2023 CLEA Student Awards for Clinics and Externships: UC Law SF’s Jess McPeake and Adriana Diaz Mireles, Jonathan Escobar Valencia and Ana Sofia Mello

The Clinical Legal Education Association invited 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. 

Outstanding Externship Student Award: Jess McPeake from UC College of the Law San Francisco (UC Law SF; formerly UC Hastings)

Jess McPeake excelled in multiple externships during law school. At their criminal justice reform nonprofit placement, Jess worked diligently to advance the organization’s innovative approach to resentencing and displayed an exceptional willingness to receive feedback, actively seeking it out to further improve their abilities. At the placement and in the legal externship seminar, Jess’ thought-provoking questions and ideas made valuable contributions. Their honest and open communication style enriched class discussions, encouraging their classmates to actively participate.

Jess also stood out for their profound contributions to the Haiti Justice Partnership human rights course. During spring break, they interviewed a Cuban family fleeing political persecution stranded in Tijuana, Mexico, quickly building rapport and mobilizing efforts; this family is now safely in the U.S. seeking asylum because of Jess. In addition, they coordinated a group of students collaborating with our partner law school in rural Haiti to document deteriorating conditions at the local prison there. Through it all, they have faced challenges with grace, leading with compassion, humor, and intelligence and inspiring others to do the same.

Jess’ engagement in the Criminal Practice Clinic demonstrated a deep recognition of and respect for the humanity of every client, a willingness to go the extra mile in their representation, and impressive acumen to further that representation. Jess’ reflections on their experience were replete with powerful insights on justice and compassion, as well as the role attorneys should play in championing both.

Overall, Jess’ contributions to each of the programs represented in this award were stellar!

Outstanding Clinic Student Team Award: Adriana Diaz Mireles, Jonathan Escobar Valencia and Ana Sofia Mello, Refugee and Human Rights Clinic (RHRC), UC Law, San Francisco (UCLSF)

Adriana, Jonathan and Ana Sofia participated in the Refugee and Human Rights Clinic (RHRC) in the Fall of 2022. The RHRC works in collaboration with the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies (CGRS) of UCLSF, which provides support to attorneys and law clinics across the country who represent asylum seekers.

There has been growing recognition that a major driver of forced migration is climate change. However, asylum claims based on climate change face barriers and there is the need to document country conditions and develop innovative legal theories to overcome these barriers. CGRS is at the forefront of these efforts, which will include fact-finding trips to key refugee-sending countries. The RHRC Clinic team took on the challenging task of carrying out the first of these fact-finding visits, selecting Honduras as the country to visit.

The team prepared for their fact-finding by doing intensive research on the history, politics and legal system of Honduras. They read and digested Honduran laws in Spanish on climate change, the environment, the protection of forests, wildlands and water, as well as the very controversial laws permitting open pit mining.

After analyzing the laws, identifying the government bodies charged with enforcement, and the NGOs fighting for climate and environmental justice, Adrian, Jonathan and Ana Sofia prioritized and prepared for the in-country interviews with these sources. Their in-country performance was outstanding; they returned with invaluable information, including the identification of key experts willing to testify in support of asylum claims – resources which will be shared with attorneys and clinics throughout the U.S.