Spotlights

America’s military disability benefits program is widely seen as outdated and unfair. An article by Navy veteran Scott Taylor ’17 offers a new model to help veterans. It accounts for economic and quality of life factors, rethinks payment options, and stresses rehabilitation and recovery as well as compensation.

Berkeley Law’s student body is a diverse community of young professionals whose passions and talents help make this a uniquely vibrant place to learn the practice, purpose, and power of law. Meet some of our current students, who advance the school’s public mission, on our new Student Spotlight page. 

Fifteen Berkeley Law 1Ls were named 2017 California Bar Foundation Diversity Scholars. That is one-fourth of the overall recipients, and 10 more than any other school. The scholarships support first-year California law students to help increase diversity in the legal profession. Read their stories here.

Alumni and friends provide vital fuel for our educational mission. Their support enables Berkeley Law to attract top students from all economic backgrounds, retain and recruit world-class faculty, and drive initiatives that train our students and help our community. Please make your year-end, tax-deductible contribution today!

Shelby Nacino ’18 recently presented Policy Advocacy Clinic research about the criminalization of poverty and homelessness in California to Philip Alston, UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights. Zachariah Oquenda ’19 helped prepare the findings that Nacino and another clinic student discussed.

Jelena McWilliams ’02 is President Trump’s pick to lead the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which helps oversee U.S. banking. Chief Legal Officer at Fifth Third Bank in Cincinnati, McWilliams spent six years in the U.S. Senate, most recently as chief counsel with the Committee on Banking, Housing, & Urban Affairs. 

Karen Tani has received the 2017 Cromwell Book Prize for States of Dependency: Welfare, Rights, and American Governance, 1935-1972. Awarded to one junior scholar each year by the William Nelson Cromwell Foundation, the prize recognizes excellence in the field of American Legal History.

Berkeley Law graduates scored a perfect pass rate of 100 percent on the July 2017 New York State Bar Exam. Some 45 alumni, including 40 from this year’s graduating class, took the two-day test. Nearly 10,000 people took the exam, with a pass rate of 68 percent overall and 78 percent among first-time takers. 

Berkeley Law’s new LL.M. hybrid option program is uniquely tailored for foreign attorneys who need flexibility: It combines four online courses with a summer term in Berkeley. Interested? If so, act fast! Applications must be submitted online or postmarked by Nov. 15. Apply here.

Prof. Anne Joseph O’Connell has been elected a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration, which helps government leaders build more effective organizations. Fellows include former governors, members of Congress, and cabinet officers, as well as business leaders, scholars, and public administrators.