By Gwyneth K. Shaw
Berkeley Law’s Master of Laws (LL.M.) students are weaving themselves more often into the school’s vaunted pro bono culture — and enjoying multifaceted benefits.
LL.M. students on the school’s traditional track spend a full academic year on campus and, with a few exceptions, can select their courses from the menu offered across all of the degree programs.
More and more, they’re gravitating toward the Pro Bono Program, Director Deborah Schlosberg says: 80 LL.M. students graduated in May with Pro Bono Honors for completing at least 25 hours of service work. There’s been particular growth in their participation in the 40 Student-Initiated Legal Services Projects (SLPS) and the Berkeley Law Alternative Service Trips (BLAST), which happen over spring break in locations across the country.
Two of the seven most recent BLAST trips included LL.M. students, including two on the project in California’s Central Valley. The trip introduced students to the unique legal issues of rural poverty in California and aimed to have them be thoughtful, supportive partners with community members already working in the area. Students learned about the region’s importance to the state’s history, economy, and environmental and immigration trends, as well as the dearth of lawyers in the area.
“We’re thrilled with the expansion of LL.M. student engagement in the Pro Bono Program,” Schlosberg says. “Our commitment to access to justice extends beyond the local community. When our international students adopt our mission and take it forward both within the United States and in their home countries we are able to carry forward our public interest mission on a global stage.
“LL.M. students’ engagement through is also a unique way for our LL.M. and J.D. students to bond over shared passions and learn from one another’s unique perspectives.”
As a non-native English speaker coming to an American campus, Mona Tao LL.M. ’24 wanted to make sure she explored as much of what Berkeley Law had to offer as possible. She joined the student-led La Alianza Workers’ and Tenants’ Rights Clinic and also worked with Legal Access Alameda, the pro bono arm of the Alameda County Bar Association.
Like many Berkeley Law students, Tao wanted to do pro bono work to get practical experience outside the classroom. She found it paid dividends in other ways, too.
“First, it’s a great opportunity to learn more about diverse cultures. Pro bono work often involves interacting with diverse clients from different cultural backgrounds, and this experience helped me develop a deeper understanding of cultural differences and communication skills, which I believe is valuable in any legal practice, especially when dealing with clients from varied backgrounds,” she says. “Second, pro bono work allowed me to gain practical experience and insights beyond the classroom. I have always believed in the importance of using legal skills to contribute to the community and to help those in need who may not have access to legal services, and this provided opportunities to work on plenty of real cases. These experiences deepened my understanding of the law in our daily lives.”
Roger Huang LL.M. ’24 had already done successful pro bono work at home in China, and found it to be a defining moment for him as a lawyer. He wanted to continue that at Berkeley Law, particularly after talking to student leaders from the Workers’ and Tenants’ Rights Clinic, who captivated him their stories of working with clients and said they particularly needed students who spoke Cantonese, Huang’s native language.
“Inequality still exists in every aspect of our lives. Uneven allocation and distribution of resources widen the gaps and foster discord among us,” he says. “That’s precisely why I see pro bono work as a powerful tool for advocacy and a means to foster social equality. I firmly believe that all legal practitioners, including lawyers and students, have a responsibility to improve society, and engaging in pro bono activities is a vital way to do just that.”
Their pro bono assignments also gave them a chance to improve their language skills, and practice legal speaking and writing in a professional setting — a critical tool, Tao says, for non-native English speakers who want to cultivate their careers — and opportunities to meet local lawyers and mentors, who offered guidance and support.
The language benefits cut both ways for LL.M. students, Tao adds, since she and other international students can also be a resource for pro bono clients who don’t speak English well.
“They are in desperate need to find someone who can speak their native language, perhaps Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese, or Spanish, and help them talk to attorneys,” she says. “Plus, nonprofessionals can simplify the complex legal problems and make them easy to understand for clients. So after we digest the content of what the attorneys are saying and retell it to the client, it may be more understandable.”
Most of all, Tao says, doing pro bono work was a fun way to learn — about American law and well beyond, with benefits for both students and clients.
“It’s a way to open yourself up to a new experience,” she says. “And one thing that impressed me most was that the clients trust us a lot. At La Alianza, I found that our clients were very willing to talk to us, sometimes even more than talking to attorneys. A client from Mexico said that they were happy to see us coming from a long way and studying here.
“They feel safe to talk to us and believe that we can understand their difficulties and hard situations better as non-U.S. citizens.”
Huang says he particularly valued his partnership with Tao. While they weren’t initially assigned to the same team, they developed an informal relay system where one would stay with a client while the other went to talk to supervising attorneys. He and other LL.M. students who do pro bono bring diverse perspectives to this important work, he adds.
“LL.M. students hail from many countries and regions, speak numerous languages, and bring a rich variety of views and experiences shaped by our unique educational and professional backgrounds,” he says. “That equips us with deep compassion, enhanced understanding, and effective communication skills, all of which are essential for providing successful pro bono legal services.”