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.
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.
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.
His research shows how diversity’s values have long been widely embraced by leaders in the military, business, education, and the law, and how it has benefited organizations and society.
The gift establishes the Zieff-Leitner Public Interest Fellowship, which will allow a graduating 3L student to spend their first year in practice with a nonprofit organization — at a starting salary of $80,000, significantly more than existing fellowships.
The first university-based center for sociolegal research marked its 65th anniversary with an engaging conference addressing criminal justice, inequality, democracy and civil society, and lessons for and from the legal profession.
Stood up on a quick timetable, the project fits perfectly into the Criminal Law & Justice Center’s work at the intersection of immigration detention and the criminal justice system.
JD Genesis recently held a daylong retreat for its inaugural fellows, providing practical insights on the admissions process, shopping and paying for law school, career pathways, wellness and mental health, and more.
Human Rights Clinic Director Roxanna Altholz ’99 relied on support from the law school as she and two other international law experts probed the 2016 murder of the Honduran environmental activist.
Stephanie Alvarez, Evelyn Correa, Rosie Rios, and Alejandro Castañeda Zúñiga worked with migrant-focused groups through the program, which earns students academic credit for doing supervised legal work at a nonprofit or government agency.
The New Orleans gathering brought laurels for Field Placement Program Director Sue Schechter, Clinical Professor and Environmental Law Clinic Director Claudia Polsky ’96, Instructional & Educational Technology Librarian Kristie Chamorro, 3L Virginia Frausto-Elizarraraz, and the late Professor Philip Frickey.
Across the legal landscape, the school’s commitment to excellence, community, public mission, and leadership — as well as its entrepreneurial spirit and determined pursuit of justice — was on full display.
Up to 10 incoming J.D. students chosen each year receive scholarship support, leadership programming, coaching, and mentorship to help them learn how best to guide teams, solutions, and growth.
The group brings diverse expertise in data science, immigration, and criminal, family, and transactional law, expanding the program’s reach and bolstering its mission to advance racial, economic, and social justice.
The civil rights icon, former federal judge, and Berkeley Law visiting professor witnessed violent efforts to block Black people from voting in the 1960s South as a Department of Justice lawyer.
“My role has always been to push the envelope” on gaining civil rights for people with disabilities, says Mayerson, who has taught at Berkeley Law since 1988.
The content includes featuring our seven new professors, our alumni’s huge impact in the entertainment industry, and new students’ varied motivations for choosing law school — and Berkeley.
The author of immigration law’s go-to guide — now its 19th edition — Kurzban has litigated over 100 federal cases, obtained a $500 million judgment against a former dictator, and represented thousands of refugees.
Su, who served in the Brown, Newsom, and Biden administrations, says she’s excited to be at the law school because “there is so much good that law students and lawyers can do in the world, especially in this moment.”
From a new AI program for LL.M. Executive Track students to specialties in business, environmental, and tech law, students can choose from a hefty slate of certificate programs.
Host Gwyneth Shaw talks to Hausman about the grant-funded project, which is the first centralized repository of individual-level U.S. government immigration enforcement data and is publicly available.
The gift from Bob and Colleen Haas honors the distinguished UC Berkeley alumnus and celebrates his name, legendary life’s work, and passion for molding a fairer and more just society.
Their wide-ranging work reflects the school’s deep commitment to public service that champions justice, equality, civil rights, transparency, fairness, and accountability.
The school revives its annual Celebration of Faculty Books, highlighting a sampling of books published by faculty members since 2022 and offering a glimpse into their collective importance.
Charles Weisselberg and his client Veronza Bowers Jr., granted parole last year after spending a half-century in prison, share poignant insights with Weisselberg’s Criminal Justice – Investigations students.
The former Policy Advocacy Clinic student and supervisor is continuing to make an impact while enrolled in the Jurisprudence & Social Policy Program and will start law school in 2026.
Dormant for several years, the renewed gathering drew clinic leaders from six law schools in the region and addressed myriad topics to empower their mission and maximize their impact.
Criminal Law & Justice Center Executive Director Chesa Boudin and Professors Colleen V. Chien ’02, Andrea Roth, and Rebecca Wexler spoke at a recent webinar for lawyers across the state.
From writing amicus curiae briefs to overseeing student projects and organizations to courtroom work, these professors are extending the school’s influence far beyond its walls — and legal academia.
A packed pro bono plate and a top role at a journal deliver a law school experience that’s deeply connected to her passion for making systemic change, at the street level and in the academic realm.
Presented by the school’s Berkeley Center on Comparative Equality & Anti-Discrimination Law, the event draws lawyers and activists in person and virtually to continue efforts to turn the revelations sparked by the #MeToo movement into systemic change.
Two students from UC Berkeley Law’s Death Penalty Clinic fuel an amicus brief highlighting the importance of state constitutional independence and California’s deep record of discrimination in administering capital punishment.
Ball, an East Bay native, will lead the new Social Enterprise Clinic, which begins this fall and will work as outside counsel for local businesses with a social or environmental mission.
It will further expand the school’s Clinical Program, fill an urgent legal need in the area, and enable students to represent indigent parents threatened with the removal of their children.
After a quarter century of pathbreaking international work, the Human Rights Clinic expands its domestic agenda, with Professor Roxanna Altholz ’99 at the helm.
The lineup is “a remarkable mix of classes covering topics relevant to practice areas old and new,” Professor and Associate Dean for J.D. Curriculum and Teaching Jonathan D. Glater says.
Research based on work she began as a Princeton undergraduate was recently published in a peer-reviewed journal — a challenging task for a full-time student with a full pro bono plate.
After receiving a Philip Frickey Fellowship, Hammond received funding to work on behalf of California’s largest tribe, which he calls “one of the greatest honors of my life.”
Obasogie wants to bring the discredited theory out of hiding through a national conversation to confront the past and prevent its repetition in modern science.
Latina law faculty share experiences and strategies for collective and professional development for Latinas, who comprise just 1.6% of tenured and tenure-track law professors.
Four Class of 2024 alums form the inaugural cohort of the Chris Larsen Justice Fellowship, which will fund their first year of public interest work on criminal justice issues.
The Berkeley Journal of Black Law & Policy event featured California Reparations Task Force members who described their research, proposals for reparations, and hurdles to achieving them.
Zaidi balances her multiple passions — building a pipeline for Muslim Indian lawyers, her professional ambitions and advocacy, and a deep love of music — with pinpoint precision.
A natural resource specialist before law school, Lewis says Berkeley Law has expanded her skills, tools, and motivation to protect vulnerable ecosystems and communities.
