As the new semester gets underway, students are jumping with both feet into our “new normal,” honing remote advocacy skills in web-based hearings, mediations and even appellate arguments. Connections with clients have long been a cornerstone of their training, and our students have embraced new ways to build rapport with clients over computer screens and through masks.
We all yearn for connection in these days of social distance. Last month we celebrated our community in the Clinics Centennial Day party, sharing our updates and hearing your favorite clinic memories. We are grateful to so many supporters for joining us to toast the Law School's 100th birthday, and for your Centennial gifts to kick off our next 100 years of fighting for justice.
Our virtual gathering highlighted a silver lining to our social distance – the ability to gather without the inconvenience of travel. Similarly, Loyola Project for the Innocent’s recent speaker series reached attendees from across the country who joined us to reimagine justice. We are heartened to see our message for change connecting with an ever-wider audience despite physical separation.
Our clinics continue to change the narrative for our clients every day. The same week that LPI stood with Emon Barnes’ mother as she welcomed Emon back from 19 years in prison, the Juvenile Justice Clinic stood with a youth whose case was dismissed after students Ryan Day ’20, Vanessa del Real ’21, and Valerie Keval ‘21 helped prove she’d been wrongly identified. All of this is made possible because of the strength of our community. The stories we share with you today are but a fraction of what your support enables us to achieve.
For further updates, please follow us on Twitter @LLSJustice.
-Elizabeth Bluestein