LOS ANGELES – LMU Loyola Law School has installed Elizabeth Bluestein as the inaugural executive director of its Loyola Social Justice Law Clinic, a constellation of 20-
plus live-client clinics that serves as a public-interest law firm for LLS students. Bluestein arrives after a storied 15-year tenure at pro bono powerhouse Public Counsel, where she most recently served as chief operating officer after stints as vice president and general counsel.
In the newly created Loyola Law School role, Bluestein will manage a growing array of live-client clinics that address everything from wrongful convictions and educational
inequity to immigration relief and family law issues. This includes overseeing clinic directors, attorneys, social workers, investigators and other support staff, as well as a
rotating group of clinical law students. Additionally, she will help raise funds for the LSJLC’s myriad pro bono endeavors.
Bluestein has seen first-hand the importance of providing representation to those who could not otherwise afford. Instilled in her as a child who witnessed classmates with
undocumented or temporary protected immigration status face uncertain futures, her appreciation of the value of pro bono work blossomed after she graduated Berkeley Law.
“I’ve seen the difference it makes when clients have a lawyer, compared to navigating our complex legal system on their own,” she said. “A person who doesn’t have the resources to pay for legal representation can find it impossible to obtain the protection of our laws, which can in turn perpetuate the lack of resources and inability to achieve upward socioeconomic mobility. This is a constant motivation for me to continue to support the fight for social justice.”
A rising star at private law firms Sullivan & Cromwell and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, she enrolled in the law school’s Nonprofit Organizations class to pivot to public interest law. She went on to launch LLS’ Nonprofit Tax and Transactions Clinic as an adjunct professor. Later at Public Counsel, she grew her commitment to cultivating the next generation of public interest lawyers.
“It is important to ensure that students who are inspired to participate in our clinics can keep up the fight for justice through inevitable setbacks. This means training students in legal skills and ethics, and also in trauma-informed lawyering,” she said. “It means helping students recognize and celebrate incremental victories along the route to a larger goal. It also means modeling collaboration with other lawyers and with professionals in other disciplines, and ensuring that we have the right partnerships and staff to enable us to do so.”
The law school opened the LSJLC in the 2018-19 school year with a ceremony that featured remarks by L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti, whose office partnered with LLS on the
Collateral Consequences of Conviction Justice Project. Situated in more than 10,000 square feet of newly renovated space in the law school’s Founders Hall, the LSJLC brings together LLS’ clinical programs into a realistic law firm setting comprising many practice areas. Bluestein’s installation caps a nationwide search for the LSJLC’s new leader, beginning a new chapter in its growth.
“We want to give our students in the Loyola Social Justice Law Clinic life-changing opportunities to work on the crushing access-to justice gap in our world,” said Michael
Waterstone, Fritz B. Burns Dean of Loyola Law School. “Liz is an ideal leader to build on the amazing work we have already done while deepening the law school’s impact in our community and beyond.”
Long recognized as a leader in experiential learning, Loyola Law School was one of the first ABA-accredited law school in California with a pro bono service requirement for
graduation. LLS students have contributed more than 1 million hours of pro bono service to the community – including nearly 70,000 hours in the 2018-19 academic year alone.
About LMU Loyola Law School
Located on an award-winning Frank Gehry-designed campus in downtown Los Angeles, Loyola Law School is home to prominent faculty, dedicated students and cutting-edge programs. Celebrating its centennial in 2020, the law school strives to instill in students the knowledge they need to excel on their chosen paths. It dedicates itself to preparing students for the rigors of practice with an extensive portfolio of practical-training opportunities, a 18,000-strong alumni network and a focus on social justice. Learn more at: www.lls.edu.