On Friday June 14th, UCLI hosted its fourth 2025 Pre-Law Fellowship seminar at Strong & Hanni. Strong & Hanni is one of Salt Lake City’s longstanding, full-service law firms, established in 1888 and based downtown. UCLI is truly grateful for the opportunity they had to use their offices for a seminar and for the law firm’s generosity in providing Fellows with a tour of the firm, as well as hosting a “Life in the Law” panel featuring inspiring attorneys.
The seminar began with an amazing presentation given by Sir Williams, a consultant with Spivey Consulting. With over a decade of experience in law school admissions -most recently as the director of admissions at the University of Wisconsin Law School. Sir has helped navigate many different students in their journey of applying for law school and he provided that same enthusiasm to the Fellows in the meeting. The main topic of the presentation was how Fellows can strengthen their personal and diversity statements in their law school applications. He shared great insights on what to share in a personal statement, for instance, the personal statement is meant to be an interview, a way for the admissions office to know and understand who you are. Some tips he shared for the personal statement included that it must be memorable, informative, and in the student’s own voice. Overall, he shared advice to the Fellows and then spent time with them one on one throughout the duration of the seminar.
After Sir Williams’ presentation the Fellows had an opportunity to meet with current attorney mentors and law student mentors in small groups. They were able to workshop their personal and diverse statements in these groups, as well as ask many different questions about what it is like working in the legal field and going through law school. This gave the Fellows a chance to share their concerns and receive outstanding advice from people who have walked a similar path. The Fellows were then given a tour of the law firm and met different lawyers in their work environment. This showed the Fellows a glimpse into the work life of an attorney and also provided them with a practical experience of networking with legal professionals.
The final event of the seminar was a “Life in the Law” panel, featuring Strong & Hanni attorneys Casey Jones, Savannah Jones, and Eli Liggett. Casey Jones focuses on real estate and business transactional matters, Savannah’s practice focuses exclusively on health care, and Eli works on the aviation, construction, and insurance defense teams. All three of these attorneys are outstanding in their respective sections and brought a diversity of background and thought to the panel. They shared insights on their time at law school and how they identified their specific fields of law to work in. When asked for advice on how to be a good attorney in the future, Savannah shared “you can still be a good human while doing what you need to do.” Casey offered the helpful insight:, “leave the ego out the door.” Eli’s advice was to “ask for help, and say no to nothing. Make sure to utilize the people around you.” Each one of these attorneys gave outstanding advice to the Fellows, making the conclusion of the Fellowship seminar very memorable.
UCLI would like to again thank Sir Williams and Strong & Hanni law firm for their amazing cooperation. They helped the fellows develop new skills along with building their confidence in their decisions in pursuing a career in the legal field.
Fellows Receiving Advice from a Law Student Mentor
“Life in the Law” Panel, Featuring Strong & Hanni Attorneys Casey Jones, Savannah Jones, and Eli Liggett
A Fellow and Mentor working on a Personal Statement
