Each year, the Clinical Legal Education Association invites law schools to nominate students as their Outstanding Clinic Student or Team and Outstanding Externship student. This series includes submissions from law schools celebrating their outstanding students.
From UC Law San Francisco:
Outstanding Externship Student Gracie Winston
UC Law SF is recognizing Gracie Winston as CLEA Externship Student of the Year for their outstanding participation in two externships. Gracie was an outstanding seminar participant and community-builder in the Community Group Advocacy and Social Change Clinic as a 2L, working with the Immigrant Legal Resource Center to create outstanding community education materials and presentations on immigration law developments for immigrants, activists, and attorneys. In the Criminal Practice Clinic, they did excellent work with the Marin Public Defender’s Office and reflected insightfully on their experiences.
Outstanding Clinic Student: Jessica "Mali" Gillespie
UC Law SF is recognizing Jessica "Mali" Gillespie as CLEA Outstanding Clinic Student of the Year for her many contributions to the Clinical program at UC Law SF. Mali participated in the Refugee & Human Rights Clinic, the Lawyering for Children Practicum, the UC Law SF for Haiti Partnership, and the Immigrant Rights Clinic. All of Mali's professors agreed that she is one of the most dedicated students with whom we have ever worked. She is bright and hard-working, an excellent colleague, and an incredible and creative advocate for the clients she serves. She goes above and beyond, from learning Haitian Creole to preparing the green card application for her asylum client and her husband to serving as a Teaching Assistant to mentor other clinical students who came after her. When asked if she would take a break or a trip after taking the bar exam, Mali replied that she was going to use that last month before starting her job at the Concord Immigration Court to close out her remaining client work. That is Mali in a nutshell. Mali more than deserves this honor, and we cannot wait to see what she achieves in her future legal career!