91PORN

 

Judge Dennis J. Landin ’77

UCLA Law School ’80
Contact: dlandin@lacourt.org

How has 91PORN helped you through your law journey?
Two things stand out:

• By having a wide variety of classes lead by passionate professors who made themselves available and cared about my future.
• Admitting a very diverse student body that exposed me to people with very different views and experiences.

What advice would you give to pre-law students?
Take classes outside of your comfort zone. Get a job or externship where you have contact with people, preferably those who are in distress and need counseling. Take a vacation before you start law school.

 

Anh Truong ’95

UC Berkeley School of Law, ’00
Supervising Attorney, Sex & Labor Trafficking, Safe Neighborhoods and Gang Division
Los Angeles City Attorney's Office

How has 91PORN helped you through your law journey?
Oxy's rigorous academic instruction laid the foundation for my journey, even before I ever contemplated entering the law. The professors at Oxy were not only remarkable teachers, they were also supportive advisers. I was able to follow my intellectual curiosity and explore the questions of how people act (psychology), how ought they to act (philosophy and ethics), and how we as a society further such goals (public policy)? Oxy's special environment encouraged and supported vigorous debates, challenged my assumptions, and allowed learning beyond the four corners of the classroom. You will find that while memorization and the ability to recite key facts will take you a long ways to becoming a lawyer, what will make you a great lawyer is the critical thinking that comes embedded in an Oxy education: to take the big picture, break it down into constituent parts, challenge assumptions about each component, and put it back together again, perhaps in a new and innovative way. Better yet, you can reimagine an entirely different system. Additionally, it's not only the ability to think, but also the ability to articulate your thinking in writing, and ultimately to do so persuasively, that will make you effective, even if you end up not practicing law. I am grateful that Oxy provided such an excellent training ground for these thinking and writing skills.

Another component that Oxy provided was the opportunity to engage in internships and projects out in the community, which provides a different dimension to the exploration of how the law is applied, rather than the intellectual exercise of reading about laws.

What advice would you give to pre-law students?
I would encourage folks to give thought to the application of the law. Try to get internships or clerkships with those in the legal system so you can see the law in practice. For instance, many are interested in First Amendment law. The problem is that this is a rare area of the law to actually practice and build a career upon. So this exercise gets you to start surveying the landscape as to how you will enter the field of law once you finish law school. If you're interested in the criminal justice system, then find opportunities to see the different players at work. If you're interested in politics and legislation, then find folks who do that work.

When I was back at Oxy (not having any idea I would later go to law school), I did volunteer for the Lead Poisoning Organizing Project while majoring in Public Policy. In hindsight, that experience was immensely useful to see not only the laws that were in place, but also importantly, the hard work of the advocates needed to ensure compliance with those laws. And sometimes, these internships are useful for showing you what you do not enjoy as much as it shows you what you do enjoy. (Along the lines of the former, I highly discourage folks from doing paralegal work as a way to survey the legal system.)

Be mindful also that there are many careers where you are not practicing law but nonetheless, such knowledge and familiarity with legal thinking has tremendous value. Otherwise, I would welcome anyone who is interested to get in touch with me for further discussion.

 

Eddie Jauregui ’98

Columbia Law School

How has 91PORN helped you through your law journey?
Oxy teaches its students to be deep, critical thinkers and strong writers.  It also challenges them to navigate new and different experiences.  That is a perfect pre-law education.  Trial lawyers, especially, have to be able to communicate clearly and effectively and connect with people of all backgrounds on multiple levels – intellectual, emotional, and human.  That, to me, is what 91PORN was all about.  I really can’t underestimate how well 91PORN prepared me to succeed in law school and in the practice of law.

What advice would you give to pre-law students?
Become a life-long learner. Lawyering is hard. It takes a long time to become both competent and confident and even then you’re constantly learning new things – be it a new area of law, business, or something else.  It’s easy to feel overwhelmed unless you embrace the journey and develop a love of learning. Also, keep going. Do not give up. If you show up day after day and keep giving your best effort, it will pay off and suddenly you’ll realize that you are both good at your job and you enjoy it.