Our students are bright, intellectually curious, and remarkably collegial. They come to Berkeley to experience a rich curriculum and a supportive learning environment, and to learn the law under a grading system that encourages them to compete with themselves, rather than against one another. We don’t give traditional letter grades, we don’t calculate GPAs, and we don’t rank students numerically. Miss a class, and by the end of the day, several sets of notes will probably arrive by email. Our students aren’t here to prove things, they’re here to learn things. And they’re great about sharing what they know.
Outside of the classroom, our students are extremely engaged and involved in many activities, from our Student-Initiated Law Service Projects (SLPs) and clinics, to our award-winning advocacy competition teams and student-run journals. In addition, we have more than 50 student organizations— focused on everything from entrepreneurship and privacy law to diversity and faith. Browse our student organizations list for more information. We invite you to read about the work our students are doing, below.
Student Ambassadors
Emma Allen, 2L (she/her)
Hometown: Batesville, IN
Prior Education: Tulane University, ’23, BA in Political Economy & English Literature
Areas of Interest: Business/Start Up, Social Justice/Public Interest
Ask Me About:
1) Coming from the Midwest,
2) Judicial externships
3) Big Law recruiting
Email: lawambassador1@berkeley.edu
Noa Bronicki, 3L (she/her)
Hometown: Los Altos, CA
Prior Education: Georgetown University ’23, BA in Government and Economics
Areas of Interest: Constitutional/Regulatory, Social Justice/Public Interest
Ask Me About:
1) Public interest law, particularly education, youth, or civil rights law
2) Going straight to law school
3) Berkeley Law organizations like the Berkeley Journal of Employment and Labor Law or the Foster Education and Disability Rights Project SLPs
Email: lawambassador2@berkeley.edu
Rebecca Goren, 3L (she/her)
Hometown: Carmel, CA
Prior Education: Cal Poly, SLO ’21, BA in Sociology & Comparative Ethnic Studies
Areas of Interest: Criminal Justice, Social Justice/Public Interest
Ask Me About:
1) Trial Team
2) Finding your footing in law school
3) Postconviction work
Email: lawambassador6@berkeley.edu
Jeffrey Greer IV, 2L (he/him)
Hometown: Largo, MD
Prior Education: Mississippi State ’23, BS in Electrical Engineering; Mississippi State ’24, MS in Electrical Engineering
Areas of Interest: Business/Start Up, Technology/ IP
Ask Me About:
1) Coming from the East Coast
2) Student organizations, such as Law Students of African Descent
3) Student-run journals, such as Berkeley Tech and Law Journal
Email: lawambassador3@berkeley.edu
Davanna Howell-McFarlane, 3L (she/her)
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
Prior Education: UCSB ’18, BA in Political Science and Sociology, minor in Japanese
Areas of Interest: Business/Start Up, Constitutional/Regulatory, Criminal Justice, Social Justice/Public Interest
Ask Me About:
1) Student-Initiated Legal Service Projects (SLPs) and Journals
2) Taking time off before law school (I took 5 years off)
3) Being the first lawyer in my family
Email: lawambassador7@berkeley.edu
Lydia Jahn, 2L (she/her)
Hometown: Omaha, NE
Prior Education: Case Western Reserve University ’22, BA in Biology and Environmental Studies
Areas of Interest: Environmental and Energy, Social Justice/Public Interest
Ask Me About:
1) Coming from the Midwest
2) Transitioning from STEM to law
3) Adjusting to law school
Email: lawambassador4@berkeley.edu
Shiwani Joshi, 3L (she/her)
Hometown: Chicago, IL
Prior Education: UC Berkeley ’21, BA in Political Science and Minor in Public Policy
Areas of Interest: Business/Start Up
Ask Me About:
1) Moving to the Bay Area
2) Pro Bono work, like Student-Initiated Legal Service Projects (SLPs)
3) Affinity Groups, particularly APALSA (AAPI), SALSA (South Asian), and Queer Caucus
Email: lawambassador8@berkeley.edu
Tommy Jung, 3L (he/him)
Hometown: San Diego, CA
