Fall semester has officially begun, and Colorado Law is looking forward to welcoming the incoming class of new students. Over the next few weeks, we will be highlighting some of our incredible 1Ls through a series of brief profiles! For our next student spotlight, meet Quinn Pickering (he/they).  

Originally from Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, Quinn graduated from Washington and Jefferson College in 2022 with degrees in chemistry and philosophy.  

Meet the Class of 2027’s Quinn Pickering! 

What inspired you to pursue a law degree?  

QP: When I worked as an eviction court case manager, I witnessed barriers impeding tenants' access to legal assistance. These barriers led to instances where potentially valid legal disputes were unable to be heard because of a tenant's lack of legal knowledge or representation. Because of the disparity of resources between a landlord and their tenants, tenants often felt pressured to acquiesce to their landlord's demands or face losing their home while accruing unaffordable fees in the process. Seeing the real-life consequences that result from gaps in the legal system inspired me to pursue a law degree and work to reduce barriers. 

What are your hobbies outside of work and school?  

QP: I love to get outside and hike, run, swim, or play soccer (if anyone has openings on their team, please let me know!). When my body is telling me to chill out and not move, you can find me immersed in a science fiction book or playing a board game. 

What was your career before deciding to come to law school?  

QP: After graduating, I moved to Boise, Idaho to serve as a case manager for AmeriCorps. My service site, Jesse Tree, focused on providing advocacy, empowerment, and resources for individuals at imminent risk of becoming unhoused. I loved my role and the organization's mission, so I stayed after my AmeriCorps term ended and focused on directly assisting tenants in eviction court. 

Why did you choose Colorado law?  

QP: I chose Colorado Law for its reputation of producing lawyers who give back to their communities. Students at CU �鶹ӰԺ recognize and are humbled by the ability to effect change vested upon them and strive to make meaningful impacts. 

What are you most looking forward to this upcoming academic year?  

QP: I look forward to immersing myself amidst a cohort of driven students who care deeply about social change and have the capacity to do so. All the classmates I have met are bright and offer novel ideas, and I am eager to grow by listening to their perspectives. 

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This story was originally published by on May 12, 2022. It is reprinted here with permission.

By Stephanie Daniel

María Teresa Navas Mejía, a long-term employee at the �鶹ӰԺ, recently received her green card thanks to Carina De La Torre and students in the law school's Immigration Defense Clinic.

Credit: Stephanie Daniel/The World

University of Colorado law school professor Violeta Chapin, standing next to a projector, showed her students several images of different groups of immigrants at the US southern border, plus refugees fleeing Ukraine.

“There are some really sort of stark visual differences between the treatment of Ukrainian refugees and treatment that we saw of refugees, mostly from Latin America and from Haiti, over the last few years, but also just over the last few months,” she said.

This class is part of the law school’s Immigration Defense Clinic. It’s one of nine clinics at the university in �鶹ӰԺ that allow students to get hands-on experience representing clients. They provide free legal services to immigrants in the community. Some of the students come from immigrant families themselves.

Chapin, who was born in Costa Rica, is the clinic’s director.

“Immigrants, if they want a lawyer — and many of them do, and need a lawyer — they have to pay shocking amounts of money for an immigration lawyer. Many of them just simply can't afford it.”

Violeta Chapin, University of Colorado, law school professor

“Immigrants, if they want a lawyer — and many of them do, and need a lawyer — they have to pay shocking amounts of money for an immigration lawyer,” she said. “Many of them just simply can't afford it.”

One of Chapin’s students, Larrisa Alire, who is in her second year of law school, said that she has been passionate about immigration rights since her teens.

“My high school was [about] 90% Latino, and a lot of my peers were undocumented, and they really didn't learn that they were undocumented until we were, you know, old enough to get our first job, and you realize you don’t have a social security number,” she said.

Immigrant law is complex. But just like her classmates, Alire has learned a lot during the yearlong course. Since last fall, the students have helped nearly 139 clients renew their status with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA), an Obama-administration law that allowed young people who came to the US as children to remain in the country.

Immigration Defense Clinic students Larrisa Alire and Marina Fleming, in their second year at law school at the University of Colorado, provide free legal services to immigrants. Credit: Courtesy of Larrisa Alire and Marina Fleming

The students also work under Chapin’s supervision and bar license, which allows them to assist on criminal cases.

“This semester, I had a criminal immigration case, and my client was a lawful permanent resident charged with petty crime,” Alire said.

The clinic has also represented more than 20 longtime university employees from El Salvador, who have temporary protected status (TPS), which allows them to work.

The students are helping them become permanent residents. This includes María Teresa Navas Mejía, who has worked at the university for 23 years. She is a housekeeper in the dorms and said that she loves her job.

Navas Mejía got her green card last August. 

“I feel so happy. When they told me that they were going to give me my residency, I just cried because, for me, it was a big achievement,” Navas Mejía said in Spanish.

Carina De La Torre translated for her. De La Torre is a recent Colorado law school graduate and former student of Chapin’s. She now works at the university as a racial justice clinical fellow with the law clinics. She plans on taking the bar in July and pursuing immigration work with a nonprofit organization.

“My parents are immigrants. I have a lot of undocumented family members, and I just saw how unfair and unjust our immigration system is.”

Carina De La Torre, Colorado University law school graduate

“My parents are immigrants,” she said. “I have a lot of undocumented family members, and I just saw how unfair and unjust our immigration system is.”

One of her main jobs is working with TPS holders, like Navas Mejía, who often work in dining and custodial services at the university.

“These employees are part of our community. Their kids [are] students here at CU [University of Colorado],” she said. “They own houses. They go to the same schools that professors have their children at.”

Violeta Chapin, University of Colorado law school professor and director of the Immigration Defense Clinic, helped university employee Irma Bernard become a naturalized US citizen. Credit: Stephanie Daniel/The World

The school is supportive of the clinic, said Patrick O’Rourke, executive vice chancellor and chief operating officer for the University of Colorado’s �鶹ӰԺ campus.

“It's also important for us to be able to have a workforce that knows that, if there's a need, that we will try to be able to react to that need and protect them,” he said.

The clinic is a valuable way for students to learn, he said, while also serving the university’s broader mission: to advance humanity.

“Part of what we need to be able to do is understand the challenges that undocumented workers face and be able to recognize their rights and have our students invested in being able to make the world a more just place,” he continued.

For second-year student Marina Fleming, the work she’s done with the clinic has underscored the importance of immigration law.

“It allows you to see all of the doors that can be available to you as a practitioner and how many doors you can potentially open up for other people who are navigating any number of immigration issues in their lives.”

The first-generation college student said that the clinic is her favorite part of law school. It makes the learning feel real.

“Being able to go to court and just speak to a judge and to feel what it feels like to stand up, to assert your voice, not for yourself, but on behalf of another person is powerful,” she said.

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