Katherine Burnett and Neehal Ahmed
It’s been a semester of elections, practice LSATs, simulated law classes, presentations, court cases, and there’s more to come. But on April 16, the Pre-Law Society completed its final meeting of the semester, featuring a wonderful presentation by Deborah Concepcion and Liz Miller from Lone-Star Legal Aid–as well as a cording ceremony conducted by Pre-Law Society President Olivia Discon.
Lone Star Legal Aid provides legal assistance to impoverished Texans in myriad fields of law, making it a worthy place to ply the legal trade—not to mention a valuable resource for many Texans. Ms. Concepcion spoke to her experience at both Howard University and Seton Hall University, where she earned her undergraduate degrees and JD, respectively.
With this educational foundation, Ms. Concepcion worked in various capacities of the law, adding to her professional network—but, she learned, not finding the internal rewards she had hoped for.
Through several twists of fate, she found herself living in the “warm, hospitable environment of Texas.” After the move to the Lone Star State, she opened her own practice and eventually met an attorney from Lone Star Legal Aid. After learning more about the organization and its mission, she began working with Lone Star Legal Aid—advancing the legal rights of low-income Texans and ensuring equal access to justice.
Ms. Concepcion’s narrative highlighted one of the key lessons in her presentation: to find fulfillment in legal work, we must follow our passions and allow ourselves to practice in fields and ways that align with who we are as individuals.
Interestingly, the work of Lone Star Legal Aid also includes serving as “first responders” during disasters, collaborating closely with organizations such as FEMA. From this, Ms. Concepcion explained how her work is varied, requiring her to learn and apply laws across a range of fields, from family law to assisting victims of sexual assault. She also described the clinics hosted by Lone Star Legal Aid, which aim to help community members with legal issues that fall outside the organization’s primary areas of practice.
Ms. Concepcion offered a plethora of advice for the Pre-Law Society students:
- Be prepared;
- Go beyond the required work;
- Be intellectually curious, and satisfy this curiosity, in part, with questions.
Not to mention, she stressed the importance of being able to work with others, whether with fellow attorneys or legal staff. In fact, her Legal Secretary, Liz Miller, was also on hand, and she offered similar high-quality advice: law school, she noted, does a good job of teaching you to think, but not necessarily how to practice law. Behaving in a manner that makes a young lawyer worthy of help—by other attorneys and legal staff—is part of being a successful attorney.
Ms. Concepcion generously took several questions from PLS students, who were unusually engaged.
Following Ms. Concepcion’s presentation, the PLS officers quickly moved through the organization’s general business: Finance (Chrissy Biello, in her last official act as Treasurer)….
…Minutes (Laila Alimi)…..
…Marketing (Niya Thompson)…
… Membership (McKenna Nonnenmann)…
…And, of course, President Discon.
To cap the evening, McKenna Nonnenmann called on graduating seniors, who were corded by President Discon, and given their certificates by Niya Thompson.
Even as finals approach, PLS members prepare for their upcoming social, and pre-law students begin studying for the LSAT. In all, we were happy to take a long pause and learn from Ms. Concepcion and Ms. Miller and recognize those graduating seniors–whose hard work is sure to pay off in the coming years!
Center for Law, Engagement, and Politics 