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:

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 that his clients face as undocumented 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 graduated from California State University, San Bernardino with a B.A. in Political Science. He earned his J.D. from Southwestern Law School with a concentration in Public Interest Law. Since his first year in law school, he began volunteering at various non-profit organizations that provide legal services to immigrants throughout Los Angeles. Mr. Soto Valdez was also highly involved at Southwestern where he was president of the Immigration Law Students Association, was on the Board of the Southwestern Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, and was co-president of the VITA Tax Clinic. Mr. Soto Valdez, Participated in Southwestern’s Immigration Law Clinic, Community Lawyering Clinic, and Appellate Litigation Clinic Through his clinical work, he represented survivors of domestic violence and undocumented children and young adults. While at Southwestern, he was awarded the 2017 Helen and Morgan Chu Public Interest Prize by Public Counsel and was awarded the 2018 Woolverton Family Public Interest Award by Southwestern.

Upon completing his law school education, Mr. Soto Valdez joined the Los Angeles Center for Law and Justice (LACLJ) as a staff attorney in their immigration unit At LACLJ, he has represented numerous survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking in their immigration matters. He has filed numerous affirmative petitions such as: U-Visas, T-Visas, VAWA, adjustment of status, asylum and Special Immigrant Juvenile Status. Mr. Soto Valdez has also represented children and survivors in removal proceedings and in bond hearings. At LACLJ, Mr. Soto Valdez has held presentations to inform immigrants in the community about immigration remedies, notario fraud, and know‐your‐rights.

Apart from his work at LACLJ, Mr. Soto Valdez continues to be involved with his community by serving as a Board Member for the Legal Aid Association of California and is 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 now volunteers on some weekends to help lawful permanent residents apply for citizenship.