A Center for Law, Energy & the Environment merit scholar, Van Valkenburgh holds several leadership roles at Berkeley Law and is the lead author of a new research paper on wastewater pollution along the California coastline.
Both Latinas from the East Coast, Arcia and Cortes forge a strong connection rooted in shared ambitions, navigating unfamiliar terrain, and pursuing a profession where people who look like them remain underrepresented.
The inaugural cohort of fellows comes from a wide range of disciplines, and students are already posting their pieces on the Berkeley Law Life Sciences Forum.
The class featured guest appearances from leading practitioners and thinkers with a focus on how CEOs, chief legal officers, and corporate boards are responding to AI’s disruptive potential.
Before law school, 1Ls Kamryn Yanchick and Aidan Lin-Tostado were already turning advocacy into action. As Berkeley Law Public Interest Scholars, they’re now building on that work while preparing for careers in public service.
With the climate for judges becoming increasingly fraught, Hiramoto prioritizes her passions as a jurist: pursuing justice in her courtroom while paving the way for new generations of judges, lawyers, and students.
From Silicon Valley startups to established corporate pillars, alums in high-level legal roles are propelling meaningful change in areas such as electric vehicles, finance, consumer goods, and social media.
Atkinson, whose scholarship examines consumer law through the lens of economic inequality, is enjoying the chance to work more closely with her colleagues, particularly junior faculty.
In Berkeley Law’s mentorship series, lecturer Talha Syed and Zara Tayebjee ’26 discuss office hours, the Socratic Method, and how a half-hour conversation about a pen helped shape a student’s intellectual path.
The school’s strong run of faculty hiring under Dean Erwin Chemerinsky continues with Harawa, a criminal procedure expert who arrives in January, and legal historian Hall.
Working for the Office of Legal Counsel in the California Department of Toxic Substances Control, Pantoja gains perspective and confidence while helping protect public health and the environment.
According to data from reform states, juvenile courts no longer charge youth and families more than $61 million in fees each year, and they have discharged a staggering $783 million in debt.
The $500,000 commitment from Ruth Bell ’67 and her husband Joseph Bell aims to expand the Center for Law, Energy & the Environment’s impact in guiding California policymakers on vital issues.
Bhargava, who helped develop an AI-powered learning platform in India, and LL.M. classmate Anže Erbežnik aim to streamline criminal proceedings and improve efficiency in bilingual legal environments.
Professors Khiara M. Bridges, Colleen V. Chien ’02, and Dhammika Dharmapala, and Assistant Professor Manisha Padi were recognized for their scholarly and teaching accomplishments.
Valentine parlays pivotal hands-on experience gained at Berkeley Law into a rewarding internship with the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office Immigration Defense Unit.
Investigation co-led by Berkeley Law’s Human Rights Center documents 412 incidents of misuse and 203 injuries across 16 U.S. cities from June 2025 through May 2026.
With the rule of law under unprecedented pressure, they’re standing up in courtrooms, classrooms, lecture halls, the media, and internationally to fight for justice.
Ly, a first-generation college student whose parents were factory workers, describes why his work at the plaintiff-side firm Bryan Schwartz Law is expanding both his skills and resolve.
The catalyst for the State Bar of California’s new Privacy Law Specialization, Serrato has built a practical training initiative for senior leaders in data strategy, innovation, governance, and risk management.
Now pursuing a career in public defense, Jones says volunteering at San Quentin underscored the need “to see clients as more than the facts that brought them into the legal system.”
For Veena Dubal, mentorship from Catherine “KT” Albiston meant more than academic guidance. It meant permission to pivot, confidence to keep going, and a model for scholarship grounded in care and public purpose.
This year’s honors went to John Burris ’73, Professor Peter S. Menell, Lillian Hardy ’06, and U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Nicole Berner ’95, with a special accolade for Dean Erwin Chemerinsky.
Taught by Berkeley Center for Law & Technology Executive Director Wayne Stacy — a former Big Law litigator and U.S. Patent Office leader — the course will focus on enhancing legal skills without lowering the threshold for human judgment and input.
A leader of multiple Berkeley Law student organizations, Dasgupta is enjoying her “crash course in the world of international law-making and diplomacy.”
Jerath and her co-founder incorporated lessons from over 25,000 billable hours to craft a virtual program for law students and new associates “to take the knowledge, skills, and understanding junior corporate lawyers usually spend years piecing together and teach it all upfront.”
Working with a feminist organization in Georgia and the Equality Law Clinic at the Free University of Brussels, the group wrote a brief on behalf of a woman who had been charged with defamation after accusing her supervisor of sexual harassment.
Swift’s brilliance and grace inspired the alum, who wishes to remain anonymous, to donate $250,000 to start the fund. He hopes other alumni join him in paying tribute to Swift, who died in 2023 after a legendary career.
Named one of the nation’s 100 most influential corporate governance leaders, Dobrygowski describes the motivations driving both his pioneering work and his new book.
Khiara M. Bridges’ new book probes how maternal health disparities affect Black mothers at every rung of the socioeconomic ladder and the impact of interpersonal and structural racism on their pregnancies.
The school’s newest graduates are clerking for the supreme courts of five states this fall — Alaska, California, Hawaiʻi, New Jersey, and Nevada — as well as intermediate courts of appeal in Alaska and Hawaiʻi and state superior courts in Alaska and California.
The landscape includes renowned faculty, lecturers with vast experience in the field, a surging research center, and a top journal that recently held its 50th anniversary symposium.
“This cohort has demonstrated why they will be fantastic litigators in the future,” says Judge Mario M. Choi, a former complex commercial litigator who teaches the course.
Sophia Wang, Toni Mendicino, and Amina Kirby are recognized for leading immigration rights advocacy, amplifying Berkeley Law’s international law work, and advancing technical innovations in the school’s classrooms and event spaces.
Quick start and tenacious defense help Berkeley stay undefeated in the annual Order on the Court basketball game with a 70-46 win fueled by spirited cheerleaders, stellar halftime performers, and hundreds of raucous fans.
The changing climate’s growing impact is acting as a powerful threat multiplier — exacerbating violence, exclusion, discrimination, and weak state protection and spurring migration from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua.
Faculty, students, staff, and alumni call Chemerinsky uniquely positioned to lead Berkeley Law’s role in protecting the rule of law, chart an ambitious course for its future, and solidify its long-term financial footing.
Housers at Berkeley and the California Housing Initiative strive to achieve more affordable housing opportunities across the state and help train a new generation of advocates.
The Spring 2026 Transcript also features a photo essay sharing the motivations of student and alumni pro bono leaders, a 2L’s push to preserve the stories of military veterans, and much more.
Combining a full-time field work placement with a weekly seminar, the immersive semester-long program illuminates how federal statutes, regulations, and policies are made, interpreted, and applied in the nation’s capital.
While small towns are a less common path for most Berkeley alums, “the divide between cities and rural areas isn’t as big as we sometimes think it is,” Edwards says.
Research by J.S.D. candidate Mahwish Moazzam probes compelling questions about AI bias, religious expression, representation, and human dignity in algorithmic systems.
Recent rankings place Berkeley Law as the top public law school in the United States, and studies analyzing scholarly impact also place the school’s faculty among the best at public institutions.
The Edley Center for Law & Democracy event with three former federal prosecutors and the president of a prominent watchdog nonprofit describe growing barriers to investigating the abuse of power by government officials.
As industry defendants increasingly push state judges to adopt strict standing limits modeled on federal standards, the center’s Open Door Project is helping Californians keep their access to the state’s courts.
