UCLI Associate Director Jon Wayas recently participated in a panel discussion with fellow Utah Attorneys at the Federal Bar Association’s national Convention in Memphis, TN. The panel was a chance to highlight the inclusion efforts being made by various organizations across Utah’s legal community. As a result of this panel, Jon Wayas was interviewed by an editor at the website Law 360. The interview and subsequent article are a great opportunity to highlight UCLI on a national level. The article can be read here or here.
This year was a year of change for the staff of the Utah Center for Legal Inclusion office! This summer we said goodbye to Layla Shaaban and Lizzie Jarrett, and welcomed Emily Zárate who joined as UCLI’s new Administrative Coordinator in September 2022. We are each grateful for the chance to be part of this organization and to work towards UCLI’s mission. Here are some of our 2022 highlights:
Kaitlyn: I loved working with UCLI’s interns and board members to launch UCLI’s first ever Fundraiser Luncheon. It was a first for all of us, and putting it together took collaboration and creativity. When we started advertising the event to legal employers in the state we had no idea what type of response we would get. We were thrilled when over 200 people attended, and when many of those attendees told us that it was a very “not boring” event – which I have learned is high praise in the legal community. This was all thanks to the dynamic presenters who shared their stories and passion. I also loved watching Justice Durham’s surprise when the Fellowship in her name was announced.
Jon: The UCLI Pre-law Symposiums were the highlight of this year for me. It took incredible collaboration and effort to make these happen. I made it to and through law school almost by happenstance. I know I made many mistakes along the way. It was truly an honor to work with so many great professionals to provide resources and encouragement to over 125 aspiring future lawyers who will hopefully now have a clearer path to law school and practice.
Emily: For me, the highlight of this year was working closely with UCLI’s interns to create outreach videos. It was incredible being able to collaborate with such creative interns and staff to find the right production company, create video concepts and then execute and watch our ideas come to life. It was such a privilege to have been able to interview many inspirational individuals who play a huge role in advancing goals of equity in the state of Utah. This project has been extremely rewarding because I know that these outreach videos will inspire someone out there to go to law school.
Other big milestones and accomplishments in 2022 include a new partnership with the 4H Refugee Youth Internship Program, the launch of the Utah Legal Inclusion Fellowship, scholarship awards for LSAT preparation and Bar review, and many other great developments that have expanded UCLI’s reach to a greater number of young people, undergraduates, and law students in Utah.
As 2022 draws to a close, it is gratifying to reflect upon everything that has been accomplished within the Utah Center for Legal Inclusion and in our broader Utah community. We are so grateful to all of you for contributing to these important causes. The good that was done this year would not have been possible without your passion and efforts. This newsletter highlights just a few of the many notable achievements of 2022, and we hope you feel pride and satisfaction as you review these successes.
Over the last six months, UCLI’s interns have been lucky to hear from various leaders in Utah’s legal profession and beyond. Included among those who have taken the time to speak to our interns are Judge Clem Landau, Melinda Bowen, Che Arguello, Kate Conyers, Jesse Nix, Sadé Turner, Amber Stargell, David Bowen, Brigham Daniels, Sarah Martinez, Ryan Williams, Jacqueline Rosen, and more.
The purpose behind these weekly meetings is to expose our interns–– many of whom are included among those groups who have been historically underrepresented–– to a variety of legal professionals and careers, and to make these individuals accessible to the interns. We have discussed clerkships, environmental law, family law, corporate law, nontraditional legal paths, criminal law, and others. In the coming months, we anticipate inviting attorneys who practice family law, immigration law, human rights law, federal law, and more, to connect with our interns and to help in laying a foundation for their confidence in becoming attorneys themselves.
We are grateful for those individuals who have agreed to present to our interns, and we are looking forward to continuing to learn from attorneys inside and outside the Utah legal community. If you or someone you know might be interested in speaking with UCLI’s interns in the coming months, please email us at .
Salt Lake City, Utah: The Utah Center for Legal Inclusion (UCLI), a nonprofit organization whose mission is to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion within Utah’s legal profession, has announced that the organization has opened enrollment for its mentoring program. UCLI is seeking current law students from historically underrepresented backgrounds to enroll in this program where they will be paired with two current attorneys.
The main purpose of this program is to empower students from historically underrepresented groups to thrive in the legal profession by connecting them with current attorneys as mentors. It is designed to build a sense of belonging in Utah’s legal community, to expose mentees to a wide range of career opportunities, and to help mentees develop the necessary professional skills to succeed in law school and beyond.
The mentoring program benefits law students from numerous backgrounds who may not traditionally have access to mentorship. As one student wrote, “My mentors seem like they are very dedicated to their roles as mentors [and] they’ve made it clear that no conversation is off the table. I love this. […] [They are] incredibly valuable to those of us who are embarking on this journey somewhat blindly.“
Salt Lake City, Utah: The Utah Center for Legal Inclusion (UCLI), a nonprofit organization whose mission is to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion within Utah’s legal profession, has announced that the organization has opened enrollment for its mentoring program. UCLI is seeking current Utah attorneys from all backgrounds and expertise to enroll in this program. Enrolled mentors will work in tandem with another attorney and law student as a mentoring group.
