Occidental’s Pre-Law Advising encourages students to engage in extracurricular activities that build communication, leadership, and critical thinking skills. They promote the Occidental Law Society club, or Oxy Law Society, which hosts events and speakers and offers hands-on experiences like internships for students to gain insight into legal careers. According to Raymond Arias (senior), co-president of Oxy Law Society, the Society utilizes a system that allows students to practice and gain real-world legal experience in many different forms.
Arias said the club operates under a branch model, encapsulating Mock Trial, Moot Court and Law Review. Beyond these three sections, the club also facilitates LSAT prep. In order to keep competitions and materials accessible to club members, Arias said the club has taken to fundraising on the Academic Quad.
“Recently, we’ve been trying to get a little more creative, [and] trying to adopt a seasonal approach [to fundraising],” Arias said. “In the fall, that looked like doing a couple of hot chocolates, [and since] midterms […] are coming up, we’re gonna do one fundraiser where we get to pie members of the law society e-board.”
Arias said that through past events, he was able to connect with alumni and get exposure to practicing lawyers. Arias said Occidental draws people who are especially excited to talk and to guide students along the way.
“It’s such a small school, small environment. I feel like the alums go into it knowing that,” Arias said. “I feel like they’re especially eager to help.”
Occidental College welcomed U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor for a ‘Fireside Chat‘ Feb. 6, and Pre-Law students from the Law Society were invited to attend.
Co-president Max Goldman (senior) said he felt like he learned a lot at the Fireside Chat, which focused on three Latino judges in high-ranking positions. Goldman said it was cool to see how they were each different and to learn about all of their backgrounds and their jobs.
“We just got very lucky that they invited us,” Goldman said.
Mock trial member Kenna Bradley (sophomore) said she attends many of the events the Law Society hosts. According to Bradley, she attended both an internship event for the Youth Justice Alliance and the Fireside Chat.
“I’m so forever grateful that the Law Society allowed me to [experience that],” Bradley said. “Getting to see Sonia Sotomayor was one of the coolest experiences ever.”
Arias said the Law Society uses events and other activities to get members thinking and writing critically and to foster an understanding of the American justice system.
“Exposure is the number one goal of our organization,” Arias said.
Arias said Mock Trial and Moot Court can be very valuable for members to hone their communication and speaking skills, which can be important in any industry or career, and the Law Review expands on this work by emphasizing the critical thinking aspect.
“An Oxy education emphasizes [critical thinking],” Arias said. “We just want to carry that out by engaging students in discussing specific issues that they’re interested in.”
According to Arias, from international policy to fashion law, students can write about whatever they are interested in.
“I wanted to give that platform to students,” Arias said.
According to Arias, when he started at Occidental as a first year, it seemed like the Oxy Law Society did not exist.
“In my understanding, a lot of the clubs during […] the pandemic naturally died off, and Law Society was one of them,” Arias said.
According to Arias, building up the club over his first and second years with other club members was a lot of hard work, but they have been able to develop a solid infrastructure that will continue to help Occidental law students.
“[Goldman] and I are hoping that after we graduate, [e-board] will be able to keep building on [the club] and make sure that it’s as efficient and as helpful as possible for the students who wanna participate in law society,” Arias said.
Bradley said over the last year, she has seen significant improvement in the club.
“Everyone is so dedicated to [the club] and everyone puts in so much time and effort,” Bradley said.
According to Arias, the Law Society has been a highlight of his college career, working with students who are interested in similar issues alongside those who are interested in different ones.
“It’s been very eye-opening, it’s a great community,” Arias said.
Contact Amelia Darling at adarling@oxy.edu
