In Brief
Flourishing in Fellowships
3Ls Mariam Elbakr, Sophia Fenn, and Mia Stange were selected for the Skadden Fellowship, a prestigious program granted to stellar young attorneys to fund public interest work. Berkeley Law had the second-most fellows this year, trailing only Yale Law School.
A bit earlier in the year, seven members of the 2023 graduating class — Rachel Appel, Wilson Baker, Renee Coe, Elissa Gray, Sydney Moon, Rachel Smith, and Ishvaku Vashishtha — landed coveted Equal Justice Works fellowships, a school record.
Fellows in each two-year program design their own project to address an unmet legal need for an underserved community and find a legal services organization to work for.
Among the Skadden trio, Elbakr will work with the Public Justice Foundation’s Debtors’ Prison Project, providing direct representation and impact litigation on behalf of indigent defendants and families harmed by excessive public defender fees in Tennessee.
“As someone whose family has been in contact with the legal system at a time where we couldn’t afford to pay for counsel, I chose this project to try and even the playing field — because everyone deserves a zealous advocate, whether or not they can afford to pay,” she says.
Fenn will assist the New York Legal Assistance Group in representing underserved New York City Housing Authority tenants who face severe habitability issues caused by the agency’s systemic divestment and neglect.
With Brooklyn Defender Services, Stange will provide direct representation in employment law and immigration matters and identify and represent clients eligible for Deferred Action for Labor Enforcement, which offers protection from deportation and a work permit for certain noncitizen workers.
“It is wonderful to see our students and recent graduates receive these prestigious fellowships,” Dean Erwin Chemerinsky says. “This reflects the deep commitment to public interest by Berkeley Law and its students.” — Andrew Cohen & Gwyneth K. Shaw
A First-Rate 1L Class
Leading on Multiple Fronts
Leaders from CLEE’s California-China Climate Institute (CCCI) helped plan and support Gov. Gavin Newsom’s fall trip to China, which included a meeting with President Xi Jinping — the first visit there by a Golden State governor since 2017 — and the signing of new agreements to help accelerate a transition to clean energy and achieve carbon neutrality.
Institute Director Fan Dai collaborated closely with the national and provincial governments to create opportunities for discussions and develop climate-focused partnerships within China, which produces almost a third of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Chaired by former Gov. Jerry Brown, CCCI is a collaboration between CLEE and UC Berkeley’s College of Natural Resources.
The center is also helping lead a new project to create a Direct Air Capture (DAC) facility to remove carbon dioxide in California’s Southern San Joaquin Valley. It’s part of a major U.S. Department of Energy program to develop hubs that capture and permanently store carbon dioxide nationwide in areas affected by the impact of climate disruption on their agricultural economy.
CLEE Executive Director Louise Bedsworth is the project lead and principal investigator for Community Alliance for Direct Air Capture, which includes researchers from across UC Berkeley, technology companies, community partners, and research organizations. She’s bullish on what a capture hub could do.
“If designed well, deployment of a DAC hub in this region could provide important economic and environmental benefits to communities that have been affected by the impacts of climate disruption on the agricultural economy — and which are likely to experience negative impacts as a result of the transition from reliance on fossil fuels,” Bedsworth says. — Gwyneth K. Shaw
Prosecutors Confront Excessive Police Use of Force
Co-hosted by the school’s International Human Rights Law Clinic and Criminal Law & Justice Center and the Prosecutors Alliance of California, the three-day event welcomed over 65 prosecutors from 15 states, and family members of people killed by police. It featured prominent keynote speakers — including Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and California Attorney General Rob Bonta — panel discussions, and opportunities to share ideas and resources.
Despite the recent surge in elected progressive prosecutors nationwide, few resources existed for them to learn how best to evaluate and prosecute police use-of-force cases. Until now.
“It’s essential to bring the family perspective because often we’re left out of the conversation,” said Michelle Monterrosa, whose brother Sean was killed by Vallejo, California police at a 2020 protest. “We have to carry the burden of becoming our own lawyers, experts, and detectives.”
U.S. police shoot and kill over 1,000 people a year, according to a recent Washington Post report, but less than half of those shootings appear in the FBI database, largely because police departments aren’t required to report such incidents to the federal government.
“We cannot have real justice or real safety in our communities when law enforcement officers are allowed to get away with murder,” said Criminal Law & Justice Center Executive Director and former San Francisco district attorney Chesa Boudin.
Experts also addressed police use-of-force policy and practice, investigation techniques and evidence challenges, appropriate use of expert witnesses, lessons from recent prosecutions, and communications and transparency in high-profile cases.
Monterrosa’s message to prosecutors? “Don’t be afraid to be bold. You’re in a position of power and you can essentially prevent this from happening. You have all the tools, you know the law better than we do, and it’s time for you to hold police accountable.” — Sarah Weld
Helping Ukrainian Students
Professor Saira Mohamed was among a group of scholars who taught B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. students from Ukraine for a week in January, part of a program created three months after Russia invaded their country in February 2022.
