Ella Young ’24
Staff Writer
Founded in 2020, the Scripps Pre-Law Society (SPLS) serves as both a professional and social resource for its members. The club, which is open to students of all majors, supports students interested in the legal field. It serves as a liaison between students’ current studies and their future careers as legal professionals due to the lack of a pre-law major.
One of the central ways the club provides support to its members is through professional opportunities. Specifically, the club supports its senior members through the law school application process. In addition to general advising, the club provides social and peer support to current applicants.
At the center of the club’s administration stands president Mishaal Ijaz ’24 and vice president Nikki Godinez ’24. “This year, it’s been fun because both [Ijaz] and I have applied to law school, so we have that personal experience,” Godinez said. “I could not have applied without the support of the Pre-Law Society; you want someone to be able to text when you’re either confused about a question on the application or crying over the LSAT. It’s nice to have young people around you who are ostensibly going through the same thing.”
The society bolsters this peer-to-peer support with the help of CP&R and the Scripps alumni network as a resource for job opportunities and information for students interested in the legal field or policy. Additionally, it hosts events that feature a variety of speakers, including both Scripps alumni and external lawyers.
“We invite speakers to come and they tell us about their legal practice, their experiences in law school,” Ijaz noted. “We’ve had one Scripps alum who was a member of the Pre-Law Society, and we had someone who wrote a book about law school admissions. She came and she talked to us about how she prepared for law school and what she suggests for people.”
By providing both professional and social resources to its members, the club is better able to serve its mission: to empower the Scripps community interested in law.
“At Scripps, I don’t think historically we’ve had a large group of students interested in law, so it’s really nice to have a group of predominantly young women come together at Scripps who are interested in the legal field who maybe aren’t [traditionally represented],” Godinez said. “Especially as young people and young women, it can be an intimidating field to be in. So, I think it’s fun to have our own ultra-small community. At the same time, we definitely are open to events with other colleges, and we collaborate. So that’s not a strict guideline.”
“I think that’s a difference between us and CP&R or even just your academic advisor,” Ijaz said. “We’re really just trying to expose people to as many law opportunities out there that we come across.”
Such law opportunities are not limited to the traditional “law school” pathway, but positions that require legal knowledge as well.
“A lot of people in the Pre-Law Society are even just interested in policy internships,” Ijaz said. “I know tons of people who have interned for the House of Representatives or their local politicians. We’re also just helping people in legal adjacent fields; we’re not just focused on sending people to law school.”
In the future, in line with these tenets of empowerment, the presidents hope to make the club even more accessible to Scripps students.
“If you are aiming towards a career in law and politics, it’s for you,” Ijaz said. “You don’t have to want to go to law school; if you’re just looking for that supportive academic network, the Pre-Law Society is for you.”
Godinez echoed these sentiments. “You don’t have to be dead set on wanting to go to law school itself,” she said. “There’s so many legal adjacent things, but if that is something you have the smallest hint in your mind, join. Come to a meeting. Just come and get involved.”
Students interested in joining the Scripps Pre-Law Society can email [email protected], or DM their Instagram @scrippslawsociety.
Photo Courtesy of Scripps Pre-Law Society
