New club preps students for legal professions

During a late-night study session last year, Pitt Junior Bryant Andrews-Nino came to the…During a late-night study session last year, Pitt Junior Bryant Andrews-Nino came to the realization that, unlike pre-med and engineering students, pre-law students lacked a cohesive on-campus community.

“Literally, from curriculum, you could study theater or you could study political science and any range in between and still be pre-law,” Andrews-Nino said. “You could join any array of clubs, you could be in any building on campus. That structure and community isn’t as defined.”

So, with the help of other Pitt pre-law students, Andrews-Nino formed the University Pre-Law Student Association in August. He said the mission of the new student group revolves around developing pre-law students through networking, Law School Admission Test preparation and community service.

Despite being a new group on campus, Andrews-Nino said, the University Pre-Law Student Association has attracted attention from undergraduates and Pitt Law School students alike, with 17 members thus far.

As a part of the group’s networking goal, Andrews-Nino said law school students would pair with pre-law students to provide them with mentoring services like LSAT preparation courses and general guidance in their studies.

“Rather than having to pay thousands of dollars for a Kaplan tutor or for academic classes with a Kaplan professional, you can get that same great experience from the current grad school law school students for free,” Andrews-Nino said.

Additionally, Andrews-Nino said the University Pre-Law Student Association plans to provide LSAT study guides for its members. He said he’s spoken with representatives from Kaplan,a publisher of test-preparation books, and hopes to purchase some of their study books for a discounted price and then rent them out to members.

But Andrews-Nino said the group’s community-service aspect could be the most valuable resource it offers, since such service projects provide supplemental credentials for students applying to law school.

“To be able to say that I did something tangible that impacted my community — that, in return, had a great impact on myself, and that, as a result, allowed me formulate the reason why I want to pursue a specific aspect of law,” Andrews-Nino said.

Since the University Pre-Law Student Association is a new student organization, it’s unclear whether they’ll receive funding from the Student Government Board’s Allocations Committee to cover the cost of LSAT preparation books.

According to the Allocation Committee’s manual from last year, allocations requests that primarily benefit members of an individual student organization rather than the Pitt student body as a whole should factor in a “shared funding responsibility,” meaning that members will contribute to organizational funding.

But junior Mary Mallampalli, the group’s vice president, said she’s hopeful the committee will consider the group’s impact on pre-law students when making a decision on the group’s allocations request.

“We just hope that the Allocations Committee sees that this group can really benefit students who are looking into a future in law,” Mallampalli said.

For students joining the University Pre-Law Student Association, the new group is an opportunity to bond with students who share their interests and career aspirations.

Sophomore Jen Hengst, who joined the group earlier this year, said the group provides a strong support system for its members.

“For me, at least, it’s the ability to meet people who want to do the same thing as me,” Hengst said. “You have a network of people that support you.”