Outreach Program Banquet Features Inspiring Address by Alum

There is nothing abstract about UC Davis junior Laura Pulido's reasons for wanting to become a lawyer. Growing up in a family of farm workers in California's Central Valley, Pulido watched as her mother suffered a debilitating, repetitive strain injury, stood by as her cousins seethed over short paychecks, and listened as relatives recounted episodes of heatstroke, falls from ladders and other injuries sustained while working in the fields. Pulido feels moved to fight for the rights of immigrants and laborers, but needs the tools essential to wage a successful battle. That is where the UC Davis School of Law's King Hall Outreach Program (KHOP) Pre-Law Undergraduate Scholars (PLUS) comes in.

KHOP PLUS takes a unique approach to increasing the percentage of socioeconomically disadvantaged undergraduate students in the law school pipeline. According to the Law School Admission Council (LSAC), which coordinates law school admissions nationwide, only one in 25 lawyers is Native American, Hispanic, Asian American or African American. KHOP PLUS, which is funded by the LSAC, the UC Office of the President, and private donors, represents one creative effort aimed at reversing this trend.

KHOP PLUS participants commit to the program for their junior and senior years of college, including four-week summer sessions. The 2008 summer session began July 12 and ended on August 8 with a celebratory awards dinner honoring this year's 34 participants. The dinner capped an intensive program in which students took writing and logical reasoning courses, participated in a mock trial, and, most importantly, received Law School Admission Test (LSAT) preparation. UC Davis School of Law alum Melinda Guzman Moore '88, a partner in a prominent Sacramento law firm, Goldsberry, Freeman & Guzman LLP, delivered an inspirational keynote address on her experiences as the first in her family to become a lawyer (and an extremely successful one at that!) committed to both the public as well as private sectors. 

Among those in attendance at the awards dinner were UC Davis School of Law Dean Kevin Johnson, assistant Dean Sharon Pinkney, Professor and former California Supreme Court Justice Cruz Reynoso (a long-time mentor to Melinda Guzman Moore), and friends and family members of the program's participants. Dean Johnson came away from the evening moved: "To see everyone there and to reflect on what programs like this can accomplish if they are adequately supported is really quite inspirational. And Melinda gave an absolutely terrific speech."

Pinkney, assistant dean for admission and enrollment at the School of Law, initiated the KHOP PLUS program in 2000. Unlike many other law school outreach programs around the country, she explained, KHOP PLUS does not offer law courses; instead, its primary goals are to raise students' college grades and enable them to score well on the LSAT. "We didn't want to just show them what a torts class is, because they'll learn that in law school," Pinkney said. "We want to help them get into law school. A lot of the students have never taken a high-stakes standardized test before they take their first practice LSAT with us. That's a big hurdle for them. Some of the students speak two or three languages, but if English isn't their first language, they're at a disadvantage on the LSAT."

KHOP PLUS seeks also to increase students' comfort and confidence in a law school environment. Pulido and fellow KHOP PLUS participants this summer went river rafting with Dean Johnson, had lunch with Professor Reynoso, himself a farm worker's son, and visited and had mock arguments in courtrooms in Oakland and Sacramento.

Over the past few years, KHOP PLUS success stories have been plentiful. Graduates have gone on to study law at UC Davis, UC Berkeley, UCLA, Seton Hall University, and Golden Gate University. Kyanna Williams, a 2006 graduate of the UC Davis School of Law now works as an attorney for Legal Services of Northern California, an organization that provides legal aid to the poor in hopes of one day eradicating poverty. Alice Cheng, a participant in KHOP PLUS from 2005 to 2006, is now a second-year law student at UC Davis, and serves as a resident adviser and tutor for the program.

In Pulido's case, the program has not only deepened her commitment to becoming a lawyer, but also strengthened her belief that she will make good one. "All the injustices I've seen, they make me want to help," said Pulido. "God willing, if I am ever an attorney, I know I will see my family, their struggles and their experiences in every person I represent."

Dean Johnson noted that diversity in the legal profession is important not only for individuals like Pulido, but for society in generally. "We as a country need lawyers from all walks of life," said Johnson. "Law is driven by the experiences of life and we need lawyers from many different perspectives and backgrounds to adequately represent the clients—corporate and individual—of today and tomorrow. Public law schools, in my estimation, have the duty and obligation to strive to diversify the legal profession."

Of the 579 students attending the UC Davis School of Law during the 2007-2008 academic year, 37 percent were students of color. "Law schools still have much work to do in attempts to ensure accessibility to all," said Johnson. "KHOP PLUS is an innovative move in the right direction. It has successfully helped to ensure the enrollment in law school of many students who might not have known they could be lawyers. Their achievements and contributions should make us all proud."