A Shared Journey

Admitted students visit USC Gould for Law Day 2013

Story and photos by Maria Iacobo

The Class of 2016 doesn’t officially begin law school until August, but prospective members met last week for a sneak peek at the courses, faculty and classmates who will shape their experiences should they decide to attend. About 90 admitted students attended Law Day 2013, learning about student life, how to get involved in public interest activities or obtain externships, and how to tap into the law school’s alumni network. The students came from 18 states including Florida, Massachusetts and Alaska.

Dean Robert K. Rasmussen and Dean of Admissions Chloe Reid welcomed the prospective students after a continental breakfast in Crocker Plaza. The students spent the morning meeting faculty members and attending panels on clinical programs and externships, international programs, IP programs and student life topics.

SBA President Megan Hopkins '13

During lunch at Town and Gown, admitted students sat among faculty, staff, current students and alumni. Megan Hopkins ’13, Student Bar Association president, told the group that she cherished being part of the USC Gould community. She said her classmates were “kind and generous, exciting and interesting and from a whole host of backgrounds,” in addition to being bright and focused law students.

Hopkins shared a story from her first year at law school in which she spent her spring break working on a public service project with upperclassmen.

“I was one of 50 students to go to New Orleans,” Hopkins says. “I worked with the office of the public defender during the day. At night, we all went out together and explored the city and enjoyed Bourbon Street – which is fantastic.

“But what was most important to me as a first-year student was I was there with second- and third-year students and created bonds with people I might not have met. I found that USC… gave me an environment in which I might forge relationships with those people, creating a bond that you might not have at a much larger university.”

The Honorable Jay Gandhi ’97, a United States magistrate judge for the Central District of California delivered the keynote address. Judge Gandhi is the second Indian-American federal judge in the U.S. and the first such judge in California. He shared the story of his father’s immigration from India to Northern California and the hardship he endured while earning money to attend community college to begin a career and raise a family. Justice Gandhi said he shared that story because he felt many visiting students had a similar background.

Justice Jay Gandhi '97

“You probably come from humble origins, or at least foreign ones to the practice of law,” Justice Gandhi told the students. “None of that matters when the right doors of opportunity open up for you. For me, it was USC that opened those doors and opened them wide.”

Recounting his years as a law student, Justice Gandhi said USC Gould fostered collaboration among the student body; the small sections allowed them to form relationships that endure today. He called his law school years “a shared journey” with his classmates.

Noting that the Trojan Network spans generations, Justice Gandhi said that after completing a clerkship, he applied for a position at Paul Hastings, where a former classmate interviewed him and endorsed him to the partners. When he became a senior partner of the firm, his champion was a USC Gould student from the Class of 1975.

Afternoon sessions included a mock class in criminal law taught by Roy P. Crocker Professor of Law Jody Armour, and panel sessions on academic honors programs and judicial clerkships, careers and the Trojan network.