August 12, 2023
Judge Harry Pregerson
Judge Harry Pregerson
About
JHP Public-Service Initiatives at Southwestern Law School
These programs are made possible by a generous grant from the Rodan Family Foundation in honor of Judge Harry Pregerson.
The Judge Harry Pregerson Public Service Boot Camp is designed and named in honor of the esteemed 9th Circuit judge, whose work exemplified the highest values of service in the public interest.
Southwestern continues to honor Judge Pregerson through “Harry’s Boot Camp,” a day-long skills-training and community-building program offered exclusively to Southwestern students and where students dedicated to pro bono and public interest practice will be introduced to a cohort of like-minded lawyers, faculty, staff and alumni at the outset of their studies.
In addition to Harry’s Boot Camp, Southwestern offers the Judge Harry Pregerson Public Service Summer Fellowships, our premiere summer fellowships offered to select students who plan to dedicate their legal careers to working on behalf of underserved communities and causes. And, for a third year, Southwestern will honor an outstanding recent graduate with the Judge Harry Pregerson Public Service Alumni Award for their dedication and success in the fields of public service / public interest practice.
Together, these programs aim to cultivate and celebrate the late Judge Harry Pregerson, and his values, determination, and impact on life in Southern California by encouraging successive generations of students to approach their professional lives as an opportunity to serve their communities and to help those in need
Agenda-at-a-glance
10:00 a.m. Coffee, Conversation and Check-In with Your Judge Harry Pregerson Public Service Fellows
11:00 a.m. Public Interest at Southwestern: An Overview
12:00 p.m. Lunch
1:00 p.m.
Skills-Training: A Trauma-Informed, Anti-Racist Approach to Legal Advocacy
4:00 p.m. Judge Harry Pregerson Public Service Alumni Award Reception
Harry changed transportation planning and progressive urban development through his work on the Century Freeway. His involvement ensured development exceeded environmental standards, established housing programs to serve the displaced, set employment goals for minorities and women, and much more. Century Freeway Litigation
PublicInterestatSouthwestern: AnOverview
Presenters:
Christopher David Ruiz Cameron, Justice Marshall F. McComb Professor of Law, and Director of Labor and Employment Law Concentration
Andrea Ramos, Clinical Professor of Law, and Director of Clinical Program and Immigration Law Clinic
Julia Vázquez, Clinical Professor of Law, Director of Community Lawyering Clinic, and Director of Public Interest Law Concentration
Michelle Takagishi-Almeida, Esq., Director, Public Service Program
Description:
To help students gain an understanding of who Judge Pregerson was on and off the bench, Professor Christopher Cameron will share highlights from Judge Pregerson’s extraordinary life and legacy that has affected generations of lawyers and communities. Professor Ramos, Professor Vazquez and Director Takagishi-Almeida will follow in highlighting the importance of integrating curriculum, experiential programs and professional development in working towards a professional life in service.
By the end of this session, students will be able to identify the faculty and staff departments available to support students in meeting academic, experiential and professional development goals as well as have identified specific academic, experiential and professional development needs in attending Saturday’s program.
ATrauma-InformedAnti-Racist ApproachtoLegalAdvocacy
Presenter:
Lorilei Williams, Training Attorney
Description:
Burnout, capacity, vicarious trauma, and structural racism continue to be pressing issues for legal advocates, especially during a pandemic and civil rights uprising. This training is designed to help you rethink your approach to legal advocacy entirely that will result in increased sustainability for you as the advocate, holistic care for the people you serve, and outcomes that disrupt unjust systems. This training will provide a basic introduction to concepts relating to trauma and race, leading up to a four-part model that guides legal advocates to tangibly engage in a trauma-informed, anti-racist approach to legal advocacy This training is designed to be a very small taste for everything that can be learned, developed, and strengthened to make the work better for ourselves as agents of change and the directly impacted individuals and communities we serve.
2022 JHP Boot Camp Participants
JudgeHarryPregerson
Public-ServiceAlumni AwardandReception
Description:
The Public Service Program has the privilege to honor outstanding recent graduates of Southwestern Law School whose professional lives and careers reflect the values of the late Harry Pregerson.
