In this episode of The Welcome Table, Max Gaston sits down with Liz Bodamer, Senior Director of Research at the Law School Admission Council (LSAC), to explore the evolving landscape of law school admissions and the challenges facing DEI in legal education.

As law schools adapt to major shifts in admissions policies, including the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on affirmative action, Max and Liz discuss how these changes impact access, opportunity, and equity. Drawing on insights from LSAC’s 2024 Knowledge Report, they examine the barriers prospective law students face, from financial hurdles to the hidden curriculum, and what institutions can do to uphold their commitments to diversity.

Whether you’re a future law student, legal educator, or advocate for inclusion, this conversation provides a critical look at the intersection of law, policy, and equity in higher education—and what comes next.

In this episode of The DEI Podcast, we explore the rich and multifaceted nature of Black identity. Max is joined by three Notre Dame Law students, each offering a unique perspective shaped by their cultural backgrounds, lived experiences, and legal aspirations.

Together, they challenge the monolithic perception of Blackness, discussing cultural assumptions, belonging in Black spaces, and the impact of identity on their law school journeys. The conversation also highlights the importance of cultural representation and how their backgrounds influence their approach to law and justice.

Whether you're a law student, a DEI advocate, or simply interested in the intersection of culture, identity, and the legal profession, this episode provides a thoughtful and engaging exploration of the diversity within Black identity.

Judicial clerkships are typically characterized as an unadulterated good—lifelong mentor-mentee relationships between judges and law clerks that confer professional benefits. But little information exists to help law students identify positive work environments and avoid judges who mistreat their clerks.

At the Legal Accountability Project, Aliza Shatzman works to ensure that law clerks have positive clerkship experiences, and to provide resources to those who do not. In this conversation, Aliza describes her personal experiences with gender discrimination, harassment, and retaliation by a former DC Judge. Aliza also explains how Title VII of the Civil Rights Act does not extend to federal judicial employees, the need for greater diversity within judicial chambers, and the work LAP is doing to support greater judicial accountability.

Topics covered with timestamps:

· 3:01 – Discussing what clerkships are, how they are messaged, and how students go about getting clerkships.

· 8:23 – Aliza discusses her experience with harassment and mistreatment during her judicial clerkship and the reputational harm inflicted on her by her former judge following her clerkship.

· 13:11 – Discussing the power disparity between judges and law clerks and how that disparity and the threat of retribution and reputational harm makes it difficult for law clerks to speak out in the face of mistreatment.

· 17:17 – Discussing the mental health consequences for judicial law clerks who are mistreated by judges.

· 19:32 – Aliza explains how she went on to found the Legal Accountability Project following her negative clerkship experience.

· 22:22 – Discussing the problem of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act not extending to federal judicial employees and the role Law Schools can play in protecting students who will go on to be law clerks.

· 30:55 – Discussing the importance of judicial ethics and the state of the judiciary overall regarding ethics and accountability.

· 34:04 – Aliza discusses the centralized clerkships database being developed by the Legal Accountability Project—tech that democratizes information about judges so law students have more information about judges before making decisions on where to clerk.

· 37:39 – Discussing the lack of diversity in judicial chambers and the hiring practices of judges as reported in the recent publication, Law Clerk Selection and Diversity: Insights From Fifty Sitting Judges of the Federal Courts of Appeals.

· 43:27 – Aliza discusses the benefits of diversity in judicial chambers to support fair and equitable legal problem solving.

· 46:24 – Discussing the role of judges in judicial reform and the work of the Legal Accountability Project.