Yoana Tchoukleva '14 is a Senior Program Manager at Impact Justice, where she leads innovations that expand access to justice and strengthen opportunities for people returning from incarceration. She is also a Lecturer at Berkeley Law and teaches the law school’s first course on restorative justice diversion. Yoana T. is the Bay Area Vice Chair of the California Democratic Party Progressive Caucus and a Commissioner on the Oakland Public Safety Planning & Oversight Commission, which oversees $47 million in public-safety funding and guides Oakland’s community violence-reduction strategy. Yoana's words of wisdom for budding public interest lawyers: "It is okay to have multiple passions — or more than one possible career path. In law school, I took every class I could in international law and human rights, while also immersing myself in criminal law and post-conviction advocacy. I began my 3L year still wondering whether I should work at an international tribunal halfway around the world or remain here and become a public defender. Ultimately, I created my own path. I brought a human rights lens to the United States and focused on ending juvenile life without parole in California. It took years of litigation, legislation, and organizing, but at the end we were successful. SB 394 made people who were sentenced to life without parole as minors eligible for youth offender parole hearings during their 25th year of incarceration. Now, twelve years later, I still cry tears of joy when I see former clients regain their freedom." #BerkeleyLaw #PublicInterest

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“Events like this prove that we are not just competitors but a community,” says 3L Cole Troutner, who organized a Pie a Moot Court Member fundraiser with fellow co-director 3L DeShawn Carter. With finals approaching, the two wanted to give students a chance to have some fun and relieve a little stress. “It is not every day that you are able to pie a 3L right after a grueling civil procedure or torts class,” says Carter. #BerkeleyLaw

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Can the Electoral College elect a candidate who received fewer votes? This episode features Professor Bertrall Ross as part of a special 𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘢𝘸 series on key election topics. #ItsTheLaw #BerkeleyLaw #Election [Video Description: Berkeley Law professor Bertrall Ross sits at a wooden conference table in front of a wood-paneled wall, speaking directly to the camera. Text overlay on the video reads: 'Can the Electoral College elect a candidate who received fewer votes?'

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