Beyond the Books

Shaking the Foundations, an annual conference for law students, hits its tenth year running in bringing about a real world look at law.

Jordana Lynne Mosten arrived at Stanford Law a few years ago, eager to use the justice system to make a difference. Though, after never-ending classes and schoolwork, she remembers feeling disillusioned about her role as a student and a future lawyer.

"Law school-it's very theoretical," she said. "I felt there was a huge disconnect between what I was learning at school and what I came to school to do."

This October (the 3rd through the 4th), she joined students from around the world at Stanford Law School for the 10^th anniversary of the Shaking the Foundations conference , which works to promote progressive lawyering. Basically, the goal is to advance public interest work, and to do this, the conference is organized around three main goals: To empower, envision and engage.

The first-to empower-focuses on teaching students how to turn ideas into action and included panels on feminist lawyering, advocacy and mental health, and crimes against children. This year, the envision component centered on the upcoming election, featuring a poll-watching workshop and a discussion of the implications of race and class. Finally, in order to engage, the conference focused on hot-button issues, like environmental justice, climate change, and human trafficking.

The conference works annually to change the face of law, encouraging students to promote social justice and connecting them with practitioners who use their skills for the public good. It introduces upcoming lawyers to "different career paths and what you can do with a law degree," said conference co-chair Zoe Palitz. "We've gotten an overwhelming response."

Like most students, law grads face high debt upon graduation, resulting in pressure to start making money, rather than focusing on progressive lawyering. "It's very easy for students to come to law school and get kind of taken off path," said Palitz. "As a 1^st year student last year attending the conference, it served as a really great reminder of what I wanted to do with my law degree."

This year, Shaking the Foundations is going further than ever for its 10^th anniversary, especially in the area of networking.

"We're trying to go on a bigger scale," Palitz said. "We hope it will serve as a networking opportunity for panelists themselves. They may meet people who they've never worked with before but who are interested in the same issues."

At the closing dinner, Dean Larry Marshall spoke about the importance of commitment to social issues. He said successful lawyers need both hubris and humility.

"If we do not think we are bigger than we are we will never have the courage to fight the establishment and make meaningful changes in the law," said Mosten, who paraphrases the Dean's powerful message. "We need to remember that as much as we have accomplished, we are only individuals and we have to depend on others for our success."

As for Mosten, she thinks Shaking the Foundations did its job. "The conference was fantastic," she said. "I feel re-energized about public interest work and why I came to law school. Students who've become disenchanted or lost can get excited again."