I came to law school with a commitment to learning how to become the best advocate to advance human rights work in this country and beyond. While I didn’t expect it be possible, my commitment to this work has become even more profound during my 1L year. Right now, families across the country are grappling with concrete threats to their rights, personhood, agency, and even their lives. As such, I was drawn to the sense of strength and community in the 1L Immigration Law and Advocacy Clinic, knowing it combines direct representation and engagement with clients with broad advocacy goals and a substantive education in immigration law and policy.

As part of the advocacy component of the clinic, I was invited to attend the Inter-Clinic Discussion with the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico on working with migrant clients. The hybrid conference brought together students and professors from Mexico, the United States, Argentina, and Spain to ask hard-hitting questions about the legal landscape in each country, our work in legal clinics and role in this landscape, and how each of our country’s practices and policies are deeply interconnected. I presented in Spanish alongside advanced clinic student Sofía Cuevas Dorador. For Sofía, who grew up in Mexico, this opportunity was particularly special as she presented in her native language at a university she had long admired.

Ahead of our presentation about how the clinic operates, Sofía and I met to brainstorm how to best present this information. Sofía had the great idea of showing, and not just telling, about our work by coming up with a simulated client to illustrate the process of how we, as a clinic, engage with our clients, learn their stories, and evaluate what kind of relief would best serve them. We also spoke about more than the individual mock client herself, discussing her family members and the varying kinds of relief they’d be able to pursue based on their age, status, and individual history. In structuring our presentation this way, we were able to demonstrate how complex the asylum and immigration process can be in the United States and hopefully convey how our clinic functions to help clients navigate such a demanding and shifting system.

For me, it was invaluable to work alongside Sofía. While I am new to the work and full of excitement about the opportunity to learn law beyond the classroom, invigorated by my initial experiences working directly with a client this semester, Sofía brought in-depth knowledge about the details and extensive clinical experience. I was able to use my eye for design in developing slides to showcase our mock client’s story. Together, I think our experiences complemented one another and left me feeling inspired that hopefully soon I, too, might be able to speak with as much confidence, clarity, and expertise as Sofía did!

The conference itself was also a deeply meaningful experience. Before we presented to the group, we listened in on a high-level discussion about clinical work in different countries, examining in particular the role clinics play, the impact of recent U.S. policy on other countries’ migration patterns and ability to support, and the ethical obligation of students and professors alike operating in this space.

My favorite aspect of the conference was the solidarity among attendees. Each person was incredibly passionate about the work and spoke at length about the deeper meaning behind their work. Many professors discussed the incredible balancing act that’s required when working in clinics—integrating disciplines like law, psychology, and sociology while simultaneously navigating the tension between pedagogical goals and the urgent, real-world needs of clients in a rapidly evolving landscape.

One moment in particular stood out to me: one professor reminded us that when serving marginalized communities from within highly academic and often over-intellectualized spaces, we must not merely analyze the circumstances of our clients; we must remember to celebrate those individuals we serve.