NLLSA Conference Scholarship Application OPEN NOW

La Raza at Berkeley Law is excited to be cohosting the National Latinx Law Student Association Conference with UC Hastings March 5-7, 2020. This year’s conference theme, “Yo soy el pasado, el presente, y future de mi gente,” pays tribute to the shoulders we stand on, recognizes our current power for change, and acknowledges our responsibility to the future of the Latino/a community. Latino/a have made strides in this country to provide us the opportunity we all have today as legal professionals.

The Conference is a three-day event that brings together hundreds of diverse law student leaders, professors, practitioners, judges, military personnel, and prominent community leaders from all over the country. It features interactive panels, a moot court competition, networking events, a job fair, engaging lectures, a keynote speaker, and an opportunity to give back to our community through a pro bono work session. Ultimately, it provides a forum where student participants can (1) debate critical legal issues, (2) discuss how Latina/o attorneys can be successful in a field where we have been historically underrepresented, and (3) become empowered to strengthen our communities as zealous advocates. 

In honor of the conference's commitment to uplifting the next generation of Latinx law students, NLLSA has presented a scholarship for prelaw students and current law students. Applications are due February 14, 2020 to chair@nllsa.org.

APPLICATION HERE: https://www.nllsa.org/scholarship

Bi-Weekly Study Halls

By the time Friday comes along, after a long week of class—it is impossible to find the will to stick around and finish out strong. This is why La Raza has started organizing study halls every other Friday. With the bi-weekly study halls, La Raza seeks to provide a space for our members to come in community and review the material of the week for a couple more hours. Not only do study halls provide for a time for our members to spend productive time with each other, but the organization also provides dinner for those who come. The study halls are a great way to tie the loose knots of the week, while feeling good about starting the weekend off right. 

Latinx Family Dinner for Prospective Students

On December 3rd, Berkeley Law's Office of Admission and La Raza Association hosted its first-ever Latinx Family Dinner in Los Angeles for prospective Latinx student applicants to Berkeley Law. Joined by Latinx alumni, representatives from the admissions office, and current Raza students, prospective students had the opportunity to engage with Berkeley Law and ask questions about the application process and student life. The event was a huge success! Many applicants were able to attend and build connections with La Raza Association on campus but also with Latinx professionals. We are excited to continue this new tradition and host more Family dinners such as these in the future. We also look forward to expanding into new cities. More to come on this so stay tuned!

Cruz Reynoso Committee

The Cruz Reynoso Gala 2020 planning is underway! At our first meeting, the Committee of 1L, 2L, and 3L La Raza students (and one undergraduate bear) decided on our theme for this year: Latinx Excellence: La Lucha Por la Justicia! We are also in the process of scoping out this year’s speaker! We are so excited to fundraise even more money this year to support Latinx law students who pursue public interest work. Cruz Reynoso scholarship recipients last year used the fellowship to pay for rent, food, and allowed them to do work they were truly passionate about. If you are interested in attending the event or sponsoring, please reach out to the Cruz Reynoso Gala Co-Chairs Karla Maradiaga, karla.maradiaga@berkeley.eduor Rosa Hernandez rosahernandez32@berkeley.edu.

Financial Planning Workshop

Maria Ku, a CPA and mom to one of our members, gave a presentation about financial planning for La Raza students and guests on fNovember 13, 2019. She spoke about how to manage student debt and finances for our financial wellbeing in the long term. About thirty students attended the event and greek food was served. We covered budgeting skills, making moves to boost your credit score, loan repayment options, the value of compound interest when saving, and different types of retirement plans, amongst other topics.

Big Law Unveiled

In November, La Raza and Morrison & Foerster hosted a panel made up of attorneys working in big law firms. Daneille, Joanne, Lilia, Mallory, Melissa, and Nadia talked about their experiences as attorneys of color working in private practice. They also talked about navigating the job hunt as a 1L and about the 1L diversity positions at their respective law firms. After the panel the attorneys networked with our 1L students!

Hot Job Summer: Diversity in Government Jobs

Today La Raza brought back four alumni (‘98, ‘07, ‘17, and ‘18) to come talk to us about their experiences working in government. Cristine, Lisa, Gilbert, and David work at the San Francisco DA, California Attorney General, Conta Costa County PD, and Oakland City Attorney offices respectively. They talked about their career paths, their job search, their experience as Latinx attorneys, and their favorite parts of being La Raza members. Our 1Ls left with a lot information to start off their job search with! And, we are always grateful when alumni come back to share their wisdom!

Cross-Affinity Group BBQ

In October, La Raza and LSAD co-hosted a cross-affinity BBQ where students from all affinity groups were invited to attend. Alongside Oakland’s beautiful Lake Merritt on a sunny Saturday afternoon, students from various backgrounds enjoyed hot dogs, hamburgers (including veggie burgers) and music. Having spaces and events outside academics and networking are important to La Raza. In these events we aim to build strong social bonds to assure that students feel a sense of community within the law school and the legal world generally (spaces that can feel alienating to various affinity groups).

Alumni Weekend Happy Hour

In October, we had our annual alumni weekend mixer. Our current and former students all got together to share law school highlights and horror stories over Freehouse’s famous brussel sprouts and sweet potato fries. Thank you to our alumni for making it out and continuing to build community across decades of Raza!

Lunch with Judges-In-Residence

On September 23, 2019, La Raza students were invited to have a private lunch with Berkeley Law’s Judges-In-Residence. The conversation was moderated by Anya Ku (‘20) who asked the judge to share about their paths to law school, their experiences as attorneys, and their current jobs as judges. We also discussed the importance of clerkships, and when asked “how many of you are think about clerking?” nearly all members raised their hands. La Raza is honored to have been offered this opportunity and is excited to continue supporting our members with all of their aspirations including clerkships!

Meet Your Professors Mixer

Early in the semester, La Raza hosted our second annual Meet Your Professors Mixer. This event allowed our new 1L students the opportunity to chat with their 1L professors in a casual setting. The students and professors shared some snacks and non-class related conversations in Steinhart Courtyard. The goal was to strengthen relationships so that students feel more comfortable attending office hours and reaching out to their professors when they need help as the semester progresses. Both professors and students alike were happy they attended! 

RAZA-ING THE BAR: What is the Bar?

On September 10, we hosted the first installation in our Raza-ing The Bar, bar prep series! Our first event “What is the Bar?” was presented to us by Chris Ide-Don, UC Davis School of Law’s Academic Success Director. Chris presented to a group of about 15 first-ten Latinx 3Ls and allowed us to ask every question we haven’t felt comfortable asking before! He walked us through the costs of the applications and the exam, the structure of the exam, the classes covered, and tips for how to approach the exam with confidence. After the event we got great feedback from students who shared that they now feel a little more stressed about the bar, but a lot more confident that they will pass!