Lawyering Process Students Hear From Esteemed Guest Speakers

Professors Donna Shestowsky and Menesh Patel organized a special Zoom panel for their first-year Lawyering Process students that featured four distinguished attorneys who have devoted their careers to public service or pro bono work. 

The panelists for the Feb. 25 event were: Equality Now Global Executive Director Yasmeen Hassan;  Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati Pro Bono Partner Luke Liss; National Center for Lesbian Rights Deputy Director and Family Law Director Cathy Sakimura; and Ambika Project Founding Principal and former Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area Executive Director Monika Kalra Varma, a UC Davis Law alumna from the Class of 2000 and recipient of the law school’s 2021 Distinguished Alumna Award. 

The speakers discussed their inspiring career trajectories, offered advice to students interested pursuing public interest careers, and discussed ways in which lawyers who work for firms can work on social justice issues through pro bono work. They also shared their reflections on the types of skills that help a lawyer succeed in the social justice space, and how to hone those skills, both during law school and beyond.

Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Afra Afsharipour offered opening remarks for the event.