I completed Loyola’s pro bono requirement working as a clinical student for Loyola’s Project for the Innocent during my 2L. It was such a unique hands-on experience that allowed me to work on actual cases of individuals who were asserting that they had been wrongfully convicted.

Each student was assigned two cases – one belonging to an existing client and the other belonging to a prospective client requesting our clinic’s services. With regards to the former, our assignment was to pick up where the previous student left off and establishing a working relationship with our client via letters and prison visits. With regards to the latter, our task was to sort through all the information the client sent over, pour over all the court transcripts, and communicate with the client to identify if there was a case that could be built and/or if the clinic could accept the case. The clinic’s resources are limited, and so the clinic supervisors relied on us students to make sure the cases were viable (meaning there was a strong possibility that there was a flaw in the case and as a result a wrongful conviction). Nonetheless, it was an eye-opening experience learning about the different issues that are prevalent in the criminal justice system.

Finally, pro bono work, although required by Loyola for graduation, has the added benefit of teaching us the importance of using our platform, skills, and knowledge to help others in any way we can. It reminds us that even as lawyers, there are opportunities and ways for us to give back to the community.

I remember being a 1L and thinking that law professors were intimidating. Well, I could not have been more in the wrong. Professors at Loyola are available and always ready to help. Therefore, building a relationship with a professor is not hard. Professors have office hours, and most of them are even willing to talk by phone or skype. My best advice on starting a relationship with a faculty member is to start participating in class (as terrifying as that may sound). First, professors like volunteers, and second you get to show them you care about the subject, and consequently are respectful of them and their time.

Professors at Loyola have been so kind to me, one of my favorite professors helped me with my resume and even with networking. So, if you don’t’ have a relationship with at least a member of a faculty, you better start working on it!

As a transfer student, one of the biggest things that attracted me to Loyola was the number of experiential learning opportunities. From clinics to externships and more, Loyola offers something for everyone. Clinics and externships give students the chance to get hands on experience in various kinds of law.

While I was originally looking into a few different clinics, I decided on the Conciliation and Mediation Clinic (CMAC) at Loyola’s Center for Conflict Resolution (LCCR). In CMAC, students are trained to do actual community conciliations and mediations. Students work alongside knowledgeable staff and professors help people resolve their disputes outside of court. Although the LCCR mostly works with underserved groups, students still get experience with all kinds of cases from divorce to landlord-tenant disputes to debt collection. Depending on the client’s income, the Center’s mediation services are often free of charge.

People are often surprised to hear that most legal disputes don’t make it to trial. Many cases settle outside of court and one of the most prevalent alternative dispute resolution methods is mediation. With this in mind, I knew that my experience in CMAC would undoubtedly come in handy in my practice as an attorney. Even as a law clerk sitting in on mediations, I now have more of an understanding of the process and am able to get more from observing mediations.

As a 3L, I can confidently say that doing a clinic was one of the best choices I made during law school. It gave me the best firsthand experience that cannot be taught in the classroom. With so many clinics and externships to choose from, students are sure to find an opportunity that will directly enhance their legal education.

Being in my third year of law school, I’ve had my fair share of experiences and encounters with the faculty. Here’s a list of the top seven things I’ve learned that you need to know about Loyola’s Faculty:

1) They have an open door policy, which means that they are accessible in more than one way or another to meet with you to go over your past exams, answer questions about lecture, or even just talk about their career path and how they got to where they are. This might seem very trivial, but in fact, it’s SO IMPORTANT. Professors know they can be intimidating, so they want you to feel comfortable to come to them to ask for help when you need it.

2) They want to get to know you! I remember during my 1L year, my criminal law professor held lunch breaks with groups of his students. We would eat lunch together outside Robinson Courtroom and share stories about ourselves and listen to how he got to where he is today.

3) Some of them are Loyola alumni too so they know a lot about the hidden gems on campus and can even relate to that one exam from that one particular professor. They’ve been through it!

4) Some of them are full-time professors while others are still practicing attorneys on the side. The latter have their day job and night job, which makes for some interesting conversations and eye-opening perspectives of what it is to be an attorney today.

5) They have cool hobbies outside of lawyering or being your professor just like you and me! In addition to being a practicing attorney beyond Loyola, some professors have fun hobbies like performing in a band, watching movies, or attending Coachella. While professors can be intimidating or appear intense, it’s always so cool to learn about what else they are passionate about and/or interested in.

6) Some of them, if not all of them, are experts in their field!!! They are people who have written your textbooks, drafted that treatise that you resort to when you’re doing legal research, worked with prominent judges, written amicus curiae in support of issues that are highly debated, served as correspondents on news outlets, etc. They are very well experienced in what they do and are passionate about it too!

7) From professors to the counselors to the people who staff the library and every other facility on campus, they care about students and fostering a creative, professional, and encouraging environment. Most importantly, they are genuinely interested in making sure that you thrive at Loyola and are able to pursue your interests and achieve your dreams. Whether it’s by reviewing your resume, giving you academic or professional feedback, or being a networking connection to someone in the industry, they go above and beyond to make sure you have the tools you need to get to where you want to go and be who you want to be.