By Andrew Cohen
It didn’t look like a stereotypical image of potential law school applicants — which was exactly the point.
Years in the making and partly funded by a grant from AccessLex Institute®, the Preparing for Law School project recently held a launch event at UC Berkeley Law with dozens of prospective law students in attendance. Admissions leaders from three area law schools explained the application process, six Berkeley students and one from UC Davis shared tips on how to thrive in the law school environment, and the night ended with a networking mixer.
While 50% of UC Berkeley Law’s first-year class identify as students of color and 16% are the first in their family to receive a college degree, nationally it remains an uphill climb to diversify law schools — and the attorney ranks — with people from underrepresented backgrounds. This new initiative aims to help change that.
“We identified a problem with access to law school resources and wanted to demystify the process and create a more equitable pathway to the legal profession,” says Kristin Theis-Alvarez, UC Berkeley Law’s chief administrative officer and senior assistant dean – and former dean of admissions — who has spent years working to drive the project forward. “The program is constantly evolving and easily updated.”
Theis-Alvarez and her project partners developed a free, asynchronous, modular, self-paced, multimedia web-based program intended to reach law school candidates with limited access to high-quality, low—or no-cost advising resources. Participants may navigate the material however they like, from reviewing all the content to selecting the most essential information.
“Law school — how do I apply, what will I learn, and is it really what I want? — can be such a black box for folks without lawyers in their worlds,” says UC Berkeley Law Professor Kristen Holmquist, who was closely involved in the planning process. “I’m incredibly proud of the work that Berkeley Law has done to pull back the curtain a bit, to give applicants the kind of information they need to succeed. Whether these students matriculate with us, go on to law school elsewhere, or even decide not to go to law school at all, they’ll be better positioned to make good decisions for themselves.”
Accessible and inviting
The user-friendly website offers free educational modules with self-paced content, downloadable tools, advice on law school finances, professional guidance, and events. These modules include videos, podcasts, reading materials, reflection assignments, and other tasks.
They provide helpful insights about law school’s first-year curriculum, academic support, the Socratic method some professors use in class, the technology, case reading, stress management, opportunities to gain experience outside of class, and the United States courts system. UC Berkeley Law Dean Erwin Chemerinsky also leads a mock Constitutional Law class on the limits of presidential powers.
“This program is meant to help anyone interested in law school,” event host Bria Watson told the launch event guests. UC Berkeley Law’s associate director of J.D. admissions for outreach and recruitment, Watson added, “It’s designed especially to encourage and support people from underrepresented groups — first-generation, BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color), veterans, people with disabilities — in understanding the application process, how to apply strategically, how to make law school affordable, and how lawyers who came from those backgrounds are using their law degrees to make change across many fields.”
Watson notes that 130 people have registered for the program, more than 63 since August. At the launch event, admissions leaders from UC Berkeley Law, UC Davis Law, and UC Law San Francisco shared advice on the application process and how best to approach it.
“We look at your academic record and standardized test, as that’s part of understanding your ability to do the work,” said Joseph Lindsay, Berkeley’s interim assistant dean of admissions and financial aid. “But the other important part is what you tell us about your journey, what’s shaped your perspective, what gave rise to your voice, why you’re choosing law school now, and what you’ll contribute to that community. The applicants I want to admit are the ones I want to sit down and have coffee with.”
Student insights
Students on the panel discussed how they came to law school from various backgrounds — Navy service, plant biology, software engineering, firefighting, and more. Some outlined their path as first-generation law students and encouraged those in attendance to decide whether to apply confidently.
3L Marah Ajilat said a law degree “sets you up to do a lot of different things with your life outside of being a lawyer.” 2L Becca Goren echoed that sentiment, noting that “law school is a good place to explore and a lot of possibilities come out of it.”
2Ls Abby Neal and Ryan Pinch described gaining concrete ways to directly impact issues they care about through hands-on experience. 3L Nina Zhang noted that law schools provide a welcoming environment for pursuing new interests and leadership roles.
“You’ll learn how systems are created, and you’ll learn to use tools to help people and protect marginalized communities,” said 2L Filmore Thomas IV. “You’ll be able to make tangible change in people’s lives even before graduating.”
The students also detailed how their analytical and public speaking skills improved significantly during law school and how abundant pro bono opportunities provide valuable professional development and rewarding gratification.
“You increasingly realize what you can do and what you’re capable of,” Neal said. “And you realize that those impostor syndrome voices don’t need to be listened to.”