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Urah Goh, Intern

The Pre-Law Fellowship Has Begun!

By News

On Saturday March 9, 2024, UCLI held the first Pre-Law Fellowship Workshop at the Kirton McConkie offices in Salt Lake City. The 2024 UCLI & Kirton McConkie Pre-Law Fellowship is designed to diversify the field of law in Utah by providing Fellows with access to a paid LSAT course, mentorship, individual consultations with a law school application consultant, and reimbursements for expenses related to the LSAT and applying to law school. Fellows will participate in an enriching monthly workshop that focuses on law school and their future legal careers.  We were delighted to host our cohort of 10 highly accomplished Fellows at our Saturday workshop, where they were introduced to the program and able to meet some key individuals who helped make this Fellowship possible. 

After Fellowship program coordinators Kaitlyn Pieper and Jon Wayas gave an overview of the Fellowship and discussed UCLI’s mission of equity and inclusion, Kirton McConkie’s administrative coordinator Ken Olson gave a short presentation on the firm and their contributions to Utah’s legal profession. At Kirton McConkie, nearly half of all hired attorneys speak a second language and represent a wide range of clients. The Fellows’ monthly workshops are at a different venue each time, either at a Utah law firm or law school, exposing them to a variety of legal professionals and environments. If your firm would like to host these Fellows in 2024, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Following a get-to-know-you activity, we had the pleasure of hearing from leading LSAT instructor at Ace Test Preparation, Brent Dunn, who gave the Fellows an overview of the LSAT and included practical tips and tricks for approaching the exam. Lastly, Fellows got to have lunch with several of Kirton McConkie’s lawyers who gave helpful insights to law school and the life of an attorney. UCLI is elated to watch the Fellows flourish in their future endeavors through the Pre-Law Fellowship. 

We would like to thank Ken Olson and Kirton McConkie marketing director Brooke Wright for providing the venue, for attending the workshop, and for all of their contributions to this Fellowship. Thank you to Brent Dunn for presenting and offering his expertise on the LSAT. We also extend our gratitude to our sponsors Kirton McConkie, University of Utah Office of General Counsel, LSAC DEI Pipeline, Utah Bar Foundation, and Family Law Executive Committee Bar Section for their invaluable contributions to this program. 

Legal Workshop on General Housing Issues

By News

UCLI and Women of the World’s legal workshop series includes six free workshops aimed to enhance attendees’ knowledge of the law and their rights. Just one more workshop is left in this series and will be held on July 20 from 5:30-6:30 pm, covering housing and rent discrimination. We highly encourage anyone interested in learning more about housing and rent law to attend. Our fifth workshop was held on July 13, 2023 at the Women of the World offices with Daniel Crook, seasoned attorney at Utah Legal Services and specialist in landlord/tenant law, as the presenter. Crook was able to give a thorough overview of general housing issues, while also answering specific questions and concerns from workshop attendees. He recommended reaching out to organizations that aim for equality and justice, just like Women of the World and UCLI, for advice, resources, or a community in the event that a difficult housing issue arises. The workshop atmosphere was very informative and interactive. Throughout the event, Crook stressed the importance of knowing your rights and understanding what is deemed most important in legal proceedings. When asked for his biggest piece of legal advice concerning housing, Crook firmly responded with:

“There are a few things that you should always always do. Pay your rent, get everything in writing, communicate with your landlord, don’t just ignore things, especially don’t ignore eviction notices. And don’t let your landlord lock you without a court order, that’s illegal.”

We would like to thank Daniel Crook for providing his legal expertise at our fifth workshop. We would also like to thank Ghinwa Hneide for facilitating this event and serving as an Arabic translator. Thank you to Alan Dalloul Dalul who served as a Spanish translator. Lastly, thank you to Prime Corn for providing fantastic catering for this event.

             

Join us for future sessions of the workshops, and spread the word to your friends with refugee and immigrant backgrounds; flier below.

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Legal Workshop on Divorce and Custody

By News

This summer, UCLI is delighted to be collaborating with Women of the World to facilitate six legal workshops to help enhance the community’s knowledge of the law. Women of the World is a nonprofit organization that aims to empower displaced women through customized service, community building, and economic empowerment. We want these workshops to align strongly with UCLI and Women of the World’s goal to foster safe, inclusive spaces. They are open to anyone, especially those with an immigrant or refugee background, who want to enhance their awareness of their rights and ask any questions they may have to a professional. The next four sessions will cover immigration, workplace discrimination, general housing issues, as well as housing and rent discrimination. 

Our second workshop was held on June 8th, 2023. At this workshop, experienced attorney and UCLI Board Member, Sadé Turner presented on Divorce & Custody matters. Turner practices civil litigation at Strong & Hanni law firm, specializing in family law and insurance-related issues. During this session, Turner spoke about protective orders, the rights of the parties in a custody battle, domestic violence, and much more. She opened the floor for questions and interacted with the workshop attendees. The process was highly interactive and informative, allowing all attendees to voice their concerns. 

For those seeking direct legal assistance, Turner recommended the Tuesday Night Bar at the Utah Law & Justice Center located at 645 South 200 East in Salt Lake City, UT. This service is held on the first four Tuesdays of each month between 5:30 and 7:00 pm. Volunteer attorneys will be present to provide consultations free of charge. 

We would like to thank Sadé Turner and her contributions to making the world of law more inclusive and accessible through this workshop. We would also like to thank Ghinwa Hneide, WoW’s case manager, for facilitating the event and for interpreting the workshop into Arabic for non-native English speakers. Lastly, a big thank you to Zaatar and Zayton, a Spice Kitchen Entrepreneur, for providing delicious catering for the event.


Join us for future sessions of the workshops, and spread the word to your friends with refugee and immigrant backgrounds; flier below.

Read More

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