Students of all majors are invited to attend the second annual Pre-Law Networking Social!   

Current undergraduate students and recent graduates will have the opportunity to connect with UMBC alumni in law school and the legal profession in an informal setting.  

Date:  Thursday April 25, 2024 

Time:  5:30 PM-7:00 PM

Location:  The Commons, Lower Flat Tuesdays

Click here to RSVP!

Kindly RSVP by Monday, April 22

Appetizers, iced tea, coffee, and hot tea will be served.  

Hosted by: Alumni Engagement and Pre-Law Advising 

Pre-Law Students: 

The English Department will host two events relating to law and restorative justice on March 27, 2024, inspired by the career path of 2018 UMBC English Alumna Breia Lassiter. She will return to UMBC to share her experiences with the university community. 

12-1 pm. Library Gallery. "From the Classroom to the Courtroom: 2018 UMBC English Alumna Breia Lassiter Tells Her Story." Breia Lassiter (Juris Doctor, Michigan State University), Associate Attorney in the Employment Law practice group of Dinsmore & Shohl, a law firm in Cincinnati, Ohio, will discuss her personal history from her days as an English major at UMBC, through law school and work as a student clinician at Michigan State University, to taking the bar exam, passing it, and finally now working as an Associate Attorney at a law firm.  This talk will be of interest to all Alumni, and to Pre-Law, English, and other CAHSS majors, in particular, who are considering career paths in public service.  

4-5:30 pm. Library Gallery.  Panel, "Restorative Justice and the Rights of the Incarcerated."

Distinguished speakers will include:

Breia Lassiter, 2018 English Alumna, now working as an Associate Attorney for Dinsmore & Shohl. In her work as a law student clinician, Ms. Lassiter successfully advocated for the rights of an incarcerated man who was not receiving his religious meal accommodations from the prison. For months he could hardly eat anything that was served to him, and she was able to argue on his behalf as a student clinician at Michigan's Sixth Circuit. The court published the opinion ruling in his favor. She will speak on her work in this specific case. 

Walter Lomax, Executive Director, Maryland Restorative Justice Initiative.  Mr. Lomax was unjustly incarcerated in a Baltimore area prison for 39 years for crimes he didn't commit.  Since his exoneration and release in 2007,  he has used his voice to become a powerful, influential advocate for criminal justice reform in MD. He is the founder and leader of the Maryland Restorative Justice Initiative. In 2021, The Walter Lomax Act (Senate Bill 14) was signed into law, overhauling how the state compensates people who are wrongfully convicted, sentenced, and incarcerated for crimes.

Natasha Dartigue (J.D),  Office of the Public Defender, Baltimore, MD. She was just appointed in 2022 as Maryland's Public Defender and served in a related capacity in advocating for the rights of the incarcerated for more than twenty years.  She and her office have been associated with helping exonerate a number of individuals recently. Ms. Dartigue will speak about the work of the Maryland Office of the Public Defender. On March 18, 1963, the United States Supreme Court guaranteed the right to counsel to indigent defendants in criminal cases in the landmark case, Gideon v. Wainwright.  On July 1, 1971, the Maryland Legislature created the Maryland Office of the Public Defender (OPD). OPD opened its doors in 1972 and is an independent state agency. 

All majors are welcome to attend these two in-person events!

Cosponsors: Alumni Association; the following departments: English, GWST, History, Political Science, American Studies, Center for Social Science Scholarship (CS3); and the Dresher Center for the Humanities 

Harvard Law School's Future Leaders in Law Program, in partnership with Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP (Paul, Weiss), is designed to elevate, inspire, empower, and impact the lives of each program participant and the legal profession by focusing on early talent generation and igniting excitement about law as a career path. 

The Future Leaders in Law Program will bring together individuals with a range of lived experiences, primarily individuals from first-generation and less advantaged socioeconomic backgrounds, for a weeklong residential fellowship at Harvard Law School (HLS) to help prepare them to apply for admission to law schools around the nation. While on campus, Future Leaders in Law Fellows (Fellows) will engage with HLS faculty, staff, students, and alumni. During this weeklong residency and over the course of the yearlong program, participants will benefit from test and application preparation services, mentorship and networking opportunities, field trips, as well as academic and professional skill-building elements. 

 This program will be fully funded, with all costs covered to participate, including transportation and lodging, and preparation materials.  We will provide need-based assistance for law school application fees and LSAC's Credential Assembly Service (CAS) reports, and the LSAT administration.  In addition, a $3,000 stipend will be awarded upon program completion. 

Applicants for the Future Leaders in Law Program must: 

• Be in pursuit of an undergraduate degree with an expected graduation date of 2024 or 2025 OR be a recent graduate (Class of 2021, Class of 2022, and Class of 2023).  
• Have a 3.3 cumulative undergraduate GPA.
• Intend to apply for a J.D. program for matriculation starting Fall 2026.   
• Be at least 18 years old as of the program start date.  
• Commit to attending and participating in all core program components.  

All majors are encouraged to apply! 

Application Deadline:  April 7, 2024, at 11:59 p.m. EDT

Click here for more information!