Award recipients are alumni who have shown extraordinary commitment and leadership in producing demonstrable results or in having undertaken exceptional efforts to help underserved individuals or communities through their professional or pro bono practice
This year, the Public Service Program proudly honors from Southwestern’s Class of 2018, Yeison Soto Valdez, with the 2023 Judge Harry Pregerson Public Service Alumni Award.
Yeison Soto Valdez is a Staff Attorney at the Los Angeles Center for Law and Justice, where he represents survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking in their immigration matters. Mr. Soto Valdez’ decision to work with the immigrant community stems from his personal experience as an immigrant, after immigrating to the United States when he was 7-years-old
Growing up undocumented, Mr. Soto Valdez faced the same barriers his clients face as
Yeison Soto Valdez '18undocumented immigrants After learning that his parents had fallen victim to notario fraud and finding some stability in the United States after he was granted DACA, Mr. Soto Valdez decided to attend law school to help his community.
Mr. Soto Valdez was actively involved as a student at Southwestern serving as president of the Immigration Law Students Association, on the Board of the Southwestern Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, and co-president of Tax Law Society directing the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) site at Southwestern in addition to clerking for various non-profit organizations providing legal services for immigrants and in Southwestern’s Immigration Law Clinic, Community Lawyering Clinic, and Appellate Litigation Clinic. As a student, Mr. Soto Valdez has been recognized by Public Counsel with the Helen and Morgan Chu Public Interest Prize and by Southwestern's Public Interest Law Faculty Commitee with the Woolverton Family Public Interest Award.
Mr. Soto Valdez continues to represent and serve his community as a Board Member for the Legal Aid Association of California and as a member of the Immigration Committee of the Los Angeles Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild.
After more than 20-years of living in the United States, Mr. Soto Valdez became a naturalized citizen and he continues to volunteer on weekends to help lawful permanent residents apply for citizenship.
Speakersand Presenters
Sanchez v. Sessions
Harry wrote a Ninth Circuit opinion finding an egregious violation of the Fourth Amendment rights of Luis Sanchez, a small boat owner detained solely on account of his Latino appearance by the US Coast Guard during a call for help.
Darby Dickerson President, Dean, and Professor of Law
Darby Dickerson is the President and Dean, and a Professor of Law, at Southwestern Law School She formerly served as Dean and Professor of Law at University of Illinois Chicago School of Law, The John Marshall Law School, Texas Tech University School of Law, and Stetson University College of Law.
A nationally known leader in legal education, Dickerson was the 2020 President of the Association of American Law Schools and now represents that organization in the ABA's House of Delegates. She is an elected member of the American Law Institute, a Past President and current Board Member of Scribes The American Society of Legal Writers, a member of the Los Angeles Red Cross Regional Board, and a former Director of the Association of Legal Writing Directors (ALWD).
Dickerson received her BA and MA from The College of William & Mary and her JD from Vanderbilt Law School. She clerked for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and then practiced commercial litigation in Dallas with the firm now known as Locke Lorde. In 2018, she received the AALS Section of Legal Writing, Research, and Reasoning’s lifetime achievement award She has also received a variety of awards for her professional, charitable, and community service.
Since joining the academy in 1995, Dean Dickerson has taught legal writing, pretrial practice, and election law and has directed legal writing, externship, journal, and advocacy programs. She writes in the areas of legal writing, citation, and editing; legal education; and law and higher education.
Julie Waterstone Vice Dean and Clinical Professor of Law
Julie Waterstone’s passion for representing children began as a law student when she was working with children in the delinquency system through the Children and Family Justice Center of Northwestern's Bluhm Legal Clinic. Through her clinical experience, she represented youth in delinquency proceedings, participated in community outreach efforts and also served as a student instructor in the Street Law program
After graduation, Dean Waterstone returned to her native Southern California and spent the next three years working as a civil litigator at Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy in Los Angeles to hone her litigation skills. But it was her pro bono work during that time that brought her the most satisfaction. With a desire to pursue public interest law full time, she accepted a position with the Civil Legal Clinic at the University of Mississippi School of Law There, as a clinical professor, she created and developed the Child Advocacy Clinic, supervised students and taught the accompanying clinic seminar Three years later, she once again returned to Los Angeles where she joined Public Counsel as a staff attorney, litigating special education cases and training lawyers and law students as pro bono special education advocates.
