A Memorable 2017

As we say farewell to 2017, we want to acknowledge the many accomplishments of our students, staff and faculty throughout the year.

Here is a selection of some of our favorite moments from 2017:

Good Citizenship The USC Gould Immigration Clinic launched its Citizenship Project, free citizenship sessions to help USC students, staff, faculty and community members complete and file naturalization applications.

More than 200 members of the Trojan Family enrolled in the workshops, which were held on the University Park campus and Health Sciences campus in East Los Angeles in September and early December.

Stellar Scholars Three prominent faculty – nationally recognized cybersecurity authority Orin Kerr, leading commercial law and finance expert Michael Simkovic and Franita Tolson, an award-winning voting rights expert –  joined USC Gould this academic year.

Celebrated Journal The Southern California Law Review (SCLR) marked its 90th year, an impressive milestone for the prestigious scholarly publication. Later in the year, the SCLR honored three of its editors.

Clinton Fellows: Sujata Awasthi, Shana Emile, Kelly McVey

Top Trio Three USC law grads began applying their public interest skills on a global scale when they joined the Clinton Foundation this fall as Clinton-Orfalea-Brittingham Fellows.This was the first time that three Gould students have been selected simultaneously.

Class of 2020 In August we welcomed an incoming class that is one of the most diverse in our history. Overall, 40 percent of the first-year JDs are of color and many are the first in their families to attend college. Meanwhile, our new LLMs hail from 42 countries across the globe and come with a variety of professional backgrounds.

A Critical Test Prof. Thomas Lyon launched the nation’s first project on child witness testimony, with the goal of gathering more accurate information. Specifically, Prof. Lyon will examine whether open-ended, nonjudgmental questions prompt more detailed narratives from children — as they have proven in a lab setting.

First-Year Flip In the spring issue of the USC Law magazine, we introduced our readers to four future lawyers who illustrate the range of backgrounds and cultures at USC Gould.

Tax Time As the tax cut bill made its way through Congress, three of our faculty – Edward Kleinbard, Edward McCaffery, Michael Simkovic – shared their expertise with the media, penning op-eds and appearing on radio and TV.

In addition, Prof. Kleinbard hosted a discussion, “Tax Reform: Perspectives From Across the Nation” on Oct. 25, featuring experts with Tax Analysts and the American Bar Foundation. And Prof. McCaffery launched the People’s Tax Page, with the goal of teaching people about tax and economic policy in a manner that anyone can understand.

Showing Up for Veterans Students from the Public Interest Law Foundation (PILF) are partnering with the Veterans

One of Gould’s Peer Mentors advises two new students at Orientation.

Legal Institute (VLI) to conduct the USC/VLI Veterans Legal Clinic here on campus. 2L Matthew Saria, president of PILF, said that PILF decided to launch an on-campus veterans’ clinic for myriad reasons. “I have family members who served in the military,” Saria said. “So I know firsthand how veterans deserve as much support as we can give them.”