Student Mentoring
DePaul Law offers several mentoring opportunities for law students with alumni and current students. Students also may take advantage of several programs offered by external organizations and affinity bar associations.
Internal Mentoring Opportunities
● Diverse IL students: Identified as a top priority in the DePaul Law Diversity Plan was the need for professional mentoring for diverse students. While we understand that all incoming students could benefit from a professional alumni mentor, priority is given to students who are members of affinity student organizations (e.g., BLSA, LLSA, APALSA, OUTLaws, Decalogue Society, Muslim Law Students Association, Multicultural Students Association); first-generation students; students with a lower socioeconomic status; and undocumented or DACAmented students.
A pilot program was launched Fall 2020. For more information on how to apply for a mentor, please contact the Director of Diversity, Inclusion & Student Life, Ana Vazquez-Rivera, at AVAZQUEZ@depaul.edu.
● IL Students: The DePaul Docent Program was thoughtfully designed to ensure that all incoming first-year students have a smooth transition to law school and the legal profession. To best take advantage of all the programs and resources that DePaul offers, each incoming 1L is assigned a DePaul Docent who serves as a personal guide for the year. DePaul Docents are senior administrators or faculty members who schedule regular check-ins with and facilitate a warm welcome for their assigned students. Each incoming 1L receives the name of their Docent during the summer and meets him or her at New Student Orientation.
● 2L Students: A partnership with the Chicago Bar Association (CBA) connects 2L students with young legal professionals who can still relate to being in law school, and who can offer current law students relevant insights about law school, taking the bar exam and getting an initial job
For more information, please contact Assistant Director of Law Career Services Katie Liss at kliss@depaul.edu.
● Public Interest Students: Please contact Shaye Loughlin, director of the Center for Public Interest Law, at sloughli@depaul.edu for information on mentorship opportunities
● Docent Program: The DePaul Law Docent Program was thoughtfully designed to ensure that all incoming first-year (1L) students have a smooth transition to law school and the legal profession. In order to best take advantage of all the programs and resources that DePaul offers, each incoming 1L is assigned a “DePaul Law Docent” who will serve as a personal guide for the year.
The DePaul Docents are senior administrators or faculty members who schedule regular check-ins with and facilitate a warm welcome for their assigned student(s). Each incoming 1L will receive the name of their Docent during the summer and meet him or her at New Student Orientation.
List of DePaul Docents:
Jamie Kleppetsch
Shaye Loughlin
● Student Peer Mentoring
For information on student peer mentor opportunities, please email any of the student organizations below:
o Student Bar Association (SBA): depaulsba00@gmail.com
o Animal Legal Defense Fund: DePaul.ALDF.Chapter@gmail.com
o Public Interest Law Association (PILA): pila.depaul@gmail.com
o Latino Law Student Association (LLSA): llsa.depaul@gmail.com
o Asian Pacific American Law Students Association (APALSA): depaul.apalsa@gmail.com
o Black Law Student Association (BLSA): depaulblsa@gmail.com
o First Generation Law Student Organization: depaul.firstgen@gmail.com
External Mentoring Opportunities
For information on external mentoring opportunities, please email any of the organizations below:
● Affinity Bar Association Mentoring Programs
o Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois
o Lesbian and Gay Bar Association of Chicago
o South Asian Bar Association of Chicago
o Women’s Bar Association of Illinois
● American Society of International Law: Women in International Law
● Diverse Attorney Pipeline Program
● Diversity Scholarship Foundation First Generation Mentor-Mentee Program
● Illinois Bar State Association
● Leadership Council on Legal Diversity
o Mentoring Tool Kit for 1L and 2L students (contains topics and questions that can be used during mentor and mentee sessions)