Dean's Blog

Lynn Miyamoto ’86 has a law practice focused on immigration in Sherman Oaks, California. She is a member of the UC Davis School of Law Alumni Association board of directors and serves on the Development Committee. She also serves on several other nonprofit boards, including as chairperson of the board of Keiro, which serves older adults in the Japanese American/Japanese community, and as vice chair of UUSC (Unitarian Universalist Service Committee), which advances human rights through grassroots collaborations. She and her husband Kevin Kroeker ’86 live in La Crescenta, California.

News from the U.S. Supreme Court has made for an extremely difficult – and for many heartbreaking – day.  I wanted to make it clear that I agree wholeheartedly with University of California President Michael V.

On June 20 UC Davis observes Juneteenth, a holiday that encourages thoughtful reflection as well as celebration.

President Joe Biden declared Juneteenth a federal holiday last year – a long overdue but welcome acknowledgement of a day observed by African Americans and many others for more than 150 years.

Congratulations to our June 2022 Alum of the Month Austin Quinn-Davidson '07. Enjoy a great article about her below:

“In everything I do, I try to take space and time to reflect on how it affects community members, especially our most vulnerable community members,” says Austin Quinn-Davidson '07. The UC Davis School of Law 2022 Rising Star Alumna Award winner was the first woman and the first openly gay person to serve as mayor of Anchorage, Alaska. She continues to serve on the Anchorage Assembly.

In the latest episode of Justice Defined, UC Davis Law Professor Lisa Pruitt discusses her ongoing research into rural lawyer shortages. She identifies the great need for services in the legal deserts of rural communities.

Caroline Perris '22 has an important forthcoming article, "Ending Coerced Sterilization in Immigrant Detention." I am proud to see our King Hall alum producing such impressive scholarship. 

Abstract

Guest post by Professor Raquel Aldana

UC Davis School of Law hosted the inaugural Unity Bar Summit, attended by judges and lawyers from throughout California. Chief Justice of California Tani Cantil-Sakauye '84 spoke on the benefits of coalitions of minority bar associations working together.

I had the pleasure of welcoming the group and highlighting the need to diversify the legal profession, improve access to legal services for all, and work towards collective action.

Senseless acts of violence continue to devastate communities across the country. This time a gunman opened fire in an elementary school in an attack that left 19 children and two teachers dead in the predominantly Latinx town of Uvalde, Texas. Not two weeks ago 10 people were killed in Buffalo as part of a horrific hate crime targeted at African Americans shopping in a grocery store.

Aidín Castillo, a longtime immigration attorney and immigrants’ rights advocate and a UC Davis School of Law alumna from the Class of 2011, has been named executive director of the UC Immigrant Legal Services Center.

I just received a wonderful message from Corina Yetter '22, who graduated from UC Davis Law on Saturday. It included the photo of the two of us, above, from the Mondavi Center stage, and these very gracious words:

I am so proud to have graduated from your law school and worked for you. It has indeed been an honor. I wanted to share this picture with you. ... Someday, when I am earning an actual paycheck, I would like to get this framed for you. Thank you again for everything!"

Spring Alumni Newsletter for the 2021-2022 Latinx Law Students Association (LaLSA)

Spring 2022 Newsletter.pdf

This week, I was able to watch the latest installment of the Border Speakers' Series organized and sponsored by the Chicanx Studies 130 US Mexico Border class with Professor Clarissa Rojas.

Congratulations to our Class of 2022 graduates who received environmental law certificates! I had the pleasure of attending the certificate event last week with Professor Rick Frank as the emcee. We can't wait to see what great things our grads will go on to do. 

It brings me great sadness to see yet another deadly hate crime in our country. I wanted to share a message from Chancellor Gary May about the tragic shooting in Buffalo that left 10 people dead on May 14.

"People should be able to go to the grocery store without fear.