In Fall 2007, Dean Waterstone was appointed to the Southwestern faculty to establish and direct the law school's then-new Children's Rights Clinic, and she was named Associate Dean for Experiential Learning in 2014 She works closely with students to hone their lawyering skills in the context of live-client representation as they represent youth in special education and school discipline cases. Through their representation, the law students gain experience in interviewing, counseling, negotiating, researching, writing, oral advocacy and trial practice. In addition to the practical experience, she wants the program to ignite in students the same fire for public interest law and pro bono work that prompted her to get into the field.
Lorilei Williams
Training Attorney
rans non-binary Korean-American abolitionist, artist, and attorney dedicated to teaching legal advocates on how to engage in traumainformed and antiracist advocacy in their individual capacities and collectively as movement advocates using an interdisciplinary approach informed by systems theory, design thinking, and management science. They work as an immigration attorney and as an expert trainer and coach for legal services advocates and organizations across the nation.
Their expertise is informed by over a decade of experiences ranging from volunteer to director at nonprofit organizations, including the Southern Poverty Law Center, Legal Services NYC, and various Catholic Charities organizations. Lorilei also served as the Training Attorney for the Shriver Center on Poverty Law, where they designed and launched a national network of expert legal advocates to lead sessions on racial justice advocacy, community-driven advocacy, systems thinking, and supervision Lorilei's experiences building power in local community groups are the foundation for their approach on building sustainable, collaborative advocacy models. They continue to practice this today as a solo practitioner supporting the Transgender Law Center’s Border Butterflies Project, a project that supports LGBTQ+ asylum seekers, and Organización Latina Trans en Texas, a trans-led grassroots advocacy and mutual aid organization. Lorilei is admitted to the state bars of New York and Texas, the 2nd Circuit, SDNY and EDNY They are a graduate of Washington University in St Louis School of Law and the University of Maryland.
L
Christopher David Ruiz Cameron
Justice Marshall F. McComb Professor of Law, and Director of Labor and Employment Law ConcentrationChristopher David Ruiz Cameron is a recognized expert in the law of the workplace, with a special emphasis on its intersection with the laws regulating bankruptcy, immigration, and entertainment and sports. He is author or co-author of two books, nine book chapters or supplements, and 28 law review articles published by the California Law Review, UCLA Law Review, and other leading journals.
In addition to teaching and writing about labor and employment law, Professor Cameron is an Elected Member of the National Academy of Arbitrators and, since 2017, has served as a Commissioner of the Los Angeles County Employee Relations Commission (ERCOM), the agency responsible for policing labor relations between management and nearly 100,000 employees working in over 50 separate bargaining units in one of the nation's largest municipal governments.
After law school, where he was Articles Editor of the Harvard Law Review, Professor Cameron served as a law clerk to Judge Harry Pregerson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He then spent six years in private practice representing labor organizations and employee benefit funds
Professor Cameron has been a member of the Southwestern faculty since 1991 and served as Vice Dean or Associate Dean for Academic Affairs for twelve years He also served as Director of Externships for more than a decade, and as Director of the London Summer Program in Entertainment and Media Law.
Andrea Ramos Clinical Professor of Law, and Director of Clinical Program and Immigration Law ClinicAndrea Ramos brings many years of experience as a public interest attorney and law professor to Southwestern, where she established and directs the Immigration Law Clinic. The clinic, which began operation during the 2008-09 academic year, offers valuable services to the community, while giving students hands-on experience helping indigent and otherwise underrepresented clients.
As a law student, Professor Ramos served on the Southern California Review of Law and Women's Studies. She began her career with the law firm of Tuttle & Taylor as a litigation associate and Public Counsel volunteer. She went on to serve on the staff of Public Counsel for ten years, originally leading the School-Based Legal Assistance Program, then directing the Children's Rights Project, which involves more than 700 volunteers assisting over 6,000 children and youth annually.
