National Latina/o Law Student Conference September 30 – October 2 at Yale Law School

The 2010 National Latina/o Law Student Conference will be held at Yale Law School Thursday, September 30, through Saturday, October 2. The conference, which is being hosted by Yale Law School’s Latino Law Student Association (LLSA), brings together hundreds of law students who come from schools such as Berkeley, Columbia, Cornell, Texas, and UCLA, among others. It is returning to the east coast for the first time in six years.

“The organization has been making a lot of inroads in the Northeast in recent years, and this is the capstone of that,” event co-chair Sohail Ramirez ’10 said of this year’s conference location. “For a very long time, the conference was very heavily centered on the west coast and the south…a lot of Yale Law School students have served on its board and made it a priority. That’s why we wanted it on the east coast this year. It is a truly national organization.”

The conference will explore the theme “Ahora” (Now), which aims to feature the work and accomplishments that the organization’s predecessors have realized, while reminding students to preserve such advancements by facing the challenges that their communities have. In this vein, topics presented will include immigration reform, education reform, workers’ rights, voting rights, and access to health care.

According to Ramirez, “This year, like in years past, it’s going to feature a pretty impressive lineup of speakers who are going to deal with issues that are important to the community. We want the conference to serve as a resource and for all the students to come for a host of things.”

Along with the featured speakers, there will be a moot court competition and employment and networking opportunities.

NLLSA is an organization whose goal is to support Latina/o law students throughout the country and to empower the Latino community on the whole. It was founded in 1996 and has a chapter in almost every law school.

“The most important thing is it links Latino students from all over the place,” said Ramirez.