CHANGEMAKER SEPTEMBER 2022 ISSUETHE MAGAZINE "PERSEVERE." — Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson
T he ChangeMaker is available to you, our supporters, because you help make change happen in our communities, the legal profession and the lives of our ChangeLawyers scholars, fellows, alumni and extended family. The ChangeMaker will come exclusively to ChangeLawyers supporters quarterly: every March, June, September and December and feature key updates, articles, news and information about the work and stories of California WeChangeLawyers.hopeyouenjoy this edition of “The ChangeMaker”. CALIFORNIA CHANGELAWYERS STAFF (LEFT TO RIGHT): CARLOS AGUILAR, JASJIT SINGH, CHRIS PUNONGBAYAN, STACI L. YOUNG.
3 TABLE CONTENTSOF 4 New Website & Video Message from our ED 6 ChangeLawyers Files SCOTUS Amicus Brief in Support of Affirmative Action 8 Alumni & Scholar Voice: Meet Gladys Hernandez 14 Alumni Survey Results 16 Save the Date: The NextGen Awards 18 Other Ways to Support
C alifornia ChangeLawyers just completed our website overhaul. The new website is a much better vehicle for telling the story and impact of California ChangeLawyers as a community foundation. NEW LAUNCHEDWEBSITE A few highlights are the scholars and fellows directory, funding opportunities, events library, ways to support, and much more! We want to shout out our Content Director, Carlos, for making this happen! CHECK OUT OUR NEW WEBSITE: WWW.CHANGELAWYERS.ORG
5 A WELCOME MESSAGE ON THE NEW WEBSITE
You can view the brief HERE . The hearing on the cases is scheduled for October 31, 2022.
SCOTUS AMICUS BRIEF CHANGELAWYERS FILES SCOTUS AMICUS BRIEF IN SUPPORT OF AFFIRMATIVE ACTION S
everal weeks ago, California ChangeLawyers filed our firstever SCOTUS amicus brief on the pending affirmative action cases involving Harvard and University of North Carolina. This was a joint effort between ChangeLawyers and Equal Justice Society, with generous pro bono services from Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. The brief highlights the harm incurred by a generation of Californians since the passage of Prop 209; cautioning the rest of the country to not follow in California's footsteps. This is an important perspective that ChangeLawyers sought to highlight for the Court because of the downstream impact that eliminating affirmative action has had on the lack of diversity in the legal profession.
7 Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Silicon Valley Asian/Pacific Bar Association of BaySacramentoAreaLawyers for Individual BlackFreedomWomen Lawyers Association of Los Angeles Inc. Black Women Lawyers Association of Northern California California Asian Pacific American Bar CaliforniaAssociationAssociation of Black CaliforniaLawyers La Raza Lawyers EarlCruzCharlesCaliforniaAssociationChangeLawyersHoustonBarAssociationReynosoBarAssociationB.GilliamBarAssociation East Bay La Raza Lawyers EqualAssociationJustice Society Equal Rights Advocates Hmong Innovating Politics Iranian American Bar Association, Northern California Chapter John M. Langston Bar Association of Los Angeles, Inc. Latino Community Foundation Muslim Bar Association of Southern RegionCalifornia9of the National Bar SantaAssociationClara County Black Lawyers SocietyAssociationofAmerican Law Teachers Richard T. Fields Bar Association Wiley Manuel Bar Association IN ADDITION TO CALIFORNIA CHANGELAWYERS AND THE EQUAL JUSTICE SOCIETY, THE FOLLOWING ORGANIZATIONS SIGNED ONTO THIS EFFORT:
THE PEOPLE
Gladys Hernandez graduated from San Jose State University with a B.A. in Political Science and earned her Juris Doctor from UC Davis School of Law (King Hall) in May 2022.Gladys Hernandez graduated from San Jose State University with a B.A. in Political Science and earned her Juris Doctor from UC Davis School of Law (King Hall) in May 2022.
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Among key factors that motivated Gladys to pursue a career in law were witnessing employers who continuously exploited her mother’s health and wages, while also witnessing the lack of opportunities available for her then undocumented siblings.
Gladys has volunteered at various community and legal organizations providing Spanish interpretation, conducting client interviews, and assisting clients with court forms. A fierce advocate of partnership and collaboration, Gladys participated in two Citizens’ Police Academy programs throughout the Bay Area where she helped advance improved community policing strategies including by incorporating a more culturally competent approach and adopting de-escalation tactics. 2022-2023 FELLOWSHIP, FOR
ALUMNI SCHOLAR& VOICE: MEET 2019HERNANDEZGLADYS1LSCHOLAR;2020SUMMERFELLOWSHIP,FOR THE PEOPLE; 2022 3L SCHOLAR;
GLADYS HERNANDEZ: California ChangeLawyers has been very instrumental in my legal career. I was very fortunate to be selected as a 1L and 3L ChangeLawyers Scholar. ChangeLawyers also funded my summer internship at For The People during my first year of law school and is partially funding my post-grad fellowship with the same organization (funding provided by California ChangeLawyers, California Lawyers Foundation, and ABA Retirement Funds). Aside from the financial assistance, all of which was indispensable to my academic success, ChangeLawyers has also assisted my professional “I am consistently inspired by all the amazing lawyers of color – both represented in the Board and through guest speakers – and always learn new skills through the Leaders Forum workshop series.”
