Tell us about your interest in appellate work and why you decided to join this Mentorship Program.

As a Latina, immigrant, and first-generation college and law student, my community and I have lived the consequences of many appellate court decisions. Whether it be Shelby County v. Holder, Trump v. Hawaii, or the Supreme Court’s decision in Korematsu, each one of these decisions has had lasting effects on communities of color. I am pursuing a career in appellate advocacy because I want to ensure that decisions like these are not made in a vacuum but rather are informed by the lived experiences of the communities they impact. I joined the Mentorship Program because I recognized early on that though I may only be one of the less than two percent of Latina lawyers in the U.S., I could also be part of a community working to change these statistics. I realized that having the opportunity to meet other students with similar interests would enable us to create a community where we can lift each other up in such a niche practice area.

What has it been like working with your mentor/mentee? Is there an experience you particularly enjoyed, something significant you learned, etc.?

Working with my mentor has been such a rewarding opportunity on both a personal and professional level. Navigating my first-year of law school was a challenge. I often felt that I had many questions but not very many people to turn to. When I met my mentor during my second year, I finally received answers. I met an incredibly accomplished woman lawyer, a friend in high places, so to speak, who not only gave me her time, but offered it. My mentor is someone who will not only talk to me about clerkships, fellowships, and careers in appellate advocacy, but will also help me prepare for these opportunities via conversations on exam strategies, course selection, and imposter-syndrome. In her I have found someone who I can turn to to make both minor and major decisions, someone who is personally invested in my success, and someone who has walked the path I hope to walk one day.

What is something you will take with you from this experience? It could be appellate-related or more broad, such as something you realized about yourself, mentorship, etc.

Over the past year I have had the good fortune of meeting many individuals involved with the Appellate Project, including Lindsay Harrison, Amir Ali, Sarah Harrington, and of course, Juvaria Khan. Each one of these individuals has encouraged me to continue pursuing my dreams regardless of the lack of diversity around me. What I take from this experience is the knowledge that there is an entire group of people, all incredibly accomplished in their own demanding careers, who are willing to advocate for students like me as we navigate a world that has been largely closed to us and has often felt lonely. One person in particular stands out. Over the past semester, a fellow TAP mentee, Kim Mejia-Cuellar, and I have been advocating for the repudiation of the Insular Cases, a series of century-old cases that rest on indefensible racial biases and hold that the inhabitants of the U.S. territories are not entitled to the same constitutional protections afforded to other Americans. As we have embarked on this project, one of the first persons who was willing to share his time and expertise with us was Donald Verilli, former Solicitor General of the U.S., and one of TAP’s advisory board members. The strength of the TAP network has already proved to be helpful in creating connections that I never otherwise would have imagined making and has helped me advocate for change at the appellate level while still in law school.

Tell us about your interest in appellate work and why you decided to join this Mentorship Program.

When I was in law school, we were given a lot of advice about the difference between district court and appellate clerkships. The pace. The focus on facts versus law. Court conferences versus oral argument. After I graduated, I was lucky enough to clerk for a great appellate judge and to see some really incredible appellate advocacy. I still wasn't completely sold. I spent the following year in a life-changing fellowship in the Solicitor General's Office. My decision to submit an application was, in retrospect, quite random. I remember hearing that one of the responsibilities in the fellowship was to brief and argue a case in a U.S. Court of Appeals. I thought to myself, "There is nothing else I can do one year out of law school that would be this interesting. I guess I'll apply." I tapped into a different piece of myself during my first argument before the Eleventh Circuit. A friend in the Solicitor General's Office described the look on my face as "more please." That first argument solidified my interest in appellate law.

I joined TAP's mentorship program because I know that my career looks linear, when in fact it was quite haphazard. When I was in law school, no one told me what the benefits of different opportunities in the appellate space are and why I should try them. I'm not even sure that I understood that appellate law is it's own specialty. As a woman of color, I don't want the introduction to appellate law to be random or haphazard. I see others in the appellate space who were better able to plan their careers. I'm so glad that TAP has given me a forum to connect with Anahi and talk to her about what she wants, explore what she may not even know she wants, and try to figure out how to get there.

What has it been like working with your mentor/mentee? Is there an experience you particularly enjoyed, something significant you learned, etc.?

Working with Anahi has been a high point of my year. She is kind, driven, and thoughtful. After our initial getting to know you call, we've had a lot of impromptu calls and emails about things big and small: classes, summer jobs, and research ideas. But just last week, Anahi e-mailed to share with me some great news. She's going to serve as editor and chief of her journal. I was so happy to see her success and even happier to know that she felt comfortable to share it with me.

What is something you will take with you from this experience? It could be appellate-related or more broad, such as something you realized about yourself, mentorship, etc.

Even though I have had many mentors along the way to my career, this is the first time that I've served as a formal mentor and I'm learning just how much these relationships are a two-way street. I have felt that Anahi and I are both interested in each other's successes and encouraging each other to get there. It is an unexpected gift from the program.