University of San Diego

front of warren hall

School of Law
Law Student Affairs

Sidebar
March 30, 2026— Volume 15, Number 30

Happy Easter Break

Easter Break is April 3-6. No classes during the break. Offices closed on Friday.

Easter Break 2026 

Construction Notice: Camino San Diego & S12 Parking

Beginning Wednesday, April 1, the university will conduct storm drain installation near the Belanich Engineering Center along Camino San Diego Road (adjacent to the Pardee Legal Research Center). Work is expected to continue through May 1 and will temporarily impact traffic patterns.

Flaggers will be on-site during work hours—please follow their directions. Eastbound traffic will remain open, and S11 parking will be unaffected; however, S12 parking will be limited during this time. More Information and Map

Upcoming Events

Monday, March 30

USD School of Law Tax Speaker Series: Andrew Hayashi University of Virginia

USD School of Law Tax Speaker Series: Andrew Hayashi University of Virginia
Monday, March 30, 2026 // Noon
Warren Hall, 2A

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

La Raza General Body Meeting X HOLS X LATINAS IN THE LAW

La Raza General Body Meeting X HOLS X LATINAS IN THE LAW
Monday, March 30, 2026 // Noon
Warren Hall, Room 3C

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Tuesday, March 31

LRC AI Speaker Series: AI in the Courts

LRC AI Speaker Series: AI in the Courts
Tuesday, March 31, 2026 // Noon
Pardee Legal Research Center, 132

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Criminal Tax Panel

Criminal Tax Panel
Tuesday, March 31, 2026 // Noon
Warren Hall, 131


                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

SDJBA and JLSA Jewish in the Law Panel

SDJBA and JLSA Jewish in the Law Panel
Tuesday, March 31, 2026 // Noon
Warren Hall, Room 2A

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Wednesday, April 1

Big Law Panel

Big Law Panel
Wednesday, April 1, 2026 // Noon
Warren Hall, Grace Courtroom

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Real Estate Law Networking and Mentorship Mixer

Real Estate Law Networking and Mentorship Mixer
Wednesday, April 1, 2026 // 6 p.m.
Coco Maya, Little Italy, 1660 India St, San Diego CA 92101

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Thursday, April 2

Conscientious Leadership in the Law Program Spring 2026 Workshops

Conscientious Leadership in the Law Program Spring 2026 Workshops
Thursday, April 2, 2026 // Noon
Warren Hall, Grace Courtroom

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Spring Tri Mixer

Spring Tri Mixer
Thursday, April 2, 2026 // 5:30 p.m.
Signature Resolution, 12730 High Bluff Dr Suite 350, San Diego, CA 92130

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Tuesday, April 7

Law Student Appreciation Week - Coffee Break

Law Student Appreciation Week Coffee Break
Tuesday, April 7, 2026 // Noon
Warren Hall, Writs

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

SDLR/ILJ/JCEL Joint Information Session

SDLR/ILJ/JCEL Joint Information Session
Tuesday, April 7, 2026 // Noon
Warren Hall, Room 3B

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Bona Fide Bash

Bona Fide Bash
Tuesday, April 7, 2026 // 6 p.m.
Stone Brewing, 2816 Historic Decatur Road #116, San Diego, CA 92106

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Wednesday, April 8

Bagel Breakfast

Bagel Breakfast
Wednesday, April 8, 2026 // 8:45 a.m.
Student Life Pavilion, Room 401

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

APALSA General Body Meeting & Elections

APALSA General Body Meeting & Elections
Wednesday, April 8, 2026 // Noon
Warren Hall, Room 131

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Coffee & Bagels

Coffee & Bagels
Wednesday, April 8, 2026 // Noon
Warren Hall, Writs

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

IP & Corporate Tech Externship Info Session

IP & Corporate Tech Externship Info Session
Wednesday, April 8, 2026 // Noon
Warren Hall, Room 3B

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

USDLP Presents: The ACLU's Frontline Legal Battles

USDLP Presents: The ACLU's Frontline Legal Battles
Wednesday, April 8, 2026 // Noon
Warren Hall, Room 2A

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Graduate & Law Student Appreciation Week

Graduate & Law Student Appreciation Week
Wednesday, April 8, 2026 // 2:00 p.m.
SOLES Student Lounge

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Thursday, April 9

First-Gen Grads: Donuts & Coffee

First-Gen Grads: Donuts & Coffee
Thursday, April 9, 2026 // 9 a.m.
Student Life Pavilion, Room 401

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

GSG General Body Meeting

GSG General Body Meeting
Thursday, April 9, 2026 // Noon
Degheri Alumni Center, Rooms 112/113

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Meet The JAGs Panel

Meet The JAGs Panel
Thursday, April 9, 2026 // Noon
Warren Hall, Room 2A

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Sacramento County District Attorney's Office Recruiting Event

Sacramento County District Attorney's Office Recruiting Event
Thursday, April 9, 2026 // Noon
Warren Hall, Grace Courtroom 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Saturday, April 11

2026 Special Education Law and Advocacy Series (SELAS)

2026 Special Education Law and Advocacy Series (SELAS)
Saturday, April 11, 2026 // 10:00 a.m.
Virtual

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

American Trade at the Border Symposium

American Trade at the Border Symposium
Saturday, April 11, 2026 // 12:30 p.m.
Mother Rosalie Hill Hall, Warren Auditorium

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Sunday, April 12

USD VICAM 1L Tryouts!

