Three recent graduates from University of the Pacific’s McGeorge School of Law saw a classroom idea become state law this fall, after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation they helped craft through the school’s Legislative and Public Policy Clinic.

Under the bill, authored by Assemblymember Mike Fong, law students in California will be able to receive financial compensation from an externship site while earning academic credit, reversing a current practice of California law schools to deny academic credit for paid externships.  The law will go into effect Aug. 1, 2026.

Alumni Bailey Morrell ’25, Citlali Perez ’25 and Diana Crow ’25 worked on the legislation as students at McGeorge.

“Last August, I proposed the idea of ensuring pay for legal externships on the first day of the Legislative & Public Policy Clinic,” Morrell said. “What I didn’t know then is that I would find a team of women to develop the bill, support from the Student Bar Association to run the bill and connections within the Capitol that would pass a bill that changes the future for law students. I am incredibly honored and proud to have been a part of developing and passing this bill.”

Students at McGeorge School of Law are required to complete two experiential learning experiences as part of their legal education, fulfilled through participation in either one of the school’s seven legal clinics or an externship.

During the 2023-2024 academic year, 124 McGeorge students dedicated more than 31,000 hours of their time to externships.

“It was incredibly rewarding to see our work turn into actual legislation,” Perez said. “Collaborating with my classmates was an amazing experience. I’m deeply grateful for the opportunity.”

Morrell, Perez and Crow helped draft the bill under the supervision of clinic directors Aaron Brieno ’14 and Cathy Christian. Brieno is the Chief of Staff for California State Sen. Melissa Hurtado, while Christian is a retired partner at Nielsen, Merksamer, Parrinello, Gross and Leoni LLP.

“I am tremendously proud of our McGeorge Legislative & Public Policy Clinic students' work getting AB 1155 signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom,” Brieno said. “California law schools’ denial of academic credit for paid externships has created an equity issue that disproportionately impacts students from disadvantaged and underrepresented communities. Allowing students to receive payment while completing legal externships for credit will help make legal education slightly more attainable.”

The three recent graduates testified about their work on the bill at a California Assembly Committee meeting in April. Morrell testified as the lead witness in support of AB 1155. McGeorge’s Student Bar Association unanimously voted in support of the bill.

“It’s an amazing feeling to know that I contributed to a bill that became law,” Crow said. “Our professors were instrumental in preparing us for every step of the legislative process, from understanding what to expect to learning how to build professional relationships at the Capitol.”

Since the Clinic began in 2013, students have worked on 15 bills that later became enacted into law. Other legislation signed into law includes: changing evidence rules to treat discredited forensic testimony as false evidence, banning the use of carbon dioxide gas for euthanizing animals and increasing access to justice for survivors of domestic violence.

Mostly recently, students worked on a 2021 first-in-the-nation bill requiring hospitals to allow the use of cannabis for pain relief for terminally ill patients, a 2022 bill that made English as a Second Language courses more financially accessible to immigrants and a 2024 bill that tackled California’s aging water infrastructure crisis and promoted environmental justice.

In addition to the Legislative and Public Policy Clinic, McGeorge operates six other legal clinics in Sacramento, including the Bankruptcy Clinic, Buccola Family Homeless Advocacy Clinic, Elder and Health Law Clinic, Federal Defender Clinic, Immigration Law Clinic and Prisoner Civil Rights Mediation Clinic.