Female Students Lead Co-Curriculars

In law schools, some of the most prestigious posts for students are the heads of the co-curricular activities: The law journals and advocacy competition teams. At UBalt Law, three women now serve as in these roles, as the incoming editors of the Law Review and the Law Forum, and as head of the Board of Advocates. 

“The common thread among all three of them is a desire to better their organizations, and to advocate for their people,” says Kris Vicencio, manager of Evening Student & Advocacy Success at UBalt Law. “Even as you lead, you still want to be mindful of your people, and be serving their best interests.

“That’s something all three of them have expressed, in their own individual ways.” 

Jessica Kweon, president, Board of Advocates

A third-year day student, Jessica Kweon heads up the Board of Advocates, which oversees the creation and daily operations of UBalt Law’s competitive moot court and trial teams. 

As a UMBC undergraduate, she explored a variety of fields: Public health research, bioinformatics research, marketing research, community psychology. “I found that the law was a thoughtful way to combine all of my interests,” she says. “The law touches on every aspect of life, and I’m really taking the time in law school to explore everything that I can.” 

Ironically, perhaps, moot court wasn’t high on her to-do list initially. “When I started law school, it was the last thing I wanted to do. I was very quiet during my first year of law school, I didn’t want to ever speak up,” she says. 

The Introduction to Advocacy course helped her find her voice, and when she finally took part in moot court, “I felt such a rush and such a thrill, answering questions, handling my rebuttal. There was a real sense of accomplishment,” she says. 

As she takes the helm at the Board of Advocates, “I see moot court and mock trial as a way to build the next generation of attorneys,” she says. “This is where it starts, and I’m really excited to serve in a leadership position that helps facilitate these experiences.” 

Of the other women taking top roles at UBalt this year, Kweon says: “The leadership that we have this coming year is really diverse, and we share a vision to empower our students. I look forward to collaborating with some of the brightest minds that we have at our law school.” 

Jayna Peterson, Law Forum Editor-in-Chief 

A former staff editor of the University of Baltimore Law Forum, third-year student Jayna Peterson became editor-in-chief this year. It’s part of her ongoing journey to leverage the law in the service of justice. 

“I grew up watching ‘Dateline’ and true-crime documentaries with my mom, and I learned about cases like the West Memphis Three and Adnan Syed, where egregious injustices occurred,” she says. “I knew that I wanted to play a part in fixing a system that was broken. That was what brought me to law school, and that passion has carried me through.” 

Her Law Forum work has sharpened her skills and expanded her reach. “I’ve learned so much about how to improve my writing, how to improve my advocacy,” she says. “And because the Law Forum talks about issues specific to Maryland, I have made so many connections within the legal community.” 

Having been diagnosed at age three with Autism Spectrum Disorder, she says she’s eager to ensure inclusivity in the Law Forum, and in the legal community in general. 

“Law students with disabilities might not think that they have the bandwidth to take on something extra, or they may not feel a sense of belonging,” she says. “We recently had a diversity panel to talk about different perspectives of people on the journals: Different races, different abilities. I want to have a conversation about belonging, so we can make journals a more accessible space.” 

Shanae Jones, Law Review Editor-in-Chief

A fourth-year evening student and working mother of four, Shanae Jones is editor-in-chief of the Law Review, where she previously served as staff editor. 

“I took the scenic route to law school,” Jones says. She was on the pre-law track as an undergrad, but by the time she graduated in 2011, “I started having doubts about whether what I thought of as lawyers — the ‘TV lawyers’ I had seen — meshed well with who I believed I was.” 

She pivoted to work as a child welfare social worker, a job she still does, but law remained in the picture. “Whenever I’m in court for a kid in the foster care system, there’s an attorney who speaks to the court based on the work that I’ve done,” she says. “Over time, working with lawyers in different capacities, I learned what lawyers actually are and what they actually do. And so I’m back, because I want to be helpful to people.” 

Jones says she chose to serve on Law Review because of its prestigious reputation, “and as editor-in-chief, I want it to live up to that reputation,” she says. 

“I want to attract a diverse applicant pool. That’s important to me, diversifying what journal looks like, who our staff editors are, and what we publish,” she says. “But I also want to make sure that whatever we’re publishing is objective, that we continue to provide factual, sound information. So, while I certainly want to diversify who and what we publish, that doesn’t mean that I want it to lean a certain way.” 

The big picture

Women remain underrepresented in the law. In 2010 they made up just 31 percent of the profession, and by 2023 that number had only crept up to 39 percent, The American Bar Association reports. So it’s not trivial that UBalt Law finds itself with three female students holding top-level positions. 

“All three of them have shown remarkable foresight, both in the plans they have for their organizations, and also in recognizing what they want to learn, so that way they can better lead,” Vicencio says. “They’ve shown the ability to simultaneously manage the here-and-now, while also keeping in mind the long-term impacts of their decisions and how those decisions will be perceived.” 

Their election to these roles “speaks volumes about the respect that our students have for one another,” he says. “They are looking holistically at what this person has accomplished as part of the organization, what they’re willing to bring.” 

In the big picture, “this is a school that emphasizes and celebrates diversity,” he says. “Through no coordination, with no specific input from any administrator or faculty, we’ve found ourselves with three incredibly strong female leaders in three of the most prestigious student organizations. That’s something that should be celebrated.”