“We’ve got a really exciting and energetic board that’s motivated to make a real difference,” says Alumni Board President Tara D. Shah ’01. “We’re picking programs that touch and improve a lot of lives in San Diego while giving our law students a unique and rewarding experience out in the community. Serving on the alumni board is an opportunity for alumni to give back through volunteerism and our philanthropic endeavors such as our annual alumni weekend's silent auction and golf tournament. You can’t put a price tag on the incredible satisfaction we receive from helping these tremendous California community outreach programs survive and thrive.”

Where California Western’s community service efforts become difficult to quantify is in the faculty’s myriad volunteer activities, says Dean Smith, who himself serves on the boards of the San Diego Foundation and San Diego Volunteer Lawyer Program, has been active nationally on the National Conflict Resolution Center board, and is a past chair of the ABA’s Section on Legal Education and Admissions.

“I’m pleased to report that almost every one of our professors is deeply involved in at least one and often many volunteer and pro bono projects,” Smith says. “It’s unfortunate I can’t mention all the areas our faculty are engaged in, but a sampling might include Associate Dean William J. Aceves’ important national efforts on human rights issues, Ken Klein’s tireless pro bono work with wildfire victims, Larry Benner’s access-expanding activities through the National Legal Aid & Defender Association and our own Bail Project, and John Noyes’ work as president of the American Branch of the International Law Association.

When Smith reviews the breadth of the law school’s community service efforts, he couldn’t be prouder.

“California Western is a much better law school because of our involvement in serving the public,” he says. “We’re changing the lives of people and organizations who can most benefit from our help, while advancing our students’ education by providing them with early, rewarding legal experience. Perhaps more importantly we’re instilling in them the message that law is more than a series of rules and procedures. It’s about understanding we’re a helping profession and that engaging in uncompensated service is a vital and lifelong pursuit benefitting everyone involved.”