Going to law school or becoming an attorney remains a challenge for Latinas, who make up only a small percentage of attorneys.
St. Mary’s Law School wants to combat that statistic with the Lawtina Networking Summit.
Law student Analysa Casanova-Smith is the first in her family to pursue a law degree. She helped organize this year’s summit.
“Less than 2% of the legal field is made up of Latinas. And we really want to bring together Latinos from every stage because you really do need that support,” Casanova-Smith said.
Attorneys are passing down advice about how to pay for law school, LSAT application support, law school guidance and even how to negotiate pay.
First-generation attorney Christina Zamorano said the summit is creating a network of support.
“This is just such an important event for individuals like myself who don’t know the answers to those questions, who don’t have a relative or family member who can embark on, you know, part of them, their own knowledge,” Zamorano said.
Pre-law student Hannah Lopez, also a first gen, is taking the advice seriously.
“They’re telling us that we have to have a sisterhood, that there is a boy’s club that we have to compete with, and we need to create a sisterhood that is going to help us in the future,” Lopez said.
This is the second year for the Lawtina summit, and the number of women attending this year has doubled. Also new this year, they had a moot court and they’re giving away scholarships.
“When you feel acknowledged and you feel seen, you really feel like you can do anything,” Casanova-Smith said.