UC Law SF Celebrates 30 Years of Community Justice Clinics
Students and professors past and present were among those who gathered to celebrate the 30th anniversary of UC Law SF’s Community Justice Clinics on Sept. 28.
Over the last 30 years, UC Law SF鈥檚 top-rated community justice clinics have trained well over 1,000 future attorneys, allowing them to gain practical lawyering skills while serving the community.
Associate Dean of Experiential Learning and Center for Social Justice Co-Director Gail Silverstein served as master of ceremonies for the event.
This fall, a large group of past clinic students gathered with their former professors and classmates — joined by current clinic students, instructors, staff members, and supporters — to mark the 30th anniversary of UC Law SF鈥檚 Community Justice Clinics.
鈥淭his event celebrates our top-ranked clinical program鈥檚 many years of student learning and service to the community,鈥 said Associate Dean of Experiential Learning Gail Silverstein. 鈥淚t also shows UC Law SF鈥檚 commitment to experiential learning and community service.鈥
It all started in 1990 when the late Professor Emerita Bea Moulton began working to secure $1 million in funding from the California Legislature to launch the law school鈥檚 in-house clinical program, starting with the Civil Justice Clinic in 1993.
The late Professor Emerita Bea Molton was honored with a memorial table at the event.
Since then, UC Law SF鈥檚 clinical program 鈥 now ranked among the top 25 in the U.S. 鈥 has grown to encompass more than a dozen community-justice-focused clinics that specialize in multiple practice areas, including child welfare, environmental law, immigrants鈥 rights, mediation, workers鈥 rights, and more.
At the , Provost & Academic Dean Morris Ratner acknowledged some of the law school鈥檚 earliest and longest-serving clinical professors, including Mark Aaronson, Miye Goishi, Asciano Piomelli, Shauna Marshall, and Nancy Stuart.
鈥淭ogether they built what we now see 30 years later as a vibrant and essential element of our academic program,鈥 Ratner said.
Professor Blaine Bookey celebrated the career of Emerita Professor Kate Bloch in an emotional speech.
Attendees also paid tribute to two recently retired clinical professors: Kate Bloch and Carol Izumi. Bloch, who joined the faculty in 1991, co-taught the Criminal Practice Clinic and spent over 10 years supporting a Haitian law school 鈥 l鈥櫭塩ole Sup茅rieure Catholique de Droit de J茅r茅mie 鈥 as it developed a legal clinic that represents Haitians stuck in long-term pretrial detention.
Bloch鈥檚 former student and colleague, UC Law SF Professor Blaine Bookey ’09, described Bloch as an exceptional teacher and mentor who has worked tirelessly to support not only her own students and colleagues, but also the Haitian people and its legal education community.
鈥淚 think that her secret is the deep care and attention she provides in a very demanding but nonjudgmental way that gives her disciples the skills and the confidence to just get out there and do what we were meant to do,鈥 Bookey said.
Jeremy Chan ’19 praised his mentor and former professor, Carol Izumi, in a heartfelt speech.
Izumi directed UC Law SF鈥檚 Mediation Clinic from 2010 to 2020, but long before that, she gained national prominence as a pioneer of mediation clinical pedagogy in law schools.
Her former student Jeremy Chan 鈥19 said Izumi inspired him to pursue a postgraduate elder mediation project that helped kickstart his career, leading him to his current job as Staff Attorney at .
鈥淭hat’s just one of the ways that she’s nurtured her students and the community, whether it’s through the Mediation Clinic or the Asian Pacific American Law Students Association or supporting current students or students in their postgraduate immediate endeavors, her heart really shines through in all of those things,鈥 he said.
Professor “Big Harp George” Bisharat performed his song, “Take a Knee” via Zoom video conference.
The celebration program ended with a special performance by blues musician 鈥淏ig Harp George鈥 Bisharat, a longtime UC Law SF professor who co-taught the Criminal Practice Clinic with Bloch for over two decades. He performed his song, 鈥淭ake a Knee,鈥 alluding to the racial justice movement started by former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick in 2016.
鈥淲hen we’re talking about civil justice or social justice, we are often talking about racial justice as well,鈥 he said. 鈥淭hat’s why I thought this song would be particularly fitting to honor the work of the clinics and especially these two beloved, tireless, effective advocates for social justice, Kate Bloch and Carol Izumi.鈥