Law students speak to barriers to legal education

Quinn, Spangler, D'Arcangelo, West, and Wood
Presumed ©; used with permission.

A gifted group of law students shared their personal experiences in access to legal education at the National Lawyers Guild "2024 #Law4ThePeople Convention" in Birmingham, Alabama, Friday.

UMass Law NLG chapter members formulated and proposed the program, "Changing The World, One Legal Education At A Time," which was accepted in a competitive selection process. Here is the abstract:

The panel will consist of law students with lived experience addressing the barriers, opportunities, and realities of accessing a legal education as members of underrepresented populations. Framed by issues of persistent inaccessibility, the panel will share the unique challenges they encountered while applying to and attending law school. Furthermore, each panel member will deconstruct how the barriers they’ve encountered influenced their career trajectories following graduation. In addition to their stories, Dean Quinn will share administrator perspectives on outcomes of programs and support for underrepresented populations unique to their school. Finally, the panel will discuss where they see opportunity for improvement.

The panel comprised 3Ls Daniela D'Arcangelo and Liz West, and 2L Rebecca Wood, chapter president. Wood, an alumna of my Torts I & II classes, appeared on The Savory Tort in the summer in recognition of her having won a prestigious Rappaport Fellowship. The panelists were accompanied by 2L Wyatt Spangler (featured), an NLG chapter member who contributed vitally to the program, and Assistant Dean of Public Interest John Quinn, who participated also as a panelist.