UCI Law Alumni and Students Recognized for Outstanding Contributions at Annual Thurgood Marshall Bar Association
Awards & Installation Gala
During the annual OCBA Thurgood Marshall Bar Association Awards and Installation Gala on February 23, Hollie Washington '16 was honored for her time serving as President and passed the gavel to incoming President Honieh Udenka '17. Hon. Desirae Hutchison '14 received the Judge Karen L. Robinson Legal Excellence Award. Baele Hasbrouck '22 received the Bar Taker Scholarship and Isaiah Crosby (2L) was recognized as a 2023 Law School Ambassador. Tremayne Wilson '18 is also the President-Elect and Brooke Weitzman '14 is the Parliamentarian of the new leadership slate. Congratulations to all!
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Princeton Review compiles its list of Best Law Schools based on data provided by 17,000 students and administrators at the law schools. UCI Law received outstanding marks – on a rating scale of 60-99 with 99 being the highest – in five key categories. The rankings are compiled by TaxProf Blog’s analysis of these critical areas.

The award was given on behalf of the UCI Academic Senate and is among the most prestigious awards that University of California faculty members can receive from their colleagues. Prof. Ballakrishnen was one of two recipients for this honor!


UCI Law received the California LAW Pathways (Cal LAW) Diversity Champion Award along with UC Berkeley Law, UC Davis Law and UCLA Law on February 10, for our leadership in withdrawing from the U.S. News & World Report Law School Rankings.

Professor Stoever joined UCI in 2013 with a singular purpose: to expand the university’s commitment and ability to fight family and domestic violence. Read how her work directing the UCI Initiative to End Family Violence and UCI Law Domestic Violence Clinic has done that and so more.

The Coastal Justice Lab aims to advance environmental justice and community ownership in coastal regions through legal and interdisciplinary research. The launch event on March 9 featured speakers from the California State Lands Commission, California Coastal Commission and Azul, a Latinx-led and -serving environmental justice organization.

Andres Berdugo and Eddie Coronado were recently named as finalists in the American Bar Association’s (ABA) 2023 Law Student Tax Challenge, a prestigious national tax planning competition, sponsored by the Young Lawyers Forum of the ABA Section of Taxation.

The final arguments will be made at the Beckman Center of the National Academies of Sciences & Engineering from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Thank you to our sponsor, Buchalter!


Get access to books, films and archives curated by UCI Libraries in honor of Women's History Month!
Q&A with Nelly Gomez Vasquez LL.M. ‘20

Nelly earned her LL.M. degree from UCI Law in 2020. She received the Faculty Award for highest performance and grade in the Evidence course. Nelly has taught Corrections for Park University and served as a representative at the UCI Law Alumni Association. She joined Family Law Matters in 2022 and received the Highest Client Satisfaction Award from her law firm as a recognition for her dedication.
Q: How did UCI Law prepare you for your legal practice?
UCI provided me with all the tools I needed to pass the Bar exam successfully in my first attempt, which is the most important step to start a legal career. Furthermore, the support from the Global Programs Team was critical from enrollment to graduation. They helped me write a tailored resume to each of the jobs I applied for, I was able participate in a mock interview, and they also provided me with career advice before and after I had entered the legal profession. Dean Hornsby's dedication to student success is admirable. He was always checking on students to make sure we had the necessary resources to achieve our goals. I had many meetings with Grace Lee the Professional Development Advisor who helped me further my career after graduation. UCI Law has provided me with support not only as a student but also as professional after graduation.

Q: What do you like best about your work?
I work in Family Law which is a very sensitive area of the law because clients trust you with the most important thing that they have in their lives “their children." It is really rewarding to take a case and be able to advocate for my clients but also for their children and guide them in the right direction that would lead them to a less traumatic divorce experience.

Q: What was the best part about being a student at UCI Law?

The best part was the people I met. I made lifelong friends, and I had great faculty that really care about student success.