As Directing Attorney of the Project, Professor Ramos represented children in Special Immigrant Juvenile cases, the Violence Against Women Act and U-Visa cases, and provided training and workshops to lawyers and social service providers. She also served on the adjunct faculty at the University of Southern California Law Center for four years as a co-teacher of the Children and the Law course.
She was recognized for her legal work benefiting the Los Angeles community by the USC La Raza Law Students Association, which presented her with the Inspirational Alumnus Award in 2007 and by the USC Public Interest Law Foundation, which named her as the 2008 Attorney of the Year.
Julia Vázquez
Clinical Professor of Law, Director of Community Lawyering Clinic, and Director of Public Interest
Law Concentration
As the first Clinical Fellow in the law school's Immigration Law Clinic and now as a Supervising Attorney, Julia Vázquez works closely with the Clinic's director, Professor Andrea Ramos, in the representation of clients, supervision of law students and development of course curricula for the clinic and the Immigration Appeals Practicum. She also participates in teaching the clinic seminars and research. She brings both professional teaching experience as well as experience as an immigration law clinic student to her position at Southwestern.
While in law school, Professor Vázquez was a Public Interest Law Program, Immigration Law Clinic, and Critical Race Studies student. She served as President of the Immigration Law Society, Co-Chair of La Raza Law Students Association, Articles Editor for the Chicana/o Latina/o Law Review and Writing Advisor in the First-Year Lawyering Skills Course. She volunteered as Student Director for the Esperanza Immigrant Rights Project's UCLA Detention Center Clinic, and UCLA's Migrant Summer Leadership Program.
Prior to earning her law degree, Professor Vázquez completed an M A in Education with a focus on critical pedagogy and worked for several years as a teacher-andparent educator in South Central Los Angeles She eventually left teaching to pursue a legal career with a focus in immigration and public interest law.
Michelle TakagishiAlmeida
Esq , Director, Public Service ProgramAs the Director of the Public Service Program, Michelle is responsible for the administration and oversight of students’ experiential learning through a voluntary program that encourages students to engage in a minimum of 75 hours of law-related service during their studies at Southwestern. In developing and expanding community-centered collaborations in volunteer initiatives, Michelle ensures students are educated on and connected with advocacy opportunities that meet underserved legal needs while also furthering the development of students’ practical legal skills.
Michelle serves on the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) Section of Pro Bono and Access to Justice Executive Committee and is the immediate past Chair of the Public Service Section for the National Association for Law Placement, a member organization of over 2,500 legal career professionals advising law students, lawyers, law firms, and law schools on pathways leading to public sector, public interest, and pro bono practice. Michelle also serves on Southwestern’s Faculty Public Interest Law Committee and directs the Judge Harry Pregerson (JHP) Public Service Initiatives at Southwestern, which include the JHP Public Service Boot Camp for newly admitted students and the JHP Public Service Fellowships
Michelle previously served in Southwestern’s Career Service Office, counseling students and alumni on legal recruitment, career planning, and job search strategies with an emphasis on public interest and government employment, including post-graduate fellowships. Prior to joining Southwestern in 2016, Michelle served as the Pro Bono and Volunteer Coordinator with Bet Tzedek Legal Services and as a legal advocate with The Alliance for Children’s Rights representing transition aged-foster youth in Los Angeles County
Michelle received her B.A. from the University of California, Irvine, and her J.D. from the University of La Verne College of Law She is a member of the California State Bar
JudgeHarryPregerson PublicServiceFellows
no, Bryon ies face when it de quality legal representation and challenge oppressive laws that have marginalized communities of color. Prior to law school, Bryon gained valuable advocacy skills as a paralegal and legal advocate throughout Los Angeles. Bryon worked at the Jenesse Center Inc., a domestic violence shelter, and two immigrants rights organizations, the Central American Resource Center (CARECEN) and Coalition Humane Immigrants’ Rights (CHIRLA).
