing public interest law. Totaling $665,000, the one-year fellowships include stipends of $45,000 for each graduate as well as funding to help defray bar exam expenses. The fellowships enable graduates to work on behalf of underserved individuals, communities and causes, as well as in government positions.

Opening the doors to impactful careers in public interest law and government service, the University of California President's Public Service Fellowship program has provided vital support to graduates from the University of California's four law schools since 2016. More than 60 UCLA Law graduates have received the one-year fellowships, which place students in social justice and government organizations in California and around the world, offering $45,000 stipends and support for bar exam expenses.

Kicking off a year of events centered on the theme of “defending democracy,” UCLA School of Law’s David J. Epstein Program in Public Interest Law and Policy welcomed ACLU Voting Rights Project Director Dale Ho for a three-day residency during the week of Sept. 23.

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.

UCLA School of Law Professor Noah Zatz and scholars at the UCLA Labor Center have published a groundbreaking report on Los Angeles County’s broken system of court-ordered community service.

UCLA School of Law graduates who go into public interest law will receive greater financial assistance as the school enhances its Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP), starting in January. Through LRAP, UCLA Law has in the past decade covered roughly $4.5 million in student loan payments for J.D. graduates who work in public interest jobs, government positions or judicial clerkships.