Reflecting on the past three years, my time in the Youth Defender Clinic at EBCLC was one of the highlights of my law school journey. During my year as a legal intern at EBCLC I was able to do real lawyering work: I drafted motions, conducted legal research, represented clients in court, communicated with community partners, and met with clients at their homes. My experience helped me understand what it means to be an advocate and use the law to serve youth. I was supervised by incredible attorneys who were extremely dedicated and passionate about their work. I will always be grateful for the wisdom I received from Cancion, Ellen, and Atasi during our drives to meet clients. They made me comfortable asking them questions about their legal trajectories and offered genuine advice. I am very grateful for my time at EBCLC, because I left feeling more principled in my commitment to public interest legal work and more certain about my legal path.
Written by Jamilah McMillan
University of California, Berkeley School of Law, Class of 2024
East Bay Community Law Center, Youth Defender Clinic