A Message from the Executive Director
This spring we celebrate the work of our current students and grads, while opening up our house to new students who will learn about joining our clinic community next year. We thank our clinic alumni who support us in so many aspects of our work – by continuing to serve clients pro bono, by speaking to our clinic classes, by mentoring students, and so much more – and we’re proud to share here some of what that support has helped us to achieve this semester. If your engagement with our clinics has been meaningful to you, we hope you’ll consider sharing with others as an advocate for our work when LLS Gives Together on LMU’s Day of Giving on April 4.
-Elizabeth Bluestein
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loyola immigrant justice clinic LIJC Students Experience Immigration Law at the U.S./Mexico Border
Over spring break, Loyola Immigrant Justice Clinic students Vivian Martinez ’23, Jennifer Calderon ’23, Johann Lara Osorio ’23, and Aaron Kircher ’23 had the opportunity to travel to El Paso, Texas, to practice immigration law at the border. They worked alongside LIJC’s Yanira Lemus ’14, Annabelle Ostin ’22, and Daisy Chavez-Mendez, as well as LIJC alumni Victoria Lucero ’19, and Alejandro Barajas ’15, who are now seasoned immigration attorneys in private practice. The students reported that they received inspiring and invaluable hands-on experience fighting for immigrant justice. For more about the trip and what it meant to our students, see the LIJC social media account postings on Instagram @loyolaijc.
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juvenile innocence & fair sentencing clinicJIFS Former Client Now Helps Youth After Graduating from Forensic Gang Expert College
Juvenile Innocence & Fair Sentencing Clinic client Hugo Gonzalez served 18 and a half years in prison before the life sentences he received as a teenager were commuted by Gov. Jerry Brown. Now a transformational coach with the Success Stories Program, Hugo recently completed training in the Center for Juvenile Law & Policy’s Independent Forensic Gang Expert College. He uses his expertise to help courts and juries understand the real reasons youth may become associated with gangs and the mitigating factors that should be considered when sentencing youth. One public defender noted that Hugo “shows other formerly incarcerated people that there’s hope at the end of a seemingly endless tunnel of injustice and despair.” The Gang Expert College is funded with the generous support of the California Wellness Foundation. More>>
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loyola project for the innocent Loyola Project for the Innocent Client Beto Duran Freed
LPI took up Beto's case in 2017, quickly realizing that the original 1993 murder and attempted murder case was fraught with problems. Law enforcement investigators failed to follow credible leads as to the true perpetrator of the crime, and Beto's attorney – who was disbarred shortly following his case – did not present any defense for Beto at trial.
Megan Baca, LPI’s Director of Investigations and Assistant Legal Director, led the team that secured Beto’s release along with Founding Director Laurie Levenson, Senior Director Adam Grant, Adjunct Professors Joseph Trigilio and Arianna Price, and Legal Fellow Léna Kerouani, who also worked on the case while she was a student with LPI, building on the work of several years of clinic students who supported the investigation. More>>
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Genocide Justice Clinic Participates in Armenian Genocide Restitution Panel
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LSJLC Showcases Offerings at Experiential Learning Fair & Clinics Open House
Applications for fall clinical opportunities opened on Monday, March 27 on 12Twenty. Students are invited to learn more about LLS clinics, practica, and other experiential learning opportunities at the virtual Experiential Learning Fair from March 27-April 6. Speak in person to clinic faculty and students during the Clinics Open House on Wednesday, March 29 between 12-1 p.m. on the Esplanade and 5-5:30 p.m. in Founders Hall. The lunchtime session will feature Pink's hot dogs while supplies last! More>>
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| Post-Graduate Fellows Enhance Clinics’ Service to Community
For the 2022-23 year, LSJLC clinics welcomed four new post-graduate fellows: (from left) Lena Kerouani, LLM ’22, Heidi Gonzalez ’21, Annabelle Ostin ’22, and Stacy Nuñez ’22. Read more about our fellows and the work they are doing with our clinics.
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youth justice education clinicYJEC Fights for Students Left Behind During PandemicThe Youth Justice Education Clinic (YJEC) continues to fight for students left behind during the pandemic, when many went without education at all for months and then continued to struggle with a lack of access to technology and services -- Students like client R.K., who was born deaf and has severe language deprivation. R.K. lost access to specialized academic instruction, speech and language services, and counseling, and as a result, has not earned any credits toward his diploma since 2020. Thousands like him are in similar situations. This year, in a case filed by YJEC students Marisol Dominguez-Ruiz ’22 and Stacy Nuñez ’22, YJEC obtained significant compensatory funds for R.K, who can use these funds to obtain educational and other services he was denied for so long. More>>
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April 4, 2023: Support LSJLC During LLS' Day of Giving During this year’s annual Day of Giving on April 4, 2023, we are asking for your support of a clinic whose work is meaningful to you or for your support of the Loyola Social Justice Law Clinic as a whole so that we are further equipped to provide legal services in the areas of greatest need. LLS Gives Together is about uplifting and supporting the programs most meaningful to you, while inspiring others to do the same. Learn more and sign up to participate! LLS Gives Together on April 4. Join here.
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