ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT

How did you become interested in pursuing law? Initially, I did Mock Trial and Speech & Debate in high school which left law school on my radar. However, when I worked as a paralegal and was directly exposed to legal work, that’s when I realized I fully wanted to pursue a career in law.

When did you realize you wanted to attend law school? In the fall of 2019. It was a gradual realization that did not happen until I was a few years into my current career. Once I decided though, I did a lot of research to make sure that it was the right choice, which is how I found CLEO.

How did you become interested in pursuing law? When I took a course during my undergrad career called “psych and law.” After that, I decided I wanted to intern at a firm to see if I liked law. After interning at an immigration law firm for six months, I decided that this is what I wanted to do.

When did you realize you wanted to attend law school? I served in the military about three years ago and realized that I wanted to do something meaningful in my life that would give me a sense of purpose,and would allow me to serve my community and help an underrepresented group like myself.

CLEO is proud to announce that Nanette Barragán, a CLEO alumna, has been elected to the 115th Congress of the United States.

I knew I wanted to go to law school when I got into the Law Magnet Program at Dorsey High School. I was also fueled by the fact that in my experience as a foster youth, there were few lawyers who effectively advocated on my behalf and my life was severely impacted because of it. Those experiences fueled my passion to become a lawyer that adequately represented the voice of foster youth.

CLEO was made available to me once I became a member of the Lawbound Scholars PRLDEF program affiliated with Latino Justice. It was after joining I was able to see how involved CLEO is with Hispanics not only in New York but also across the United States.

I have argued in state trial court, federal district court and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and when appropriate, develop publications with Know Your Rights information and/or identifying best practices. As a result of my litigation, I have had the opportunity to draft training for the Barstow Police Department and prepare training for the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department on inmates with disabilities.