McGeorge School of Law professor Erin O’Neal understands the power an in-person connection can hold when empowering students to pursue a career in law.
O’Neal, who is the director of the Pacific Legal Advantage program for University of the Pacific undergraduates, fosters these career-building connections by bringing in some of the country’s top legal voices to share their experiences with students, from the former Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court to members of the California Legislature, including State Assemblymember Matt Haney, who will join the McGeorge School of Law for the annual Capital Center Legislative Leaders Speaker Series Feb. 25.
The Pacific Legal Advantage program also coordinates events and provides resources and education for prospective law students, no matter their major or background.
“The program is directed at undergrads who are interested in exploring the possibility of law school,” O’Neal said. “It is for students who have decided that law school is for them, and also for students who are thinking about the possibility and may not have lawyers in their family or people who can advise them on that path. That was my experience, and that’s part of why I’m so motivated to work with students in this program.”
Pacific Legal Advantage spans everything from deciphering legal jargon to shadowing a local attorney, and primes students to be familiar with legal concepts before they enroll in law school, so they can begin their legal education with a solid foundation.
“Thanks to the leadership of the Pacific Legal Advantage’s current and former directors, McGeorge Professors Erin O’Neal and Dan Croxall, University of the Pacific is able to offer a distinctive and comprehensive pre-law curriculum, positioning students to excel in law school and pursue their dream careers as lawyers who are changemakers,” said McGeorge School of Law Dean Michael Hunter Schwartz.
A key component of what makes the Pacific Legal Advantage program unique is its networking opportunities. O’Neal has curated a lineup of expert guest speakers who share their experience through moderated discussion and question and answer sessions with students.
“I bring people who are using their law degrees in different ways to talk with students because I do think that the law degree is a very versatile professional degree that is useful in a variety of career paths. Emphasizing that to students is helpful because it’s hard to know how it plays out in the real world when you are initially contemplating the possibility of law school,” O’Neal said.