Q: How do you stay involved with the UCI Law community?
In 2022, I participated as the LL.M. Officer for the UCI Law Alumni Association. For that year, I was able to meet the current students and provided them with some insight into the legal profession and shared my experience taking the Bar exam.
Prof. Mehrsa Baradaran was quoted in Vox on "How crypto failed Black investors." READ

Prof. Joseph DiMento's book "Polar Shift: The Arctic Sustained," was shortlisted by Project Syndicate for its 2023 Sustainability Book Award. READ

Prof. Victor Fleischer was listed No. 20 among "Top 25 U.S. Tax Professors in SSRN category" for all-time downloads on Paul Caron's TaxProf Blog. READ

Prof. Michele Goodwin spoke with KQED's Marisa Lagos in an audio piece, "Texas Federal Court Could Block Access to a Key Abortion Drug Nationally." LISTEN

Prof. Dalié Jiménez was quoted in Bloomberg Law on President Biden's student loan forgiveness plan. READ

Prof. David Kaye was quoted in Vox on former President Donald Trump's return to Facebook and Instagram. READ

Prof. Jack Lerner commented in The Economist in article, "At Young Thug’s blockbuster trial, rap lyrics are used as evidence." READ
Prof. Rachel Moran spoke on a panel for “The Future of Affirmative Action” as part of the Abbey Speaker Series, hosted by the Program for Public Discourse at the University of North Carolina. WATCH

Prof. Omri Marian was selected as the U.S. National Reporter for WU Vienna's "Crypto Assets: Tax Law and Policy." READ

Prof. Carrie Menkel-Meadow will give the plenary keynote at the 
American Bar Association's 25th Annual Dispute Resolution Spring Conference on May 10. READ

Prof. Katie Tinto co-authored a column in the Daily Journal with School of Social Ecology Professor Keramet Reiter concerning UCI's LIFTED prison education and reentry project. READ

UCI Law's Criminal Justice Clinic was highlighted by Tech Policy Press regarding its filing of an amicus brief in Gonzalez v. Google. READ

UCI Law's 2022 swearing-in ceremony was featured in Orange County Lawyer Magazine. READ
Hon. Desirae Hutchison ’14 received the Judge Karen L. Robinson Legal Excellence Award from Thurgood Marshall Bar Association.

Radhika Mehta ’14 made Partner at Fisher & Phillips LLP.

Brooke Weitzman ’14 became Parliamentarian at Thurgood Marshall Bar Association.

Honieh Udenka ’17 became President at Thurgood Marshall Bar Association.

Sarah Choi ’18 with Cooley LLP, recently relocated back down to Irvine and welcomed a new baby daughter in 2021.

Tremayne Wilson ’18 became President-Elect at Thurgood Marshall Bar Association.

Baele Hasbrouck '22 received the Bar Taker Scholarship from Thurgood Marshall Bar Association.

March 15 » Orange County - UCI Law on the Road
  • Members of the UCI Law community, including alumni, Anteaters in Law and admitted students, are invited to join Dean Austen Parrish for an evening reception! (Details)
March 16 » Los Angeles - UCI Law on the Road
  • Members of the UCI Law community, including alumni, Anteaters in Law and admitted students, are invited to join Dean Austen Parrish for an evening reception! (Details)
March 15 » K-Drama and Crime Drama: A Comparative Perspective
  • Join a conversation with Professor Song, and expert UCI LL.M. and J.D. students as we use K-Drama and U.S. Crime Drama to compare criminal procedure and policing in those two countries. (Details)
March 17 » CLSC | Socio-Legal Studies Workshop
  • Hillary Berk, Assistant Professor of Teaching in Criminology, Law and Society, will present, ""Clash of the Titans: Escalating Conflict Between Termination, Selective, and Multi-Fetal Reduction Clauses in Surrogacy Contracts and the Recriminalization of Abortion."(Details)
March 22 » Reimagining the Latinx Experience in America
  • Danielle R. Olden will discuss her book, "Racial Uncertainties: Mexican Americans, School Desegregation, and the Making of Race in Post–Civil Rights America." (Details)
March 24 » CLSC | Socio-Legal Studies Workshop
  • Miguel Quintana-Navarrete, Assistant Professor of Criminology, Law, and Society at UCI School of Social Ecology, will present, "Gender disparities in prosecutorial and judicial decision making in the Global South: Evidence from Argentina." (Details)
March 27 » Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Week (More details to come)
March 27 » Celebration of Books
  • Faculty, students and staff are invited to join the Law Library's Celebration of Books, intended to highlight and acknowledge the books authored, co-authored, edited or co-edited by our full-time faculty since July 2021.(Details)
March 31» MLK/César Chávez Teach-in for Justice
  • UCI Law is excited to bring together a community of justice-minded individuals for an in-person opportunity to learn and discuss current issues in public interest law, with panels discussing the efforts of community organizers and activists to address racism and inequality in the U.S. Reception to follow with light refreshments. (Details)
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