The free Invisible University for Ukraine, an online initiative for students whose studies have been affected by the war, includes a weeklong in-person session in Budapest, Hungary. There, Mohamed taught Ukrainian students now residing in eight countries, focusing on questions about the responsibility of individual soldiers and of states for atrocities committed during war. — Andrew Cohen
Keeping a Close Eye on AI
Law schools and the law profession are no exception. Berkeley Law issued its first policy on generative AI last year, expressly barring students from using it for exams or in composing assignments.
Instructional and educational technology librarian Kristie Chamorro had already begun gathering information to help the school navigate this new terrain. Her accessible compilation for faculty and staff is on the Law Library’s website, with regular updates to reflect new developments, and she developed an AI research guide for students.
“Since the launch of ChatGPT, a wealth of resources have sprung up, including law librarian blogs, podcasts, webinars, and research guides,” she says. “It underscores how librarians are often ahead of the curve on learning about new technologies.”
AI’s effect on legal education and practice was a hot topic at last summer’s American Association of Law Libraries annual conference. Sessions addressed how law librarians can best prepare for the future, new AI-powered legal research and drafting tools, and risks of bias and misinformation.
Chamorro, who uses myriad research organization tools to stay current, has given several presentations on the topic to California and national audiences, has led workshops for Berkeley Law faculty and LL.M. students, and is developing future training sessions and resources for students, faculty, and staff. The library has received inquiries about her work from faculty, law librarians, and students from universities in Ukraine, Finland, and elsewhere around the world.
“It’s been gratifying to see the reach and impact of our efforts on this front,” she says. “There is a lot to keep track of since this really is a dynamic topic that is changing by the day.” — Gwyneth K. Shaw
A Win-Win Relationship
Mayali says the program’s intellectual diversity “reflects the broad significance of law and legal rules in many countries around the world” and that visiting scholars fuel “the school’s strong tradition of commitment to international exchanges of ideas.”
Law professor Botirjon Kosimov explored judicial independence in his home country of Uzbekistan, comparing it to how United States courts ensure jurists’ independence. He credits his Berkeley experience for bolstering his research and improving his classroom teaching.
“I am extremely grateful for this program,” says Kosimov, who visited California courts and audited Constitutional Law classes. “Observing teaching strategies … allowed me not only to learn new things, but also to reflect on how we teach law in my country, which is very important for the continuous development of a law professor.”
The program gives scholars access to research, library, and internet resources that are often vastly superior to what their home institutions offer, Mayali notes. It also helps Berkeley Law faculty develop joint research projects with scholars abroad, creating opportunities for them to advise foreign governments and policy advocates.
A strong program connection with South Korean scholars dates back to the 1970s. They include former prime ministers and government officials, top judges and prosecutors, prominent lawyers from leading Korean law firms, and many law school deans and professors.
Mayali visited South Korea in May to discuss a Memorandum of Understanding with the Korean Supreme Court to send more judges to the program. Dean Erwin Chemerinsky recently signed the final agreement.
Adding Another Gem
Adding Another Gem
Challenges for Afghan Artists
Partnering with the Artistic Freedom Initiative, an international nonprofit that facilitates pro bono legal services and resettlement assistance for artists fleeing persecution and censorship in their home countries, their report exposes risks Afghan artists and cultural workers face at home and in refugee locations.
Last year, students from the project helped develop a revealing report on the arts and culture crisis in Hungary. — Andrew Cohen
The Other Side of the ‘V’
Founded by Nabila Abdallah ’22 and classmate Jessica Spierer during their student days, the Plaintiffs’ Law Association (PLA) now has around 200 members and a 14-student board. Last summer, its current leaders attended a conference of similar organizations, which formed a national coalition aiming to offer a BigLaw alternative.
“Many law students want to fight against societal injustices, but I think what a lot of students starting law school don’t know … is that plaintiffs’ lawyers, in collaboration with governments and nonprofits, are doing that work,” says 3L and PLA Co-President Leila Nasrolahi.
Citing major recent cases where plaintiffs’ attorneys represented employees in a gender-discrimination suit and protesters in a civil rights suit, Nasrolahi says the group is “illuminating careers on the other side of the ‘v.’”
Fellow 3L and Co-President Kate Walford speaks with students who had no idea that most BigLaw firms only do defense work or that entire firms dedicated to plaintiff-side practice exist. “I think students at Berkeley should know about all of their options,” she says.
PLA holds an introductory panel for 1Ls, keeps a database of plaintiff firm salaries, and hosts events with lawyers doing this work. Berkeley Law also held its first-ever Plaintiff-Side Career Fair March 13.
Lecturer Shanin Specter, a renowned wrongful injury practitioner, is PLA’s faculty adviser. He tells students how plaintiff-side work can get them into deposition rooms and courtrooms early in their career, and the benefits of a salary measured by client success rather than billable hours.
