2024 CLEA Awards for Outstanding Clinical and Externship Students: Loyola-LA’s Emily Bernstein

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 Loyola Law School in Los Angeles:

Outstanding Clinical Student: Emily Bernstein

Loyola Law School is proud to nominate Emily Bernstein as Loyola’s 2024 Outstanding Clinic Student for her work in the Loyola Justice for Atrocities Clinic.

Emily Bernstein embodies the fearless, compassionate, client-centered approach the Loyola Social Justice Clinics stand for. From the moment she joined the Justice for Atrocities Clinic, she was unafraid to be vulnerable, and in doing so, empathized exceptionally well with the vulnerabilities of her clients—a young woman from Ukraine, the only survivor of a brutal Russian attack that killed all members of her immediate family, and an elderly Holocaust survivor who reminded Emily of her grandmother. Establishing these human connections with her clients further fueled Emily’s drive to go above and beyond for them by conducting multiple client interviews that far surpassed standard work expectations, chasing down every research lead, and using her “spare” time to hone her thoughts in ways that substantially strengthened arguments. Indeed, her passion for assisting her client led her to sign up for an additional semester in the clinic so she could continue to strengthen the legal brief to the European Court of Human Rights.

Emily’s empathetic approach extended to her clinic colleagues. In class, she was a creative thinker and reliable, supportive presence. Her colleagues praised her dedication, professionalism, positive and friendly demeanor, and tireless work ethic.

It is no surprise that Emily went on to intern this past fall for the Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section of the U.S. Department of Justice—the original “Nazi hunters” and the office tasked with investigating and prosecuting human rights violators and international criminals.