At Southwestern, he has participated in student-led organizations and numerous public interest opportunities on and off campus, such as serving as Co-Chair for the Public Interest Law Committee and the National Lawyers Guild – SW Chapter, as law clerk to the Stop LAPD Spying Coalition, and as a law clerk in Southwestern’s Eviction Defense Clinic.
This year, Bryon is serving as a research and teaching assistant for faculty, Supervising Dean’s Fellow, Co-Chair for the Public Interest Law Committee, Alumni Relations Chair for the National Lawyer’s Guild – SW Chapter, and as a law clerk for the Stop LAPD Spying Coalition and Southwestern’s Appellate Litigation Clinic.
Donald Bullock
Class of 2025
Donald Bullock is a second-year law student in the traditional day program who is passionate about indigent defense. Donald spent his past summer externing with the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office assisting in drafting various trial motions and conducting client interviews
This year, Donald is serving as a Peer Mentor, a Research Assistant for Professor Caldwell, Vice President of the Mass Incarceration Awareness Law Society (MIALS), Academics Chair for the Black Law Students Association (BLSA), Member of the Dean’s Leadership Academic, a Judge Harry Pregerson Public Service Fellow, and is a Dean’s Merit Scholar. He is confident that these combined experiences will prepare him to become a skilled, passionate advocate for his future underserved clients.
Anthony Carini
Class of 2023
Originally from San Jose, California, Anthony graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno, with an undergraduate degree in Economics Prior to attending Southwestern, Anthony worked at a large investment management firm – an experience every bit useful as it was eye-opening. Having grown up in a workingclass household in Silicon Valley, it was hard to ignore the impact of excessive wealth disparities on those around him, and his experiences there reinforced his desire to advocate for those fighting to break out of poverty.
This past summer, Anthony served as a law clerk for Bet Tzedek’s Eviction Defense Project. Helping clients overcome one of the most challenging obstacles they have faced was a deeply rewarding experience, and Anthony hopes to continue fighting against exploitation and oppression in all forms as his legal career progresses.
In the coming year, Anthony is honored to serve as a Judge Harry Pregerson Public Service Fellow in addition to his roles as Treasurer for the American Constitution Society – SW Chapter and as a staffer for Southwestern’s Journal of International Law He looks forward to meeting more peers in the community and deepening involvement in other public interest organizations’ volunteer events and projects.
Shara Darden
Class of 2024
Shara is a part-time, fourth-year law student who has clerked and volunteered with several nonprofits and public entities in her work toward a public interest law designation, including the Eviction Defense Network, Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County, Movement Law Lab, and the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office. Most recently, Shara received the State Bar of California’s Legal Aid Leaders Fellowship for her work as a certified law clerk in the Tenant Defense Project at Inner City Law Center.
Shara is a returning Judge Harry Pregerson Public Service Fellow and holds leadership positions as Co-Chair of the National Lawyers Guild – SW Chapter and the Diversity & Inclusion Chair of the American Constitution Society – SW Chapter. She plans to continue her career in pursuit of housing justice.
Alexander is a second-year law student, a first-generation college graduate, and a Marine Corps veteran He successfully earned a degree in Anthropology with a minor in Society and Genetics from University of California, Los Angeles. Throughout his undergraduate years, Alexander became aware of the numerous injustices that veterans face when transitioning from military to civilian life. These injustices include the disproportionately high number of homeless veterans, forcing out service members without benefits due to discriminatory policies like Don't Ask Don't Tell, and the deportation of veterans who have served their country honorably. Witnessing these and other issues inspired Alexander to pursue a legal career with the goal of assisting those who have served their country but have not been as fortunate as he has
Following an eventful summer serving as a law clerk at the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office, Alexander is eager to continue on as a law clerk in the coming year with Public Counsel's Center for Veteran's Advancement as well as aiding immigrants through Southwestern’s Immigration Law Clinic. His ultimate aspiration is to engage in intersectional impact litigation to facilitate the repatriation of deported veterans.
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Desirae Ibarra
Class of 2025
Desirae Ibarra is a proud first-generation college graduate and law student. She joined the traditional day program at Southwestern Law School after earning her B.A. in Politics and Legal Studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Desirae pursued law school to make a difference in her community. As a future attorney, she wants to protect indigent clients’ rights through legal representation in criminal matters. This past summer, Desirae clerked for the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office and plans to continue working for the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office during the school year.