The main purpose of this program is to empower law students from historically underrepresented groups to thrive in the legal profession by connecting them with practicing Utah attorneys as mentors. It is designed to build a sense of belonging in Utah’s legal community, to expose mentees to a wide range of career opportunities, and to help mentees develop the necessary professional skills to succeed in law school and beyond.
For those law students from numerous backgrounds who may not traditionally have access to mentorship, attorney mentors can make all the difference. As one of our enrolled law students shared, her mentors “made it clear that no conversation is off the table… [They are] incredibly valuable to those of us who are embarking on this journey somewhat blindly.“
For this and other law students, real mentorship can be hard to come by and we need your help to close that gap.
Attorneys across the state of Utah want to help build Utah’s students dreams–– including those of being a lawyer. The busy life of an attorney can make it difficult, however, to prepare effectively for a student presentation.
In order to make it easier on attorneys to feel prepared to present to these students, UCLI has begun building out a curriculum for attorneys visiting different elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, and even universities across the state. This curriculum will include PowerPoint presentations, printable handouts, demographic-specific videos, and law-related activities.
At UCLI, we aim to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in Utah’s legal profession. This week, three Utah-based law students–– Sarah Martinez, Ryan Williams, and Jackie Rosen–– published a status report of current trends, and we are thrilled to share “Looking In and Leading Out.” It is illuminating, important, introspective, and extremely well-done. Take a look!
UCLI’s Associate Director, Ling Ritter, has officially begun preparing for her legal career. Accepted into Stanford Law School as a Knight-Hennessy fellow–– one of the most competitive fellowships in the country–– she is taking a few months to be with family before she enrolls this fall semester. “Quote about UCLI”
As Ling steps into this new phase, she will be replaced by former Education Program Director, Kacey Sorenson. Kacey joined UCLI’s team in 2020 as an intern and transitioned into the Program Director position at the beginning of 2021. During her time as Program Director, Sorenson focused her efforts on building and rolling out UCLI’s pilot of the Utah Law Student Mentoring Program. She is looking forward to this new position, saying that “The team and work at UCLI is unmatched, and I am so excited to work closely with our beneficiaries and continue in this new capacity.”
UCLI is excited to also announce a brand-new staff position and member. After a competitive, 3-round application process with 16 other applicants–– the most that UCLI has ever seen–– Layla Shaaban has accepted a position as UCLI’s Administrative Coordinator. Formerly a UCLI intern, Layla says she is “”.
For future opportunities to work with UCLI, subscribe to our newsletter and keep an eye on our “Careers” page.
As a nonprofit “best practice,” one of our goals at the Utah Center for Legal Inclusion is to begin standardizing and making available all of our program materials. In contrast to for-profit industries, this is considered a “best practice” because our focus is an issue, not a product. Thus, in theory, if our answer to a problem works and we can circulate and make available our solution as thoroughly as possible, we won’t need to exist anymore. Again, in contrast to for-profit industries, the goal of nonprofits is to not need to exist anymore. As it stands, however, we are actively engaged in addressing the issue of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the Utah legal profession.
One of our programs includes our intern program. In an effort to standardize and make available our materials, we have created and distributed a program manual. These efforts were led by Lead Intern Isa Buoscio (pictured below). In 2021, we have brought on more interns than ever before, and they have quickly become the heart and soul of our organization. This year’s interns include Isa Buoscio, Layla Shaaban, Lizzie Jarrett, Jacob Buchanan, Lauren Nelson, Aranza Castillo, Bryn Linderman, Taylor Percival, Collin Mitchell, Ivan Brea, and Caity McKee. All in various stages of their undergraduate careers and representing a diversity of backgrounds and identities, we are so grateful for each of their contributions. They consistently demonstrate leadership, thoughtfulness, and passion as they carry out their assigned projects.
We aim to provide an internship experience that introduces them as much to the nonprofit world as it does to the world of law, that connects them with like-minded individuals who understand the urgency of our mission, and that lays a foundation–– albeit unusual–– of insight into the current realities and future possibilities of Utah’s legal profession.
Interested in joining the UCLI team as an intern? Send a resume and cover letter to for the chance to join us in Fall 2021.
Pictured: 2021 UCLI Interns (Winter and Summer)
Lizzie Jarrett, Aranza Castillo, Layla Shaaban, Lauren Nelson, Caity McKee, Taylor Percival, Ivan Brea, Collin Mitchell, Bryn Linderman, Isa Buoscio. Not pictured: Jacob Buchanan
As a nonprofit “best practice,” one of our goals at the Utah Center for Legal Inclusion is to begin standardizing and making available all of our program materials. In contrast to for-profit industries, this is considered a “best practice” because our focus is an issue, not a product. Thus, in theory, if our answer to a problem works and we can circulate and make available our solution as thoroughly as possible, we won’t need to exist anymore. Again, in contrast to for-profit industries, the goal of nonprofits is to not need to exist anymore. As it stands, however, we are actively engaged in addressing the issue of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the Utah legal profession.
One of our programs includes the Utah Law Student Mentoring Program. In an effort to standardize and make available our program materials, we have created and distributed a program manual. Law student mentees meet monthly with their assigned attorney mentors and work through the goals they set together at the beginning of their mentorship. By consulting with each other and the program manual, all three can work together to work through some of the more challenging questions that students from historically underrepresented backgrounds face as they consider a career in law.
We hope you enjoy flipping through our mentoring program manual! If you have questions or suggestions, please contact us at .
