Siblings say sharing law school experience makes them feel even more a part of the ‘Trojan Family’
It’s not that common for siblings to attend the same school at USC.
But for two sibling pairs, attending USC Gould School of Law underscores the value of being prized members of the Trojan Family.
Like parents, like children
Matthew Burkow recalls the seeds of his journey to becoming a USC Gould student just like his older sister, Alexa Burkow (JD 2023).
“It started as a joke in high school,” recalls Matthew, a second-year student who like Alexa attended Brentwood High School.
When one of his high school friends got in a little pickle, he asked Matthew to review the student handbook and asked: “How do I get out of this?”
Matthew perused the fine points of student behavior and school rules and got his buddy off the hook.
Later, that same friend turned to Matthew when Matthew was a USC communications major (just like his sister) after a dispute arose with their landlord.
“I locked myself in a library for a couple of days and wrote a demand letter and got the money back,” Matthew recalls. “I was happy about that. And that’s what got me interested in law school.”
Alexa, who does mergers and acquisitions and other corporate law work for the Chicago office of global law firm White & Case, has been a mentor to her brother.
“I appreciate mentoring people and I wish I had an older sibling in law school who did the same for me,” says Alexa, who was president of the Jewish Law Students Association as well as a peer mentor.
“USC Gould was an amazing experience,” she adds.
Alexa says working with David Kirschner, associate dean for admissions and financial aid, was one of the highlights of her law school experience.
“Alexa and Matthew have worked hard, both in and out of the classroom, to cement their legacy as Double Trojans,” Kirschner says.
The siblings followed their parents into law.
Father Steve is an entertainment transaction lawyer and partner at Ziffren Brittenham in L.A. Mom Judy Friedman Burkow was an in-house entertainment lawyer for Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Animation who transitioned into the nonprofit space.
Both mom and dad went to UCLA Law School.
“We converted them to be Trojans,” Alexa says with a laugh.
Alexa and Matthew’s younger brother, Charlie, is continuing the tradition. The junior is majoring in communications and minoring in business.
“I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know their parents and seeing just how important the Trojan Family is to the Burkow family,” Kirschner says.
Asked if he’s competitive with his sister when it comes to grades, Matthew — who these past two summers worked for Marty Singer at Lavely & Singer PC — says:
“Only if the family dinners go sideways.”
Sisterhood
Adrianna Robakowski played the lead defense attorney for the Big Bad Wolf when she was in the second grade. She got him acquitted.
Running around the “courtroom” watching Adrianna act was her sister, Bella.
“She really was the one who burned the law school path in the family,” Bella, a third-year student, notes with a smile.
Adrianna (JD 2023) practices corporate law in the Orange County office of Latham & Watkins. She earned her undergraduate degree in journalism (magna cum laude) from USC and graduated as a member of Order of the Coif.
She served as a senior editor of the Southern California Law Review, worked in the clinic as a student mediator, and was an executive officer of both the Business Law Society and the Sports Law Society.
Bella, who served as an executive officer for both Sports Law Society (co-president) and Business Law Society (transactional law dinner chair), works directly in operations for USC Football and will work as a corporate attorney at Simpson, Thacher, & Bartlett LLP in Century City after she graduates in May.
“The training I will receive and the opportunity to be mentored and molded by people who are excellent in what they do is what I’m most excited about when I start there,” Bella says.
Both Adrianna and Bella, a USC public policy undergraduate who graduated summa cum laude, were USC Song Girls, though their tenures did not overlap.
“I met a lot of mentors through that experience,” Adrianna notes.
Adds Bella: “It just connects you more to the university, putting on the cardinal and gold.”
Adrianna and Bella grew up in Beverly Hills and were valedictorians at Newbury Park High School.
Their father, Peter, works in procurement for a biotech company and their mother, Alisa, a USC alum, was a public relations writer for USC Athletics.
Asked if she and Bella are competitive, Adrianna says: “I feel like I have offered my opinion more than Bella would want, but I see my success as her success and vice versa.”
In addition, Kirschner commended the Robakowski sisters on their wide-ranging involvement in the USC community.
“If there are two people who personify what it is to be a Trojan, it is Adrianna and Bella,” he says. “From their time as undergraduates, to the impact they’ve had as law students, which includes work with athletics, clinical programs, and student organizations, they’ve demonstrated that they are the best of what USC has to offer. While at the same time their bond as sisters and with family has always shined through.”
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