“You help people who have been hurt achieve justice; that feels great in the best tradition of Berkeley and American legal activism,” Specter says. “Often you can get the defendant to make systemic change, which benefits the community or the country.” — Gwyneth K. Shaw
Defending Library Patrons’ Right to Privacy
Libraries, however, have a history of fiercely protecting readers’ privacy. From deleting loan records after items are returned to advocating for laws to protect patrons’ records, libraries prioritize their freedom to access information privately. But a copyright case has jeopardized libraries’ ability to protect reader privacy in the digital age by stopping them from digitizing and loaning materials they own.
Berkeley Law’s Samuelson Law, Technology & Public Policy Clinic recently filed an amicus brief in Hachette v. Internet Archive on behalf of the Center for Democracy & Technology, the Library Freedom Project, and Public Knowledge, explaining the importance of reader privacy in digital library lending.
2L Noor Alanizi, 2L Jessica Kwok, and 3L Katherine Wang worked on the brief with Jennifer M. Urban ’00, the clinic’s director of policy initiatives. It asks the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals to reverse a district court decision and continue allowing libraries to control their digital lending.
“The clinic student team did excellent work to help the court see the important privacy implications of this case,” Urban says.
The brief explains that preserving libraries’ ability to lend books, articles, and other material digitally, known as controlled digital lending, protects patrons from the risks of data tracking, security breaches, and surveillance — and lets them access information and explore ideas without sacrificing their privacy. In an increasingly digital age, it says, electronic access to information and intellectual materials is vital and readers shouldn’t have to sacrifice their privacy to read digital books. — Sarah Weld
A Hall of Fame Career
The first Black lawyer in the U.S. Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, Henderson worked to protect voting rights in the South with Martin Luther King Jr. and others before taking leadership roles in public interest law and academia. He spent 37 years as a federal judge, has won countless awards, and recently celebrated his 90th birthday. — Andrew Cohen
Supreme Visit
LL.M. Alumni Help Choose Next Students
Now, alumni of that track are fueling another kind of flexibility, pitching in to review one segment of program applications.
Executive track alums are reviewing video answers applicants submit through an online portal after the main application is in. Alumni then evaluate the responses for their overall quality as well as an applicant’s verbal skills and professional demeanor.
The videos offer information usually only available through in-person interviews and are highly valuable, says Advanced Degree Programs Senior Director of Admissions Anya Grossmann. Having been through the program, they know what skills are important to success at Berkeley. In addition, because they’re often experienced attorneys, they can recognize applicants who are strong in their current roles.
“This is a really great way to work with people who might not have a lot of time to go to recruiting events but are engaged and want to give back,” Grossmann says. “It does genuinely help to have their expertise and feedback.”
Scores of alumni jumped at the chance to participate. When he offered to help from Brazil, Brunno Luz Moreira ’21 wrote that he aims to keep his amazing experience at Berkeley Law alive as an ambassador for the program. Part of that magic was the people he met, in person and online.
“If I can help others to feel the same way I do, I know that would be beneficial to everyone,” he wrote. “And to me, it would be a special bonus.” — Gwyneth K. Shaw
Celebrating ‘A National Treasure’
Top academics from around the world hailed Samuelson as a “true pioneer,” a “groundbreaker,” and a “national treasure.” They described how she blazed new trails in digital copyright law, intellectual property, cyberlaw, and information policy — and became a treasured mentor, colleague, and friend.
“I haven’t seen an academic event where so many people speak from the heart,” said Professor Daniel Gervais, the director of Vanderbilt Law School’s Intellectual Property Program. “That’s very telling about Pam and the person she is.”
Samuelson was praised for incisive scholarship, honest feedback and relentless support for fellow scholars, a gift for untangling complex legal issues, and a commitment to exploring how such issues affect the public. Panelists discussed core areas of her work — including copyright reform, author’s rights, and internet activism — the issues they tackle, and the ways she has shaped them. The Berkeley Technology Law Journal will publish an issue about the conference.
Panelists explained how Samuelson was among the first to articulate the significance of digital advancements, warn that leaving copyright discretion solely to rights holders might undermine public policy, and explain why software doesn’t merit copyright protection. She was also thanked for cultivating a collaborative culture within the IP scholarship community.
“It was heartwarming to be appreciated not just for the work I’ve done over the years, but also for mentoring students and junior colleagues,” said Samuelson, who helped establish the Berkeley Center for Law & Technology and whose generosity created the Samuelson Law, Technology & Public Policy Clinic. “Nothing makes me happier than knowing about their successes.” — Andrew Cohen
Black History Tour Stop
3L Kevin Steward has helped to grow BLAC as a graduate student researcher. He recently received the prestigious two-year E. Barrett Prettyman Fellowship at Georgetown Law, awarded annually to just three 3Ls from hundreds of applicants, which develops top indigent defense counsel through rigorous training and extensive hands-on experience. — Andrew Cohen