Berkeley Law Pro Bono Program

This Summer, our rising student leaders are preparing for next year’s pro bono work. Check out this Student Leader Spotlight on Skylar Cushing ’26 who will be co-leading the Queer Justice Project (QJP) SLP. Skylar shared, “I came to UC Berkeley, School of Law, knowing I would engage in LGBTQIA+ pro bono work because I am committed to incorporating this work into my career.” Skylar joined QJP her first year at Berkeley Law. QJP currently has three distinct projects – one with Lambda Legal, another with the Transgender, Gender-Variant & Intersex Justice Project (TGIJP), and the last with the Transgender Law Center (TLC). She added, “I assisted with the TLC’s legal helpdesk, which responds to a vast array of issues that impact transgender people. Through QJP, I got to know several of the Berkeley Law graduates who founded QJP, including Megan Noor ’24, Kat Reilley Harlow ’24, and Peyten Sharp ’24. They created a fun environment and QJP was a highlight of my first year.   Next year, Euni Lee ’26 and I are co-leading the TLC project! I look forward to sharing my enthusiasm with others and to equipping new students with legal information and resources.” We truly thank all of our student leaders, who like Skylar, work so hard to lead their pro bono projects and create access to justice. We celebrate our students and their contribution to Berkeley Law’s pro bono culture and community-- wishing you all Happy Pride! Please ready Skylar’s full spotlight (link in bio)! Photo Credit: Natch Valverde #LawStudent #Probono #BerkeleyLaw #BerkeleyLawProBono #StudentLeader #LGBTQ #ProBonoCulture #BerkeleyLawSpotlight

We are thrilled to announce the 2024 recipient of the Kathi Pugh Award, the team at SPZ Legal –  Ryan Shaening Pokrasso ’13, David De La Flor ’13, Hash Zahed ’13, Gea Kang, Elizabeth Thorne, Tami Gore, Becky Mancero, and Sam Taylor! The Kathi Pugh Award is given annually to the supervising attorneys of our Student-Initiated Legal Services Projects (SLPS) who -- like Kathi Pugh -- have demonstrated exceptional mentorship through their efforts to encourage, guide, and supervise our law students engaged in pro bono work. The SPZ Legal team has generously served as the supervising attorneys for the Startup Law Initiative for over five years, and their dedication to the program, students, and the startup founder communities SLI serves has been remarkable. The Startup Law Initiative’s public mission is to provide free legal services to low-income and diverse startup founders and local entrepreneurs. As Kevin K. ‘24 shared while presenting the Pugh Award at this year’s award ceremony, “Our services allow founders to overcome costly legal barriers to conducting business, and with the help of SPZ Legal, we’ve assisted dozens of underrepresented founders and small business owners from a variety of backgrounds and industries, including students seeking to launch tech platforms to support other entrepreneurs and community members looking to open a local small business.” In their nomination, SLI students explained how, “The support and supervision of SPZ Legal is instrumental for training SLI student fellows and providing high-quality legal advice to the founder communities served. This year, SPZ Legal’s creativity, tireless work, and immense generosity allowed SLI to provide much more critical early-stage legal guidance to underrepresented founders, elevating the experience for students and clients alike. These positive transformations to the SLI program are only possible with the enthusiastic, unwavering support of the full slate of SPZ Legal attorneys and staff.” We thank you, SPZ Legal Team, for your dedication to mentoring and supervising our students. Congratulations on this well-deserved recognition! #BerkeleyLawStars #BerkeleyLaw #SupervisingAttorney #Attorney #KathiPugh #UCBerkeley #PublicInterest #Award

We are thrilled to announce the 2024 recipients of the Eleanor Swift Award– Adriana Hardwicke and Ariane Walter!  The Eleanor Swift Award is given to exceptional members of the Berkeley Law community who-- like Professor Eleanor Swift-- have performed outstanding work including exceptional leadership and participation in Berkeley Law’s public service programs and activities. Adriana engaged in various public service activities including co-leading the East Bay Dreamers Project, Foster Education Project, East Bay Community Law Center’s Education Justice Clinic, and was the managing editor of the Latine Journal of Law and Policy. She was instrumental in the Bar-Prep Matching Program and the Fund UC Public Interest Lat Campaign.  Ariane was a valued student and leader by clients, colleagues, and supervisors across numerous projects and activities. She was the Editor in Chief of the Berkeley Journal of Criminal Law, organized the Racial Justice Act Symposium gathering over 500 defenders across the state, and was a zealous leader in the Pro Bono Program. Ariane engaged in BLAST Atlanta, Youth Advocacy Project, and co-founded the Family Defense Project along with Justine DeSilva ’24 and Greta Sloan ’24.  Both Adriana and Ariane developed strong connections to our public interest community and doubtlessly left a lasting mark at Berkeley Law. We thank you, Adriana and Ariane, for your dedication to the advancement of public interest work, our students, and our community. Congratulations! #BerkeleyLawStars #BerkeleyLaw #LawStudent #EleanorSwift #UCBerkeley #PublicInterest #Award

