2025 CLEA Awards for Outstanding Clinical and Externship Students: USF’s Alyssa Tilley and Yiu Kuk (Ingrid) Yu

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 University of San Francisco School of Law:

CLEA Outstanding Clinical Student: Alyssa Tilley

Alyssa Tilley has been a student clinician with the Racial Justice Clinic since January 2024. During her time with the RJC, she has worked on two parole cases, a resentencing/commutation case and a Title IX case. She prepared two incarcerated, non-binary clients for their parole hearings, a grueling process which entails reviewing lengthy central files, drafting briefs, conducting mock hearings, gathering letters of support from community members, documenting parole plans, writing closing statements and hearing questions. Although both parole hearings were moved to 2026, Alyssa is committed to continuing her work on these parole cases with the RJC once she graduates and becomes a licensed attorney.

Alyssa is a radically empathetic, client-centered advocate with exemplary client communication, written and oral advocacy skills. This past semester, Alyssa and her clinic partner Destiny Breda had the opportunity to present a commutation application for a client serving a lengthy life sentence to Governor Newsom’s office. Although Alyssa only had 10 days to create the presentation, she tirelessly prepared a beautiful powerpoint including photos from a Berkeley art exhibit that featured our client’s artwork. Alyssa had the brilliant idea to include our client’s poem at the end of the presentation, which visibly moved the attendees.

CLEA Outstanding Externship Student: Yiu Kuk (Ingrid) Yu

This year’s recipient of the University of San Francisco Outstanding Externship Student Award is Yiu Kuk (Ingrid) Yu ‘25.

Ingrid’s passion for public interest work and consumer justice is evident in her externship work. At the Taxpayer Appeals Assistance Program (TAAP), she represented taxpayers in penalty abatement appeals before the Office of Tax Appeals. Ingrid excelled in TAAP’s challenging learning experience, learning tax law and procedure while simultaneously representing clients. Her work was thorough and diligent. She worked on complex topics, drafting briefs and preparing for hearings. Her oral argument was clear, and reflected her skill and diligence. She brought her passion for learning and strong work ethic to this experience, consistently seeking feedback and using what she learned to become a better advocate, and deepen her understanding of tax law and policy. Ingrid also externed for WanHuiDa – a Chinese IP law firm. Ingrid was able to tackle an entirely new area of law and produce excellent work despite working remotely. There, she was a quick learner who asked excellent questions, and offered creative solutions on several complex matters.

Ingrid was a valuable participant in the externship seminar. She focused on gaining skills, sharpening communication, and goal-setting. Ingrid is a leader with a high degree of emotional intelligence, a growth mindset, and most importantly, is kind. She embodies everything that externships seek to teach. She now works at the SF District Attorney’s Office, handling consumer justice and racial justice matters.