News About the Academic Outreach Center

• July 2021 - Law Fellows Program Announces New Sponsorship Arrangement with Blueprint Test Prep

  

  The UCLA School of Law’s Law Fellows Program is pleased to announce a new sponsorship arrangement with Blueprint Test Prep, which has pledged to provide LSAT test prep opportunities to the program’s participants.

  “Access to high-quality preparation for the LSAT is crucial for aspiring law students,” said Leo Trujillo-Cox (pictured in center, in blue, with fellows), the program’s founding executive director and a member of the UCLA Law Class of 1997. Trujillo-Cox, who runs the Law Fellows Program with assistant director and former law fellow Amanda Smith, continued: “To have the option of using Blueprint’s classes will be a game-changer for students who, without the company’s generosity, would not have this kind of access to these resources. I know our fellows look forward to taking full advantage of it.”

  Entering its 25th year, the Law Fellows Program demystifies the practice of law through a series of Saturday Academies that include lectures, networking events with current law students and other resources that prepare law fellows for success in applying to law school, as law students and as practicing attorneys. The program is often recognized for being an innovative and impactful pipeline-building enterprise: Since 1997, more than 2000 people have participated in the program, and more than 1000 law fellows are in law school or practicing law nationwide.

  One big fan of what the Law Fellows Program and Trujillo-Cox are doing is Blueprint CEO Matt Riley. “Leo, Amanda, and the program are committed to helping prepare high-potential students for a career in law, increasing the pipeline of diverse students interested in law, and demystifying the law school experience. Blueprint shares that mission,” said Riley. “We are thrilled to help the Law Fellows excel on the LSAT and gain admission to some of the top law schools in the country.”

  Blueprint, founded in 2005, prides itself on “creating a culture of engaging and effective learning via the latest in technology, analytics and video production to all students.”

  “I am grateful to Matt and everyone at Blueprint who has recognized what we are trying to do not only to help our fellows make their professional dreams possible, but the vision we have for a strengthened legal profession,” added Trujillo-Cox. “Strategic sponsorships make the program possible.”

  To learn more about UCLA School of Law’s Law Fellows Program, visit https://law.ucla.edu/life-ucla-law/diversity-inclusion/outreach. For inquiries about the program, contact the Assistant Director of Academic Outreach & Development, Amanda Smith, Esq.

• November 2020 - Gift Boosts Law Fellows Program Initiatives in 2021

  UCLA School of Law’s trailblazing Law Fellows Program has received a generous gift of $25,000 from the litigation firm Larson LLP to provide robust support to the program’s approximately 100 new law fellows and other initiatives in 2021.

  Read more.

• April 2020 - Law Fellows Program Wins ABA Diversity Award

  UCLA School of Law's trailblazing Law Fellows Program has won the 2020 Diversity Leadership Award from the American Bar Association's litigation section.

  Read more.

• January 2019 - California ChangeLawyers Increases Support for UCLA Law's Central Valley Outreach

  UCLA School of Law's Law Fellows Program has received a boost in support from California ChangeLawyers for its recruiting and outreach efforts in California's Central Valley.

  For the seventh straight year, California ChangeLawyers, formerly known as the California Bar Foundation, has offered its largest award to support UCLA Law's efforts to train high-potential undergraduate students from the diverse and underserved Central Valley to become more competitive law school applicants. The grant is for $25,000.

  Read more.

• November 2018 - Law Fellows Program Receives $250,000 Grant to Boost Diversity in the Law

  The Law Fellows Program at UCLA School of Law has been awarded a $250,000 grant from the AccessLex Center for Legal Education Excellence to continue its trailblazing efforts to increase diversity in the legal profession.

• November 2018 - Law Fellows Leader Trujillo-Cox '97 Wins Inaugural CLEO EDGE Award

  Leo Trujillo-Cox ’97, the founding executive director of UCLA School of Law’s Law Fellows Program, has won a prestigious national honor for his decades of leadership in diversifying the legal profession.

• August 2018 - Law Fellows Program Wins Top Award for Shepherding Legal Progress in California

  The Law Fellows Program at UCLA School of Law and its founding executive director, Leo Trujillo-Cox '97, have received the ChangeLawyer Award for 2018 in honor of their decades of work promoting increased diversity in the legal profession and championing underrepresented college students who are interested in pursuing careers in the law.

• August 2018 - UCLA Law Fellows Program wins award for advancing equity in profession

  The Law Fellows Program at UCLA School of Law and its founding executive director, Leo Trujillo-Cox, have received the ChangeLawyer Award for 2018 in honor of their decades of work promoting increased diversity in the legal profession and championing underrepresented college students who are interested in pursuing careers in the law.

• April 2018 - Immigration Inspiration: UCLA Law Alum Luis Perez Wins Long Fight for Residency

  April 11, 2018 - On Feb. 1, California Secretary of State Alex Padilla raised his right hand to personally swear in the newest member of the state bar. But the man across from him was no ordinary young lawyer.

  Luis Perez became the first undocumented immigrant to earn a degree from UCLA School of Law when he graduated in 2010. His arduous path had taken him from the schoolyards of Jalisco, Mexico, to UCLA Law to meetings with high-profile politicians and national leaders in immigration advocacy. And just a few weeks after he stood before Padilla and beside an American flag, he finally won the right to remain in the United States permanently, thanks to assistance from many members of the law school family.