Prior Education: UC San Diego ’21, BS in Political Science: Data Analytics
Areas of Interest: Social Justice/Public Interest
Ask Me About:
1) Pro bono work
2) Real Estate/Land Use/Housing
3) Arts and culture in the Bay Area
Email: lawambassador10@berkeley.edu
Sauntharya Manikandan, 3L (she/her)
Hometown: Fremont, CA
Prior Education: UC Irvine ’21, BA in Criminology and BA in Psychological Sciences
Areas of Interest: Business/Start Up, Social Justice/Public Interest, Technology/ IP
Ask Me About:
1) BLAST Hawaii and Social Enterprise Clinic
2) Asian American Law Journal and Berkeley Tech Law Journal
3) Transferring law schools
Email: lawambassador5@berkeley.edu
Blue Miller, 2L (he/they)
Hometown: Berkeley, CA
Prior Education: Duke University ‘2020, BA Global Health and Gender Studies
Areas of Interest: Business/Start Up, Environmental and Energy, Social Justice/Public Interest
Ask Me About:
1) Public interest work, specifically housing
2) Living a full life outside of law school (with a dog)
3) Being a queer & trans law student
Email: lawambassador9@berkeley.edu
Abby Neal, 3L (she/her)
Hometown: Kansas City, KS
Prior Education: University of Kansas ’21, BS in Environmental Science, BGS in Political Science
Areas of Interest: Environmental and Energy, Social Justice/Public Interest
Ask Me About:
1) Public interest environmental law
2) Immigrants’ rights and climate pro bono projects
3) Coming from the Midwest
Email: lawambassador11@berkeley.edu
Ryan Pinch, 3L (he/him)
Hometown: Wakefield, RI
Prior Education: United States Naval Academy ’18, BS in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering
Areas of Interest: Constitutional/Regulatory, Criminal Justice, International/Comparative
Ask Me About:
1) Ask me about Student-Initiated Legal Service Projects (SLPs)
2) Adjusting back to school after five years of work experience
3) Adjusting to the Bay Area as someone from New England
Email: lawambassador13@berkeley.edu
Andrea Reino, 2L (she/her)
Hometown: Bedford, NY
Prior Education: Princeton University ’20, B.A. in Public and International Affairs, minor in Spanish
Areas of Interest: Criminal Justice
Ask Me About:
1) Taking time off before law school
2) Coming from the East Coast
3) Going into Big Law as a first-generation lawyer
Email: lawambassador12@berkeley.edu
Meghan Riddlespurger, 2L (she/her)
Hometown: Amarillo, TX
Prior Education: West Texas A&M University, BA in Political Science, May 2015; University of Texas at Arlington, Master of City and Regional Planning, May 2021
Areas of Interest: Constitutional/Regulatory, Environmental and Energy, Social Justice/Public Interest
Ask Me About:
1) Applying to and experiencing law school as an older student (career, family, financing)
2) Moving from Texas to California
3) Housing (as a policy interest, but also practically finding/affording it in the Bay!), land use, reproductive justice, public sector/government careers
Email: lawambassador14@berkeley.edu
Dawson Wilcox, 2L (he/him)
Hometown: Montgomery, AL
Prior Education: University of Alabama ’24, BA in Political Science
Areas of Interest: Constitutional/Regulatory, Social Justice/Public Interest
Ask Me About:
1) Getting involved in a clinic or SLP
2) Being a K to JD
3) Moving from the South to the Bay
Email: lawambassador15@berkeley.edu
Layla Yousef, 2L
Hometown: Albany, NY
Prior Education: Johns Hopkins University ’22, BA in International Studies & Political Science; Oxford University ’22, Geopolitics & Diplomacy Programme
Areas of Interest: Constitutional/Regulatory, International/Comparative, Social Justice/Public Interest
Ask Me About:
1) Working at the United Nations while in law school
2) Working on the hill my 1L summer
3) The differences between going to university on the east coast compared to the west coast
Email: lawambassador16@berkeley.edu
Student Spotlights
Berkeley Law’s student body is a community of young professionals whose passions and talents make this an incredibly vibrant place to learn the practice, purpose, and power of law for the public good. Get to know some of them below, and more here.
