Lara becomes first CSM paralegal student to complete externship at Creighton Law Clinic
OMAHA, NEB. – This May, Yesica Lara will become the first College of Saint Mary paralegal student to complete an externship at Creighton University’s Milton R. Abrahams Legal Clinic. The clinic, staffed with Creighton Law students, helps provide free legal assistance for low-income Nebraskans. For the DACA student and fluent Spanish speaker, she’s using the opportunity to set up her own future while strengthening a whole community.
“I put client files together, I do intakes, I help translate letters from English to Spanish,” Lara says. “I do a little bit of everything.”
At the clinic, she focuses on cases from nearly all areas of law. That means she is learning about everything from office organization and drafting to preparing for trials and learning trial techniques.
For Lara, it serves as a chance to soak up experiences, help others, and narrow down choices for her own future.
“I like the fact that I’m getting an overview of everything,” she says. “It’s helped me a lot in deciding where I’d like to work and what type of law firm I’d be interested in when I ultimately graduate from College of Saint Mary.”
She’s also using her unique skills and multicultural background to work one-on-one with local clients, especially Spanish speakers. Born in Torreón, Coahuila, Mexico, Lara is fluent in Spanish and first immigrated to the U.S. with her mother when she was 10 years old. However, because she was in the United States under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), she was left with few options for financial aid after graduating high school. When she learned about College of Saint Mary’s Misericordia Scholarship, which provides undocumented students with substantial college funding, she saw it as an opportunity to learn and grow in a nurturing community.
“I thought it was good, the fact that it was an all-female college with small class-sizes. Second of all, CSM gave me the privilege of attending college because they provided me with a scholarship,” she explains. “College of Saint Mary gave me a big opportunity to attend college.”
Certainly, she’s taken advantage of the CSM college experience. In addition to being President of the Spanish Club, she is a member of the Paralegal Association and has participated in Leadership Launch, the CSM Choir, and the Student Senate. Now, as graduation nears, she is using opportunities like the Milton R. Abrahams Legal Clinic externship to prepare for a potential career in law.
As she helps connect low-income and Spanish speaking individuals to legal services, Lara is also deepening relationships between College of Saint Mary’s legal programs and Creighton Law. Her pioneering stint as the first CSM student in Creighton’s Milton R. Abrahams Legal Clinic fits into a growing connection between the two universities. In 2015, CSM set up a 3+ 3 partnership with Creighton Law – a program in-line with the University’s initiative to give students a straight path to on-demand careers. The 3 + 3 program lets students earn a paralegal studies degree from College of Saint Mary and a JD from Creighton in a total of six years. As a result, students can take a fast-track to careers, cut costs, and save money.
Lara was first introduced to the opportunity at Creighton Milton R. Abrahams Legal Clinic by professor Sally Bisson-Best, director of the legal studies program and associate professor at CSM. Bisson-Best says opportunities like these work hand-in-hand with intensive classwork.
“The practical skills our students learn in the classroom are enhanced by the real-world experience they gain during the internship placement,” says Bisson-Best.
Bisson-Best also says these types of hands-on learning opportunities are an important part of the curriculum for all of CSM’s Legal Studies students.
“All of our students complete a semester-long internship where they work at law firms, government offices, or non-profit organizations doing paralegal work,” explains Bisson-Best. “The internship is completed during their senior year.”
This combination of practical learning, tight-knit classrooms, and hands-on opportunities has resulted in a stellar reputation within the CSM’s Legal Studies program. It is the only 4-year paralegal program approved by the American Bar Association in Nebraska and Iowa. It’s the only program in Nebraska to offer pre-law, paralegal students courses taught by all attorneys, and it’s also one of only 270 ABA approved associate degree paralegal programs in the U.S.
Lara will work at the legal clinic until May. In the future, she plans to take the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT) and apply to law school. She hopes to someday open up her own non-profit legal clinic for people in need and people who require assistance preparing for U.S. citizenship.
