Hello Incoming 1Ls!
I’m Jessica and I’m writing you both in my capacity as President of the Legal Education Outreach club at UBC and as an incoming upper year (here to offer you some of the classic, often unsolicited and sometimes useless advice upper years love to dole out to 1Ls).
Firstly, we all have crystal clear memories of the overwhelming feeling of being in a new environment, surrounded by new people, and not knowing what in the world we were actually supposed to be doing or saying. So relax — not only are you still a summer away from starting an intense and rewarding experience, but when September rolls around you will be welcomed by empathetic, disarmingly charming and interesting people (I wouldn’t have agreed to write this blog entry if I couldn’t say this with absolute confidence). Fair warning, they will challenge you but they will also be willing to help you.
Secondly, congratulations! What you’ve accomplished in getting into what is categorically one of the best law schools in the country is impressive. You’ve surely worked very hard to get here. Know that each of you has taken a unique path to law school. You all have different successes and failures. You wowed Admissions with what you have to offer. Now you can start sharing some of your experiences and begin giving back the moment you get to Allard by joining LEO.
What is LEO?
- LEO is a program organized by law students for secondary students.
- We are run through the Faculty of Law and funded by your Law Students Society, the Faculty Association, and the Law Society of BC.
- We are an independent student initiative established in 2008.
LEO volunteers giving a legal education workshop to secondary students.
What is our goal?
To help secondary students explore the study of law and encourage those who are interested in pursuing a path to law school. We specifically focus on connecting with students from schools whose student bodies are underrepresented in law schools and in the legal profession.
But why?
Access to Justice.
There’s an access to justice problem in this country. This is an issue you’re going to have to confront from the moment you walk through the doors at Allard Hall. You may already be one of the many Canadians who has had to face it in your personal life. Even if you aren’t, you certainly care about someone who has. So heads up, it’s an issue of critical importance. You will hear about it at Orientation, the issue will present itself in nearly every course in 1st year, if you volunteer with LSLAP or PBSC you’ll be out in the community working to facilitate access, and once you are admitted to the Bar you will have a duty to protect the public interest in the administration of justice. (In BC under the Legal Professions Act.)
Canadian law schools have recognized they have a role to play in responding to this problem. Your own school of choice has made concerted efforts to welcome and foster a student body that increasingly reflects the diversity of the communities its graduates will actually be serving. (So make an effort to get to know your peers as soon as you walk through the doors at Orientation. Not only will this help reassure you that you do in fact belong here, but what you have to offer each other is of immeasurable value.) However, there’s still a long way to go in regards to access to legal education. If you join LEO, you will meet secondary students who don’t see law school as an option. This isn’t because of their intellectual abilities but is rather due to a variety of socioeconomic factors. That’s unfair and LEO is looking for volunteers who believe law school is only going to get better if it attracts an increasingly heterogeneous pool of applicants who feel welcome in law schools and as capable of entering and succeeding in the profession.
So how do we work?
We need volunteers. Lots of you. We connect with hundreds of students every year. It’s a numbers game, the more volunteers we have, the more students we can meet.
Now, if I’ve done my job, I’ve made LEO sound incredibly important. It’s something you can’t pass up getting involved in right?
But everything sounds so worthwhile! How will you have time to do it all? (you won’t)
Some good news, LEO is super low-commitment for our volunteers. Just sign up for the email list in first weeks of school if you think you might want to get involved. We host events at the Faculty and in the community. We’ll email you about them, if you can come great, if not you can catch us next time.
Most of our volunteers choose to do one of the classroom visits. This is a little more high commitment – you will donate a lunch hour (where we ply you with delicious pizza) and a few hours one afternoon or morning (an excuse to skip class with some of your new friends and you won’t have to beg or entreat your Prof or classmates to help you get back up to speed after missing class.)
I hope I’ve convinced you that LEO is one of those special win-win-win situations that will present itself in your life.
If you would like more information feel free to email our crack team at: ubcleoexec@gmail.com or visit us at: http://www.leo-ubc.com.
Please give it some thought. I look forward to seeing you at the start of the year!
Sincerely,