UC Law SF Social Justice Graduates are Equipped with the Tools to Create a Better World

The Social Justice Lawyering Concentration graduates of 2025 earn their stoles after completing a clinical course or externship and required classes. They are joined at the ceremony by Professor Ascanio Piomelli, left, and Gail Silverstein, Associate Dean for Experiential Learning, right.

UC Law San Francisco celebrated students’ dedication to advancing social justice May 9 in the Alumni Reception Center filled with friends, family, faculty, and supporters. 

“Given the perilous time for the rule of law in which we are living, this celebration of justice, this uplifting of those who have and will continue to pursue social justice in their careers feels particularly important and especially necessary,” said Gail Silverstein, Associate Dean for Experiential Learning, Faculty Co-Director of the Center for Social Justice and Clinical Professor of Law.

UC Law SF students gain experience through important clinical work throughout their law school journey — 329 students served 225 clients through clinics during the 2024-25 academic year. This critical work undoubtedly made a positive impact, evidenced by the video message from a client thanking the students who assisted her through the Individual Representation Clinic. 

The Class of 2025 completed over 11,000 hours of pro bono work through alternative spring break trips, campus pro bono clinics, and more, said Director of the Pro Bono Program Simone Lieban Levine.  

Silverstein recognized the many students in the room who made a difference doing hands-on work. “No matter whether our students were able to get a favorable or a winning result for their clients or not, students: your support and advocacy mattered,” she said. “Your work was done in partnership with not only your clients and your community partners, but also with each other as you worked together on student teams or as a collective clinic. You not only served the community, you created community.” 

The full list of honorees can be found in the online program. 

Chancellor & Dean David Faigman congratulates the graduates, saying: “Today we not only celebrate your academic accomplishments, but also your dedication to a cause that transcends individual ambition. The knowledge you’ve gathered, the insights you’ve formed, and the empathy you’ve cultivated, place you on the front lines of the fight for a fairer, more compassionate world.”

“We need to hold onto our joy and to our hope. That’s what sustains us in this work,” Ricardo Parada says. “Be bold in your imagination. We need dreamers and doers, people who not only understand the law, but can envision something better. That’s how we’re going to build a more just future for all of our communities.” Parada is the first in his family to graduate from law school.

Mischa DiBattiste expresses gratitude for the community support she received during the last three years of intense study. “In this space that’s often shaped by hierarchy and individualism, solidarity and compassion is a choice to be proud of,” she says. “Let’s stay grounded and humble. This degree doesn’t make us any wiser or more moral than anyone else we’re going to work with. It has equipped us with a skillset that can play a vital role in social change.”

Amirah Tulloch speaks about the tools the members of her cohort have to make positive change – which earned a standing ovation from the crowd. “I think there is one extremely powerful tool that will carry us and it is love,” she says. “I want to bring the love I have for my community, for my country, and for my people with me when I leave this building.” The Social Justice Concentration cohort nominated Tulloch to speak at the annual event.