We are thrilled to announce the 2024 recipients of the Pro Bono Champion Award – Victoria Ami Shirriff and Ariane Walter! The Pro Bono Champion Award is given to the graduating student(s) who best exemplifies a commitment to and the values of pro bono work.  . Ami and Ariane have participated and led a combined four student-initiated legal services projects, participated in and led two Berkeley Law Alternative Service Trips, and logged more than a thousand hours of pro bono work.  In addition to the amount of pro bono work they have done, their fellow students and supervising attorneys spoke to their approach to the work.  Both Ami and Ariane invested their hearts into their work and inspired others to join them.   A group of over 20 fellow Berkeley Law Students who nominated Ami expressed, “We cannot think of anyone more deserving of receiving this award. Ami has been a champion for public interest and pro bono work since arriving at Berkeley.” Ami was a participant of the Food Justice Project as a 1L and was incredibly engaged in the partnership with UC Berkeley’s Basic Needs Center. Ami co-founded DECrim (Drug Policy, Education, and Decriminalization Project) along with Grace Erger ’24 and Mia Stange ’24 and supported Drake Goodson ’24, who wanted to serve his home state of Alaska, and together co-founded BLAST Alaska. Ariane was similarly lauded by her peers.  “"Ariane handles all of [her] public service commitments with passion, grace, and dedication. As her co-leaders across these various pro bono initiatives, we have never once seen her drop the ball on any of her various obligations to these efforts. Ariane is truly a marvel." We thank you, Ariane and Ami, for your dedication to the Pro Bono Program, our students, and our community. Congratulations! #BerkeleyLawStars #BerkeleyLaw #LawStudent #ProBono #Champion #UCBerkeley #PublicInterest #Award

When congratulating the Class of 2024, we also want to celebrate and congratulate Lorena Garcia Jimenez! Lorena has been a highly valued member of the Pro Bono Program the past couple of years. During her time as a Student Assistant, she helped run our Program’s social media, prepared and reviewed our pro bono agreements, and administered our awards nomination process. Most importantly, she has been an incredible colleague with a heartwarming and supportive approach. After graduation, Lorena plans on taking 2 years off before applying to law school. She adds, “During this time I will be working full-time and engaging in immigration work. I also hope to take this time to create new memories and visit various national parks with my family and loved ones.” Lorena added, “Thank you to Deborah, Lesly, and Natch for the amazing past 2 years. You’ve all taught me so much and I will cherish my experience working with you all for the rest of my life.” Our team shares some words of appreciation. Deborah shared, “Thank you, Lorena, for your hard work and good nature these past two years. You have been a joy to work with and have contributed greatly to the Pro Bono Program and the efforts of our students. You will be missed!” Lesly expressed, “Lorena, thank you for being part of the Pro Bono team! You always brightened up the office (and my day) each time you came in. With the passion and bright future you have, I know you will accomplish great things.” Natch stated, “Lorena, has been such a pleasure supervising you and seeing your leadership outside of the Pro Bono Program. Your help definitely left a positive impact on us and I am so proud of your successes-- CONGRATS!!” Congratulations again, Lorena. We wish you the very best in your future endeavors! #UCBerkeley #BerkeleyLaw #BerkeleyLawProBono #Student #GoBears #Graduation #Classof2024

It’s that time of year -- we are delighted to announce the Class of 2024’s Pro Bono Facts!  💙 💛 🎓 The Pro Bono Program celebrates YOU on the momentous occasion of your graduation from Berkeley Law and we thank you for your dedication to access to justice and the impactful pro bono work you engaged in as law students. There is no doubt that your efforts have made a difference in the lives of your clients and communities! We cannot wait to see all that you accomplish in your future endeavors as attorneys! We wish you the best of luck with all to come! Stay in touch and take time to celebrate this enormous accomplishment! You leave behind the legacy of our pro bono culture and the tradition of pro bono student leadership. We at the Pro Bono Program look forward to working with those students to whom you have passed teh baton!    #BerkeleyLaw2024 #CelebrateProBono #BerkeleyProBono #BerkeleyLaw #LawStudents #ProBono

