Now We Must: The Campaign for DePaul's Students

We are proud to announce the launch of Now We Must: The Campaign for DePaul's Students. In these unprecedented times, multiple crises suddenly confront DePaul University students, including all those who call DePaul Law home. The pandemic and economic uncertainty not only threaten our students' ability to persist toward their aspirations, but also endanger DePaul's Vincentian mission of providing educational access and advancing social equity.

Thus, Now We Must is an ambitious, year-long fundraising effort with a singular goal: safeguarding the pathways to success that students counted on when they selected DePaul as the place to forge their future. The campaign will seek millions to address our students' most immediate needs and provide critical support in five key areas—scholarships, technology needs, internship support, emergency assistance and mental health and wellness—as they navigate an unprecedented academic year.

Hear more from Sasha Gerritson (MUS '99), campaign chair, and be part of this important effort at give.depaul.edu/NowWeMust. Your gift to the Law Scholarship Fund, or whichever area of DePaul matters most to you, will make a transformative difference at a crucial time for our students.

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College of Law Receives $100,000 gift to Support Health Law and Racial Justice

Catherine Bremer (JD '89) and her husband, Dr. Joseph Bremer, have made a $100,000 gift to support the Health Law Program at the College of Law. Their generosity will create the Bremer Fund for Health Law & Racial Justice, which will provide support for student scholarships, as well as for externships or fellowships at organizations that address issues of systemic racism and health disparities affecting underrepresented communities.

"Through their generous gift, the Bremers understand deeply what our students, community and society need at this crucial time to help students succeed and transform our institutions to achieve racial justice," said Dean Jennifer Rosato Perea. "We are so grateful for their vision and long-standing commitment to DePaul Law and its health law program."

Read the full write-up here.

Write a Note
of Support to a
DePaul Law Bar Taker

The ongoing COVD-19 pandemic has brought unprecedented changes and uncertainty to long-standing events and activities. This is especially true of bar examinations, as our 2020 graduates and additional DePaul Law bar takers having been preparing for the exam in an altered reality. In Illinois, the traditional late July examination has now been twice delayed. The exam has been moved to Oct. 5-6 and will be occurring remotely for the first time in Illinois history.

Beyond the usual stresses that preparation for the bar exam brings, the pandemic has amplified this stress, as bar takers worry about their health, family/friends, their financial situations and future employment. More than ever, well wishes and notes of support from our alumni community would mean a great deal to these recent alumni in their quest to become licensed, practicing attorneys.

To show your support, please click here to write a brief note.

*We ask that notes of support do not include comments on how to study for the exam. This will be a very different bar exam, and many of the bar takers have been studying on a modified schedule since June. Thank you in advance!

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Virtual Event: Furthering
Latinx Inclusion in
the Law

Hosted by Latino Law Student Association (LLSA) and commemorating Hispanic Heritage Month at DePaul Law, the following program will bring added awareness to the diversity inherent within the Latinx community itself. Topics that will be discussed include: Latinx representation in the legal field, structural barriers Latinx individuals encounter on the pathway to becoming a lawyer, common struggles Latinx attorneys face and overcome in practice and ways in which Latinx law students and attorneys can dismantle these barriers and struggles for future Latinx attorneys. Speakers include Dean Jennifer Rosato Perea and Hannah Brooks, Esq., serving as the keynote speaker.

Thursday, Sept. 24
5:30–7 p.m.

Please note: in order to obtain the Zoom link, you must RSVP for this event.

Register here.

Volunteer Opportunity: Pro Bono & Community Service Initiative

Looking for a remote and flexible pro bono opportunity? The Pro Bono & Community Service Initiative is seeking College of Law alumni to partner with law students to answer legal questions posted on Illinois Free Legal Answers. Illinois Free Legal Answers is a secure website run by Public Interest Law Initiative (PILI) where lower income Illinois residents can ask a lawyer for help with civil legal issues. The Pro Bono & Community Service Initiative will match alumni with law students who will research and draft the initial answers, and the alumni will review and post the answers.

Additionally, in celebration of National Pro Bono Week, the Pro Bono & Community Service Initiative is partnering with the Schiller DuCanto & Fleck Family Law Center and PILI for a virtual pro bono clinic on Friday, Oct. 30, 1-3 p.m., where students and attorneys will partner to answer additional civil legal questions through Illinois Free Legal Answers. The clinic will be conducted online.

If you would like to participate in the ongoing program and/or the Oct. 30 clinic, please reach out to Lauren Worsek, PBCSI Director, at lworsek@depaul.edu. Training and materials will be provided.

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Nuestro Planeta Compartido: At the Intersection of Animal Law, the Environment and Human Rights Law in Latin America CLE Webinar

This legal webinar is presented by the DePaul University College of Law Center for Animal Law. Speakers will discuss how Latin American countries address issues of animal rights and the environment and how this may impact human rights. Presentation topics include: constitutional rights of nature, habitat destruction and analysis of current Latin American legal issues that intersect with the focus areas of animals, the environment and human rights.

Saturday, Sept. 26
10 a.m.–1 p.m.

The program is approved for up to 3 hours of CLE credit.

Register here.

The Pro Bono & Community Service Initiative (PBCSI) held its first remote 1L Service Day

This year, DePaul's College of Law held its 9th annual (and first remote!) 1L Service Day on Tuesday, Aug. 18. Approximately 175 volunteers participated, including the incoming first year students and the upperclass students, faculty and staff, who served as site leaders.

Despite the challenges of being remote, volunteers used Zoom to successfully complete a variety of service projects after being divided among nine local nonprofit organizations. The participating organizations included: Amate House, Ignite, Institute for Nonviolence Chicago, Legal Prep Charter School, Little Brothers Friends of the Elderly, Little Sisters of the Poor Saint Mary's Home, Lydia Home, Saint Leonard's Ministries and Top Box Foods.

Read the full story here.

Upcoming Virtual Alumni Programming

College of Law

Office of Alumni Relations

Sign Up for the Fun Run, Get an Active Band!

Have you registered for the All for DePaul Virtual Fun Run yet? When you do, we'll send you a special DePaul active band to wear during your run. These bands are available exclusively to Fun Run participants. Check out our Fun Run page to sign up, support DePaul and show your Blue Demon pride!