USD VICAM 1L Tryouts!
Sunday, April 12, 2026 // Designated time slots
Warren Hall, Room 3D

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Announcements

Announcements from SBA

Wednesday, April 1, 2026 - Noon-12:50 p.m. - SBA General Meeting - WH 2A

Tuesday, April 7, 2026 - Noon-12:5o p.m. - SBA Budget Committee - Zoom

Campus Concerns and Comments Form

Barrister’s Ball 2026

Barrister's Ball Flyer

Parking Impact - April 9th

On April 9, the S11 parking lot will close at 4:00 p.m. Parking Services will require all vehicles to be moved by that time. Please plan to park elsewhere.

LWR TA Applications for 2026-2027

Applications are now available for students interested in serving as a TA for the Legal Writing and Research Program during the 2026-2027 academic year. 

Apply by April 21, 2026, using the following this link.

Join the 2026 - 2027 Graduate Student Government!

Graduate Student Government (GSG) will be opening applications for elections soon, so we want to make sure you have all the important information! Positions will be open for President, Vice President, and Director of Communications & Operations. All graduate and law students who are in good standing, have interest in being a student leader, and will be a student during the 2026 - 2027 academic year are encouraged to run.

Elections Timeline:

April 7 - Applications Open
April 13 - Applications Close
April 16 - Voting Opens
April 23 - Voting Closes

Questions? Email gradlife@sandiego.edu

Be Part of the 26-27 Pride Law Board!

The application for Pride Law's 2026-2027 Executive Board is open! The deadline to apply is Tuesday April 7th at 11:59 PM.

Position descriptions 

The application may be found here

N & G Clinic Executive Board Applications Close March 30th!

Name and Gender-Marker Change Clinic is looking for USD Law Students interested in a leadership role for the 2026-2027 year, including our Summer 2026 clinics and tabling at the 2026 Pride Festival in Balboa Park. All roles involve learning the "backend" of the clinic including the intake process, how we build and process forms, general clinic procedures, finding volunteers, community engagement, and running clinic sessions.

APPLICATION LINK.

There are six (6) vacant positions. In general, these positions will demand up to 4 hours per week, mostly involving administrative work as well as participation during the clinic itself. Check out our board positions at this link.

If you have any questions about the application process, please reach out to volunteer.transclinic.sandiego@gmail.com.

Application Timeline:
Applications due by Monday 3/30 at 11:59 P.M.
Short (~20-minute) interviews to take place between 4/1 - 4/4
Selected candidates notified shortly after

N&G Board App

USD Law Progressives 2026-2027 Exec Board Applications Open!

Interested in joining the executive board of the USD Law Progressives for the year 2026-2027?

Applications are now OPEN! Applications will close Monday, April 6th at 11:59 PM. If you have any questions about the application process, please email sdlawdems@gmail.com!

Link here to apply.

USD Law Progressives Board Elections

Family Law Society 2026-27 Executive Board Application

FLS 26-27 Board

Advocates for Children and Education Executive Board Application

ACE Board Application

La Raza 2026-2027 Executive Board Positions Application

2026 -2027 EXECUTIVE BOARD APPLICATION is live. We encourage our 1Ls and 2Ls to apply.

If you have questions on any position or would like to get input from a current executive board member, reach out to us on DM on Instagram or email. Good luck, deadline is 4/1.La Raza Board Application

New Resources from the LRC

The LRC is pleased to announce two new resources available to students now: vLex and Harvey.ai.

vLex is a legal research database providing access to resources from over 100 countries, making it great for foreign and international law research. vLex also includes a dedicated generative AI tool called Vincent AI designed to help with a variety of tasks performed by lawyers in practice. Learn more about creating an individual vLex account to access Vincent AI on the LRC’s Databases A-Z list.

Harvey.ai is a generative AI tool built on ChatGPT’s models and fine-tuned for legal workflows. Harvey supports contract analysis, compliance review, and multi-step legal research tasks. Learn more about accessing Harvey on the LRC’s Databases A-Z list.

Students are not permitted to use their academic access to vLex or Harvey for commercial work. Under USD Law’s AI use policy, students may not use generative AI for academic work without explicit permission from their instructor.

Please reach out to the LRC reference desk (lrcrefer@sandiego.edu) with any questions about vLex or Harvey!

Join the ADR Team!

The Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Team invites you to join our team and try out on April 10-12th, 2026. Gain hands-on experience in negotiation, sports law negotiation, mediation, and client counseling. By trying out, you’ll enhance your advocacy skills, build your professional network, receive mentorship, and even have the opportunity to travel nationwide for competitions. The tryout consists of a short 10-minute session with no written component—all interested USD law students are encouraged to apply.  Tryout details are below:

Date: April 10-12th, 2026
Location: Over Zoom
Details: 10-minute tryouts in pairs, based on a one-page fact pattern (no written component)

Sign up here!

ADR Tryouts

USD Legal Clinics: Openings for Summer & Fall 2026

Do an internship right here on campus. Join our on-site law office and gain skills working with actual clients on real legal cases. This is an experience that can boost your resume and prepare you for legal practice. We have openings for the summer 2026 session and Fall 2026 semester in the following direct client service clinics: Appellate (fall and 3Ls only), Civil, Education and Disability, Entrepreneurship, Federal Tax, Housing Rights, Immigration, State Income Tax, State Sales & Use (fall only), Veterans, Women's (family law), and Workers' Rights (fall only).

Apply online today. Please contact usdlegalclinics@sandiego.edu or (619) 260-7640 with any questions about registration. Visit the Legal Clinics webpage for more information about our clinic offerings.

Perform the National Anthem

Apply to audition to perform the National Anthem at the School of Law 2026 Commencement Ceremony by April 1st. Auditions are open to all USD School of Law students, including vocalists and instrumentalists. In-person auditions will be held April 7–10.

National Anthem

DILSA Board Applications Open

Apply for a board position with DILSA for the 2026-27 year!

Apply here: https://forms.gle/A8RYPB5h1gydSuQZ7 

DILSA Board Apps

Scholarship

Check out a comprehensive list of both USD and external scholarships to help fund your studies HERE.

Below is a partial listing of outside scholarships of interest for USD Law students. For a complete listing, please visit Outside Scholarships on the USD School of Law Financial Aid website.

2026 Lem Garcia Law Scholarship $1,000 - Available to JD or LLM students currently enrolled and continuing enrollment into 2026-27. Deadline - June 25, 2026.

Nix Patterson Collegiate Scholarship $5,000 - Available to US citizens or permanent residents who are accepted or enrolled in law school with a 3.5 GPA or higher, and demonstrate community involvement. Deadline - July 31, 2026.

Law Fin Aid

Graduate Student Life

Are you interested in connecting with other grad students across USD? Grad Life offers a wide variety of programming for grad and law students. See the events calendar and sign up for the newsletter! Check out the Grad and Law Student Handbook as well!

Student Writing Competitions

Looking for a way to get published? Maybe earn some extra cash? Then consider entering a writing competition. Visit Writing Competitions webpage for current opportunities. Deadlines vary and new competitions are posted periodically. 

CalFresh Program

We recognize the importance of the CalFresh Program available to eligible, enrolled students and strongly encourage all to apply. CalFresh provides food resources in the form of an Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card, which works like a debit card. This program helps many graduate and professional students purchase groceries 12 months a year. Visit CalFresh at https://students.getcalfresh.org/ to start your application. If you have questions about eligibility or need assistance with your application, please contact a CalFresh representative. Approval is determined by CalFresh and the State of California. Please contact the USD School of Law Financial Aid Office  at lawaid@sandiego.com to request a CalFresh letter to submit with your application as supporting documentation. It is also recommended to include a copy of the 25-26 FAFSA Submission Summary (The FAFSA Submission Summary summarizes the information you reported on your FAFSA form and includes your estimated eligibility for federal funding, and your Student Aid Index (SAI) received by email from the Department of Education - Federal Student Aid after submitting the FAFSA) along with the CalFresh application, and USD supporting letter.    

USD Food Pantry and Torero Closet

The USD Food Pantry in Hahn University Center (UC) 116 includes: food, school supplies, hygiene supplies, laundry detergent, etc. Additionally, we have a refrigerator and freezer to offer students fresh produce, dairy, and additional protein options.

The Torero Closet’s mission is to provide support and resources to members of the USD community who are low income students who express need, identify as former foster youth, homeless or at risk for homelessness, and those students who were emancipated minors or in legal guardianships.  It is located at 5330 Linda Vista Road, just south of the West Parking Lot

Food Pantry

TimelyCare

TimelyCare provides students with 24/7 access to campus health and counseling resources—anytime, anywhere.

Timely Care

Sidebar is a weekly enewsletter prepared by the Office for Law Student Affairs and is emailed to all USD law students every Monday morning. It contains important deadlines, announcements and upcoming events for the following two weeks. Past issues of sidebar can be found online.

Submit your listing request online by noon on the Thursday before you wish the listing to run. Listing requests may be edited. Announcements will not be posted for more than two weeks.

Law Student Affairs

Phone
(619) 260-4651
Email
lawstudentaffairs@sandiego.edu
Meet with an Advisor
LSA & ASBP
Instagram
@usdlawstudentaffairs

University of San Diego

School of Law
5998 Alcala Park
San Diego, CA 92110-2492