In addition to serving as a Judge Harry Pregerson Public Service Fellow, Desirae serves as a Dean’s Fellow, Dean’s Merit Scholar, Staffer for Law Review, Co-President of the Mass Incarceration Awareness Law Society (MIALS), Social Chair for the Black Law Students Association (BLSA), and a Teaching Assistant for Professor Beth Caldwell She is confident these experiences will prepare her to become a skilled, zealous advocate for indigent clients and hopes to fight mass incarceration one client at a time.
Carie Martin
Class of 2024
Carie Martin (they/them) is a returning Judge Harry Pregerson Public Service Fellow and a proud member of the Transgender/Gender Non-Binary community In addition to leadership roles in Southwestern's chapters of the National Lawyers Guild, OUTLaw, the American Constitution Society, and Mass Incarceration Awareness Law Society, Carie is also a member of the Dean's Leadership Academy and the incumbent President of Southwestern's Student Bar Association.
After spending over a decade delivering and advocating for gender-expansive, accessible, and culturally appropriate healthcare as a Doctor of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine, Carie is attending law school to help advance law and policy that improves the material conditions under which working-class people exist. Passionate about sustainable economic development, anti-displacement strategies, and organizing for social programs such as universal basic income and single-payer healthcare, Carie is excited about what the 2023-2024 academic year has in store!
Zara Mokhtar
Class of 2024
Zara is a fourth-year law student possessing a keen interest in criminal, human, and civil rights law This past summer, Zara was a law clerk for the Jails Project at the ACLU of Southern California. There, her primary focus was on advocating for the rights of incarcerated individuals in Los Angeles County jails and ensuring that individuals were treated fairly and that proper sanitary conditions were maintained within facilities. Her dedicated efforts aimed to uphold the fundamental rights and dignity of those in custody.
Zara is a returning Judge Harry Pregerson Public Service Fellow and has held student leadership positions with Southwestern’s Mass Incarceration Awareness Law Society, Delta Theta Phi, and as a Senior Advocate for the Trial Advocacy Honors Program. Alongside her student leadership roles, Zara has also served as a law clerk for the Loyola Project for the Innocent and in the Trial Unit of the Federal Public Defender’s Office for the Central District of California
Isel Ramirez
Class of 2024
Isel Ramirez (she/her) is a San Bernardino native and the first in her family to pursue higher education Before starting law school, she double majored in Political Science and Chicanx Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, Class of 2020. She is a second-year law student in the traditional day program.
Isel is passionate about empowering and uplifting marginalized communities like her hometown and communities alike. Over the summer, she had the opportunity to clerk at Public Counsel in the Community Development Project to provide support to small business owners, street vendors, and non-profit organizations.
In addition to serving as a Judge Harry Pregerson Public Service Fellow, she is a Dean’s Fellow, an active member of the Latino Law Student Association, and the Academic Events Coordinator for the First Generation Law Student Association.
Nadia Salcedo Class of 2024
Born and raised in Southeast Los Angeles, Nadia (she/they) is a first-generation Latine third-year traditional day student As someone who has witnessed the impacts of the school-to-prison pipeline in her own community, Nadia seeks to explore the different areas of law that uphold the intersectional system disproportionately impacting young people of color, foster youth, and LGBTQIA+ youth into their adulthood.
Nadia spent their first summer at the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights Los Angeles (CHIRLA) on the Removal Defense team, providing legal services to those facing deportation. This past summer, they worked with the Collective for Liberatory Lawyering (C4LL), expanding their knowledge of education and probation law to develop projects that equip community-based organizations with legal knowledge to foster change ranging from dismantling the probation system to protecting young people's human right to education
With these experiences, she will continue to serve system-impacted people by offering legal tools that will help them empower themselves This year, Nadia will also serve as a Supervising Dean's Fellow, President for Advocates for Children's Rights, Vice President for the First Generation Law Students Association, and Events Coordinator for the Public Interest Law Student Committee.
