Northwestern Pritzker Law Launches Office of Community Engagement and Access

In July 2025, Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law launched the Office of Community Engagement and Access (OCEA). Bringing together a breadth of programming from initiatives across the Law School, OCEA provides support and resources for every stage of legal education  – pre-law, law school, and career – from workshops for middle schoolers to initiatives for alumni leaders at the height of their careers. “Our mission is to foster a sense of belonging in the Northwestern Pritzker Law community, while simultaneously strengthening pipelines to legal education and the field of law,” said Associate Dean Samantha Kwok-Ting Woo. “In doing so, we hope to cultivate a vibrant community that more effectively prepares and educates lawyers through the sharing and exploration of different viewpoints to ensure they are ready for the profession on day one.”

One of the primary goals of the Office of Community Engagement and Access is to not only support current law students but also open doors for those who might not have considered law school as an option before. To that end, OCEA has implemented a variety of new initiatives in addition to longstanding programs, including the inaugural Northwestern Summer Pre-Law Academy, an immersive five-day program that introduced opportunities in legal education to students who have traditionally faced barriers to the profession, including first-generation college students, veterans, and individuals from low-income backgrounds and rural communities. Each participant was also paired with an alumni mentor with the goal of fostering an enduring mentor-mentee relationship even after the conclusion of the Academy. “As a first-generation low-income student myself, I would have loved the opportunity to participate in a program like the Academy, which creates a roadmap to the legal profession while also exposing students to the value of mentorship at an early stage in their career. Relationships like the one that I developed with my mentee during and since the Academy are so important in ensuring success for the next generation of lawyers,” said Tom McDonough (BA ’83, JD-MBA ’87), Founder and Managing Partner of TJM Capital Partner.

The Pre-Law Academy joins an impressive slate of programs designed to demystify law school for aspiring students. OCEA hosts Law Days for Chicago Public Schools, in which high school seniors tour the Law School, learn about the law school application process from an admissions representative, attend a mock class with a professor, and engage with current students. “It’s important for [high schoolers] to know there are students who were once in their shoes,” said Woo. Anika M. Gray, Director of the Office of Community Engagement and Access, adds, “We want to encourage students from all communities to see themselves as future members of the profession.” 

For college students and college graduates considering law school, OCEA holds an annual First-Generation Pre-Law Conference in November, as well as a Pathways to the Legal Profession conference in February. The latter provides more detailed support for students “farther along in the process,” including application support, how to decide between schools, and career options to pursue once in law school.

Once students matriculate as 1Ls at Northwestern Pritzker Law, the Office of Community Engagement and Access provides a wide variety of resources to make all newcomers to the Law School feel supported and welcome. In August, OCEA held its annual JD Pre-Orientation program, which included conversations with current students, recent alumni, and faculty on what to expect in a law school environment. For Woo, the program emphasizes to new students that “they deserve to be here, they belong here, they were admitted for a reason. They have everything they need.” OCEA additionally provides a variety of resources for first-generation students, including a meet-and-greet in collaboration with the First-Generation Law Students Association. “We want to create a community from the beginning that they can turn to as they transition to law school and work to figure things out,” Woo said.

The first-generation meet and greet is just one example of the many ways in which the Office of Community Engagement and Access collaborates with students, staff, and alumni to put together programming and events that celebrate all our community members. Examples of annual events include a Martin Luther King, Jr., commemoration in collaboration with other units across Northwestern, participating in the Disability Pride Parade in conjunction with a local disability rights organization, a Pride brunch to celebrate Pride Month, creating a community altar to honor departed loved ones as part of Dia de los Muertos, collaborating on programs in commemoration of Veterans Day, planning a community celebration of Eid, and honoring International Holocaust Remembrance Day, to name a few. These are only some of the ways OCEA helps to create a supportive, welcoming environment where all members of the Law School community can learn, grow, and thrive.

The Office of Community Engagement and Access will also be building off the success of last spring’s Shaping Tomorrow: Accelerating Change Today summit, which brought together thought leaders and senior decision-makers throughout the legal profession to address the longstanding gender disparities in leadership representation, compensation, and attrition. A summary of the action items emerging from the Summit will be shared with participants, and many of its recommendations align with the mission of OCEA. “We want to not only foster a sense of belonging but encourage a variety of perspectives within the Law School,” said Gray. “All of these programs are geared toward ensuring that everyone has access to the profession, and that once students get to Northwestern Pritzker Law, they feel like they belong.”

Programming such as Shaping Tomorrow also give students examples of committed, thoughtful leaders in action throughout the legal world, and is one of several ways that the Office of Community Engagement and Access seeks to develop leadership among students. Another key initiative is the multiple student fellowship programs available, including the Legal Education Access and Dialogue (LEAD) Fellowship. Ten student fellows are selected to serve as ambassadors on behalf of the Law School. They represent the Law School at admissions fairs across the country and at CPS Law Days on the Law School campus, as well as meeting with prospective students during the application period and over admitted students weekend. They also coordinate visits to local institutions to share their paths to law school. For Woo, it is crucial that we “help students identify ways to be leaders,” not only so that they can contribute positively to the Northwestern Pritzker Law community and the wider legal profession, but also to expand opportunities for the next generation. In this way, the Office of Community Engagement and Access ensures that the interrelationships that foster student success span every phase of the law school experience and students’ future careers.