Pro Bono Students Spotlight-- Family Defense Project (FDP) Students, Addie Gilson ’25 (co-leader) and Eli McClintock-Shapiro ’26 (student member) present on their project’s efforts at the American Bar Association’s National Conference on Access to Justice. Addie shares, “Attending and presenting at this conference was an exceptional experience. I was so impressed and inspired by the conversations happening around family defense. It was exhilarating to meet so many people who care so deeply about an issue I have long been invested in, and who are pushing the needle in this field. I am incredibly grateful for the mentorship that encouraged me to enter a space not specifically designed for students, but one that made my law education come to life." Eli, who will serve as a co-leader next academic year, shared, “The conference was excellent and people were shocked, but in a positive way, that law students were there. Definitely made me appreciate the opportunities Berkeley Law provides for students to engage in pro bono work.” We are inspired by our students’ hard work and dedication to creating access to justice.  We celebrate our students and their contribution to Berkeley Law’s pro bono culture and community. #Probono #Familydefenseproject #Berkeleylaw #Berkeleylawprobono #StudentLeaders #Familylaw #Probonoculture #lawstudent ______________ Read their full spotlight on: https://lnkd.in/ged5hiEz

Will Lowrey, Legal Counsel at Animal Partisan, has been supervising the Animal Law and Advocacy (ALA) SLP Project since 2020. Will shares, “I enjoy working with University of California, Berkeley - School of Law students and working with the ALA student group has reinforced that. What a wonderful job Cat Chervenak and Isak Nuhic [2023-24 ALA Student Leaders] did managing the pro bono students this semester. I just finished reviewing most of the memos and they are very valuable for Animal Partisan . They have each inspired ideas and actions that will serve as useful resources for possible legal actions in the future. In addition, it was evident that all of the students under their supervision were dedicated and diligent. The work was of very solid quality, good depth of analysis, and sound writing. I wouldn’t call myself “amazing,” I think I’m just giving the students the time and attention they deserve.” ---- Well, we really do think you are an amazing supervisor, Will! We thank you for your appreciation to our students and are grateful and thankful to have you! #BerkeleyProBono #BerkeleyLaw #UCBerkeley #SupervisingAttorney #AnimalLaw #AnimalRights #ProBono #SLPS #ProBonoOpportunities #LawStudents

Debevoise litigation partner and former federal judge, John Gleeson, visited Berkeley Law and shared his experience as a former federal judge and groundbreaking victories from a criminal justice reform initiative through his pro bono work at Debevoise, with The Holloway Project. The Holloway Project is Debevoise & Plimpton’s pro bono initiative dedicated to obtaining sentencing relief for inmates, largely men of color, who received egregiously long prison sentences due to a mandatory minimum provision that Congress has since overturned. Chesa Boudin, Executive Director of the Criminal Law and Justice Center who co-hosted this event expressed, “Judge Gleeson's presentation on the Holloway Project was an inspiring example of pro bono work that is making a huge impact reducing unnecessary incarceration.” “The Holloway Project is a shining example of law firm pro bono work and how attorneys in private practice can devote time to create real access to justice,” concluded Deborah Schlosberg, Director of the Pro Bono Program at Berkeley Law.  We thank Judge John Gleeson and his colleagues from Debevoise for visiting University of California, Berkeley - School of Law and shining light on their pro bono efforts and successes! We were glad to have our students learn ways they can do pro bono at a private firm and make a difference in the community. From left to right: Deborah Schlosberg, Berkeley Law Pro Bono Program Director; Judge John Gleeson, Debevoise & Plimpton litigation partner and former federal judge; Chesa Boudin, Executive Director of the @berkeley criminal law and Criminal Law & Justice Center at Berkeley Law. #ProBono #BerkeleyLaw #Debevoise ##BerkeleyLawProBono #HollowayProject #CriminalandJusticeLaw 

I thoroughly enjoyed working with First Alaskans Institute during my short time in Anchorage with the Berkeley Law Pro Bono Program. Several BLAST students (including myself!) researched for and learned from some Native attorneys that champion sovereignty protections for Native Alaskans across the state. We also got the chance to hear from two amazing judges and their clerks about their experiences working in Alaska 🏔️