Being back on campus brings a lot of emotions to the surface. I am both excited and already tired. Excited because the campus feels like a second home and I get to see my peers. Tired because the grind never stops, as we all know by know. I had about a month off between finals and the first day of Spring semester. This was the best reward after the stress that comes with finals. During break, I got to spend time with my newborn nephew, family, friends, and others. I tried to also focus on my self-care, which I began prioritizing last year. I have friends in medical school and they were discussing how they were preparing early for the new semester. I decided not to do this for my own sake. It is great to be prepared, but it is also great to know yourself and have boundaries.

I had three finals at the end of Fall semester: Constitutional Law, Business Association, and Ethical Lawyering. I took what I learned from my test-taking abilities and mistakes from 1L and made a few adjustments. I am happy to report that it paid off. In this way, I think law school has changed me. I am more of a problem-solver in all aspects of my life now. At the beginning of 1L, a professor told me that law school changes you; you come in one person and leave another. It is very true.

My focus is always on maintaining my core values and only giving my time to activities that align with those values. Yet, it is inevitable that I will change. Law school is tough and comprised of constant hurdles. It is only natural that such a journey rewards you with change. 

For many law students, the excitement of the 2L and 3L years includes the freedom to take different electives. This is the prime opportunity to explore what areas of the law may interest you. Or, this is a great opportunity to take specialized classes or pursue a concentration. Although a concentration is not mandatory, it’s a great option for students to take a pre-set course schedule that focuses on one area of the law or more generally, litigation or transactional law. When I started my 2L year, I already had an interest in family law, and wanted to pursue a concentration that would give me the skills to succeed. That is how I eventually chose the civil litigation and advocacy concentration, because litigation is an important part of family law. Through this concentration, I spent my 2L and 3L year taking elective courses that would help me in the future. For example, I was required to take a trial advocacy class, which culminated into a final mock trial. I got to learn how to make objections and argue motions in limine from my professor, a seasoned federal public defender. I was also required to take a year long civil litigation practicum course, where we took a simulated civil matter and litigated it from the complaint stage to a pre-trial mediation. These types of classes are extremely important to learning more practical skills as well as the law. When choosing electives, try to look for a manageable balance of course schedule, but also courses you are interested in. This is one of the best ways to maximize your law school experience!

Picking electives can be fun, but it can also feel like a sort of logic game. You have to look at the course offerings, select a few classes you’re interested in registering for (most likely required or suggested courses first), create a plan B in the event the courses are at capacity and you can’t register, etc. Of course, you must also consider the number of units of each class and what day(s) and time the class will be held, and if you will be working or participating in a clinic. THEN, you really narrow your elective choices down. I chose to register for Social Change Lawyering, because it is something I’m very passionate about and it aligns with my values. It also fits perfectly in my schedule, because my Evidence class ends at 5:20 PM and Social Change Lawyering begins at 8 PM. I may or may not have become a full-time evening student. Haha. I guess I just got really lucky with an elective I love which is compatible with my time on campus.

Although I am aware of my values and topics I’m passionate about, I also want to explore different areas of the law and learn as much as I can while I’m awarded the flexibility to do so. For this reason, I did not pick a concentration. There are just so many interesting fields of study that it is difficult to commit to one. I feel I can just dive into many of them in my remaining year and a half here. I fully respect students who have committed to a concentration or field of study as it reflects a certain level of dedication and certainty. However, I feel uncertainty and curiosity are equally respectable and admirable. The world is our oyster as law students!

The unique thing about law school compared to undergraduate is that you have the ability to communicate more freely with the deans on campus.

Due to the smaller class sizes, the deans are more accessible to students. In fact, I have been able to meet several of the deans on our campus and even take classes taught by two different deans. For example, my second year I was enrolled in the Civil Litigation Practicum, which was taught by Professor Grace Parrish. Now, Program Director Parrish oversees the entire externship placement program on our campus. Not only did I learn valuable and practical litigation skills from the yearlong course, but I have also returned as one of the externs that she oversees. This includes law students who are in judicial placements, public interest placements, and private placements. Last semester, I took a class with Dean Kathleen Kim, the Associate Dean of Equity and Inclusion. Our class focused on the 13th Amendment and its relation to human trafficking legislation. In a small, discussion-based setting, we learned about the history of the 13th Amendment, and how it affects all parts of society, from labor laws, reproductive rights, and prisons. Dean Kim led an insightful class and many of the students were excited to learn about the material.

It has been an honor to study with two of these esteemed faculty on campus, and I am excited that these opportunities are available at Loyola.

The faculty members at Loyola Law School are very friendly and open to meeting with students. Most professors will hold weekly office hours over zoom or in person to answer questions about class material or just talk about anything in general, whether law related or not.

It’s hard to choose a single favorite professor at Loyola. Even though each one has their own teaching style, every professor I’ve had so far is very proactive about making sure we learn and understand the material. I really like it when professors crack jokes during class because it makes class more fun. One of my favorite professors is Professor Sande Buhai. Professor Buhai taught two classes that I took: Law & Process Privacy Torts and Ethical Lawyering. Privacy Torts is a 1L elective and Ethical Lawyering is a required course for 2L’s to take that also prepares you to take the MPRE. Professor Buhai’s teaching style is very straightforward but also conversational, as we discuss the cases and rules that we read about for class.

Professor Buhai is also the Director of Public Interest and Pro Bono Programs at Loyola. During office hours, I was able to ask her about which classes she would recommend that I take to prepare for the bar. I was also able to get some advice about possibly pursuing a career in public interest and how to handle student loans. Don’t be afraid to reach out to anyone if you are ever curious about what a certain course of field of law is like. The faculty at LLS are a resource that every student should take advantage of!