QUESTION: CAN YOU DESCRIBE
Prior to law school, Gladys obtained a Paralegal A.A. degree and interned at the Santa Clara County DA’s Office. She also worked at a non-profit legal organization assisting with Prop 47 record expungement petitions and continued this work at the Record Clearance Project where she conducted attorney-supervised rap sheet reviews and provided attendees with next steps to secure record expungement relief. During law school, Gladys interned at For The People where she worked on the Sentence Review Project. While there, she helped secure early release for two people who had each served more than a decade in prison. Her law school activities include serving on the Trial Practice Honors Board and participating in King Hall’s Restorative Justice Clinic as well as the Early Release Practicum. Upon obtaining her CA Bar license, Gladys plans to continue her work in public interest and continue to give back to society’s most vulnerable in a meaningful way.
YOUR JOURNEY WITH CALIFORNIA CHANGELAWYERS?
“My background is inextricably linked to everything I do.”
Q: WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU TO BE A CHANGELAWYER?
GH: As an aspiring lawyer of color, I feel a responsibility to provide equitable representation. It is not enough to just be a “good” lawyer or do the bare minimum.
Q: HOW MUCH OF YOUR IDENTITY AND/OR LIVED EXPERIENCE INFORM YOUR WORK AND THE SPACE YOU OCCUPY IN THE LEGAL GH:PROFESSION?
My background is inextricably linked to everything I do. It informs the way I learn, the type of questions I ask, the effort I put into my work.
11 growth and development. I am consistently inspired by all the amazing lawyers of color – both represented in the Board and through guest speakers – and always learn new skills through the Leaders Forum workshop series. I currently volunteer for ChangeLawyers’ Event Committee and look forward to staying as actively involved as I can in such a great organization. Just as ChangeLawyers has helped me reach my potential, I hope to help other aspiring lawyers.
“My lived experiences compel me to listen to each client more attentively, to provide a more explanation,completetowork harder to find a solution.”
My multiple identities – low-income, first-gen college student, bicultural, bilingual, growing up in a mixedimmigration-status family, etc.taught me flexibility, empathy, and how to put myself in other people’s
My lived experiences compel me to listen to each client more attentively, to provide a more complete explanation, to work harder to find a solution. Being on the receiving end of no power, I feel a duty to provide a voice for the voiceless and ensure the right thing is done, even if that requires hard work or demands change in the present system.
GLADYS WITH HER PARENTS AT HER LAW SCHOOL GRADUATION 2022
13 shoes.
Lastly, I want my legal career to show others that it’s okay to be oneself and have fun once in a while. While most lawyer duties involve serious matters, I think having a lightness of spirit can help provide balance and might help reduce some of the illnesses that too often plague the legal profession.“Iwantmy legal career to show others that it’s okay to be oneself and have fun once in a while.” “I’ve realized that lasting and meaningful change can really only be achieved through mutual understanding and partnership.”
I know that in any setting I step in, I’m not just representing myself, but the amalgam of my identities and this consciousness follows me everywhere. I am very grateful for all the contributions I’ve received as a result of my background and hope to represent myself and my community well.
Q: WHAT DO YOU WANT YOUR LAW CAREER TO SAY ABOUT YOU? GH: I want it to be an illustration that anything is possible. I grew up in some of the poorest areas in California and attended some of the worst elementary schools (the kind where most kids are given up on) and yet, I always aspired to something greater, to attain a position where I could affect meaningful change. It took me a long time to finally finish law school, but with perseverance, dedication, and a strong support system (even if that’s just yourself), anything IS possible. It is not easy, not fast, but well worth it. I also want my work to be a testament of collaboration and cooperation. Through my experiences – both in and out of the legal setting – I’ve realized that lasting and meaningful change can really only be achieved through mutual understanding and partnership. Only when both sides feel genuinely heard and understood can the wheels of change begin to turn.
SURVEYALUMNI California ChangeLawyers is home to over 1,200 program alumni. Over the last few years, we’ve conducted alumni engagement and demographic surveys to find out more about our amazing ChangeLawyers alum. Here are some of the results from the 2022 EngagementChangeLawyersCaliforniaAlumniSurvey. UC Berkeley School of Law UC Hastings College of the Law (soon to be renamed) UCLA School of Law UC Davis School of Law From 1995 to Current LAW SCHOOLS SCHOLARSHIPREPRESENTEDMOSTYEARSREPRESENTED
15 DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION LOCATIONS MOST REPRESENTED 35%69%65%84+%BIPOC Between 30-39 LGBTQ+Female Los Angeles San Francisco Bay Area Out of CountySanCentralSanNorthernStateCaliforniaDiegoValley,SacramentoJose,InlandEmpire,Orange29%20%18%14%4% 3% each 2% each First CollegeGenerationStudent62% First in Family to Attend 90%SchoolLaw Low BackgroundIncome69% BackgroundImmigrant62%
OctoberWednesday19th,2022 LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes in Downtown LA SAVE THE DATE
17 2022 SPONSORS* *AS OF AUGUST 25, 2022 San Francisco Giants BECOME A SPONSOR Are you interested in supporting The NextGen Awards 2022? Please contact Staci L. Young to learn more.
WAYS SUPPORTTO Donate One-Time or Monthly Mail a StartDonateCheckStockaPeer2Peer Fundraising Campaign Give Through Your DonorAdvised Fund Access Discounts & Services at CalBarConnect.com List Us as a Cy Pres Beneficiary Be Featured as an Alumni Voice Have Your Company, Firm, or Organization Sponsor a Program or Event Serve on our New Events SignCommitteeUptoBe a Mentor Attend an Event Share Our Page on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook
19 THANK YOU FOR READING AND BEING CHANGEMAKER!A Contact Staci L. Young at staci@changelawyers.org for more information on how to support, or any questions, comments or feedback.
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