I’ll be honest. Picking a law school was one of the most nerve-racking experiences of my life. I spent many late nights awake researching schools class demographics, their clinics and externship opportunities, learning about their employment statistics, and so much more. Once I was down that Google rabbit hole, it was hard to find my way out of it. When I was researching, the one thing I missed was reading about how actual students felt about their school. This is one of the reasons I am so proud to be a Jury of Peers Blogger. I have been where prospective students are at, and if sharing my experience can help alleviate some of your stress, I am more than happy to help by telling you of a few things I love about Loyola.

The number one thing I love about Loyola is our commitment to public interest. I knew I wanted to go into public interest law when I was 18, but I wasn’t sure which specific area I wanted to practice in until I came to Loyola. Loyola has so many incredibly public interest clinic and internship opportunities. The Loyola community also works closely with government and public interest organizations in the Los Angeles area, so networking is easier. Also, every student at Loyola is required to do at least 40 hours of pro bono work before we graduate. This dedication to helping within the community and advocating for those who need it was one of the main reasons I chose to come to Loyola, and it’s one of the reasons I still love it here now.

Another thing I love about Loyola is the sense of community. Everyone here from students to professors to faculty members to alumni are willing and ready to help each other succeed. When I was first navigating through life as a law student, I was incredibly scared, but knowing I had so many people in the community rooting for me encouraged me to keep working.

In the end, the nights spent stressing about which law school was right for me were so incredibly worth it. I’ve had the best opportunities at Loyola, and I’ve made the best friends. I truly could not have asked for a better law school experience.

Being in large classes was a bit of a shock to my system coming from a relatively small undergraduate campus in Boston, where my largest class was 40 people during a seminar sophomore year. Coming to LLS, I was suddenly in classes with at least 70 other students, and the idea of my professors getting to know me seemed a little far-fetched.

Fast forward to 2L, I emailed my professors asking if they could help me raise money for typhoon relief in my home country. Not only did every single one of them say yes, but they allowed me to give a speech at the beginning of class. I was able to raise upwards of $1200 thanks to these efforts. It even became a bit of a game among my peers, guessing which one of my classes had raised the most money (It was Criminal Procedure with Marcy Strauss).

Since then, each one of those professors has remembered me, even when taking repeat classes with them in the following semester. I’ve enjoyed how much fun my professors seem to have while teaching, the unique relationship I can build with each one of them, and hearing about their career and life experiences in the legal profession.

After your 1L, you spend more time taking electives. Additionally, you can participate in experiential learning clinics (of which Loyola has many!) to not only work closely with professors but also gain real life experience.

Even in your 1L, professors make a genuine effort to make sure of each student’s success. When you’re a 2L and above, the professors have had more opportunities to see you as a student and see what kind of lawyer they are becoming. Because of this, professors can become go-to people when you have questions about the future, summer jobs, or something small that happened in class.

In both the smaller class electives and my clinic, I have formed strong relationships with professors, some of whom have offered advice and mentored me already! My clinic professor especially has taken great care to mentor me and push me to become a better researcher, writer, and lawyer. I truly feel like I have grown as a student and a professional under her tutelage. It makes me excited to someday be a mentor for a future law student (or many)!

The best part is: even if you’re not a professor’s student, but you are interested in their practice area, they will be happy to meet with you and discuss your career plans and how you can best succeed at Loyola. I personally did that in my 1L fall with several professors, and it helped shape my 2L year and my plan for after law school. I now feel extremely comfortable reaching out to this professor when I have questions about jobs and various other opportunities on campus.

The Loyola Law School faculty are all extremely accessible, and they really wish for their students to be successful both in school and beyond

I came to law school with a pretty good idea of what kind of law I wanted to practice in the future. Although I kept an open mind to make sure that my interests did not change, I stayed steadfast in my passion for international human rights law.

When it came to choosing my 2L classes, I focused on classes that could help me learn more about that field of law. I chose International Law classes, and am participating in the Loyola Genocide Justice Clinic where I put what I’m learning to practice. Beyond just reading about the courses, I reached out to the professors of the International Law classes and got to know them and what we would be learning. And I loved those classes!

Because I was most interested in these classes, I picked a concentration (International Criminal and Human Rights Law). The requirements of this concentration are to take a few classes and participate in experiential learning in the field of international human rights law. I was going to satisfy these requirements with or without this concentration!

Not everyone at Loyola chooses a concentration. And a lot of people are very different from me; they come to law school unsure of what kind of exact law they want to practice after graduation. And that is just fine! Loyola fosters an environment for people to explore all kinds of types of law both in the classroom and experientially. I do not only take classes in international law, and learn a wide breadth of law to best serve me in my future practice.

The camaraderie you build with your peers in law school, especially in your 1L section, is different than I have experienced before. The closest comparison I have to it is the “competition team” at my Jiu Jitsu academy; because of the way you are all on a similar timeline and rigorous program to culminate in a final event (being final exams or competitions).

Exchanging outlines, study guides, flashcards and more are some of the ways that I have relied on and been relied on amongst my peers. Talking to your classmates and discussing how they approach your classes helps you figure out what works best for you. I never joined a formal study group, but I have been a part of many meet ups, panicked FaceTime calls the night before the exam, and text chains swapping notes and more.

One of my friends and I know exactly where we are in the job search and application process at any given time because we regularly proofread each other’s cover letters, emails and more. I credit much of my survival in law school to her and my mentors from APALSA, PILF and the Environmental Law Society. I know, even if I haven’t spoken to any of them in a while, that if I text them with a question, I’m sure to get a well thought out response within the day.

I’m proud of the network I built and the friends I have made at LLS, and I’d say that those I surround myself with are supportive and we are all genuinely invested in each other’s success.