From full-time mom to full-time law student, Leticia Guzman (Law ‘20) knows what it takes to be successful in law school and continues to channel that dedication as she prepares for the Bar. After graduating from the San Francisco Art Institute with a degree in Advertising, she realized her true passion was law. Find out how she navigated her last semester in law school through a worldwide pandemic, was honored as our Valedictorian when she graduated and how she overcame her own battle with COVID-19 while studying for the Bar.
Tell us about yourself and your road to SJCL.
I always knew I wanted to be a lawyer. Even as far back as elementary school. But I didn’t quite know what a lawyer was - I only saw them on tv but for some reason, I wanted to be one. When I was 12, I watched a movie called The Rainmaker with Matt Damon and it really inspired me. In the movie, he had just graduated from law school and was working for a shady lawyer while studying for the Bar. He was poor, drove an old car and there was really nothing glamorous about his role. He was the underdog but he was a good guy and he helped his clients with the limited resources he had, but he prevailed against big law because he worked hard, and that’s what moved me.
I’ve always had a strong interest in my education since a young age. My parents only spoke Spanish, so growing up I didn’t have a lot of guidance in school. They were wonderful parents, but they didn’t know about schoolwork and college, so I was self-taught from an early age. My parents worked seven days a week, from morning to night. It was up to me to make my own path - and that path was (almost) always law. In high school, I used to drag my mom to Borders and have her buy me constitutional law books and other random legal books.
I’m also creatively driven, so when I was 18, I decided I would pursue my creative side and moved to San Francisco to attend art and design school. I wanted to be a creative director and create beautiful ads. There was no one there to tell me that it was not the right choice for me. I hated every minute of it, but I refused to quit because I was already in the program and didn’t want to just give up. I made myself stick it out, but I happened to take a copyright law class during my last year. It was my favorite class and that’s when I knew I had to go back to my dream of pursuing a legal career.
After I graduated, I moved back to the Central Valley and married my husband. I decided that I wanted to have kids before going to law school because I didn’t want to be a new lawyer while simultaneously starting my family. My plan was to have kids first, so that I could be at home with them as toddlers while attending law school. Before I applied for law school and while I was pregnant with my first daughter, I took paralegal courses at Fresno City College because I wanted to get a feel for legal classes first and make sure I was making the right choice. In the meantime, I also worked at a couple of law firms and all that experience really helped solidify my choice to go to law school.
What advice do you have for people who are interested in law to make sure it’s a career they want to pursue?
Definitely work in a legal setting first. Whether it’s as a legal assistant, intern, or in any other capacity, just work with lawyers first and see what they actually do on a day-to-day basis. Also, take some legal classes at Fresno City College to get a feel for the type of research and writing you’ll be doing. It’s affordable and they have really great legal reading and writing classes. They also have substantive classes like evidence and family law and while those classes aren’t nearly as hard as the ones, you’ll take in law school, they do give you a good feel for the kind of material you’ll work on.
Why did you choose San Joaquin College of Law?
I grew up in Visalia and lived there my whole life and my husband, who was my boyfriend at the time, was from Fresno. When I completed my undergrad in San Francisco, I came back to the Central Valley and we got married. I knew I needed a support system nearby for the family we wanted to have, so I wanted to stay local. I honestly didn’t even know Fresno had a law school until I learned about SJCL from a teacher at Fresno City College, who had gone to SJCL. It immediately piqued my interest because it meant that I could stay local. I researched SJCL and decided that’s where I was going to go.
You attended law school before and during the pandemic - what are some of the differences and challenges you experienced?
The greatest challenge was having to take classes via Zoom while all three of my children were home, especially my toddler. But my professors were always understanding and supportive. That's what I loved most about SJCL, I always felt very supported as a student parent.
As a mom and law student, what advice do you have to maintain a healthy work/school/life balance?
I would recommend not working during your first year of law school because you’re learning to study in a new way and figuring things out. Everything is so time consuming the first year. If you have the ability to not work, I highly recommend doing that. Any extra time that I had during law school (which was very minimal), I wanted that time to be spent with my children and family. As far as balancing time goes, it was quality over quantity for me. I spent so much time studying and away from my kids I made sure I found ways to incorporate quality time with my family, even if it was minimal. For instance, my Friday nights were reserved for family time. That meant zero studying from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. every Friday and I always made the best of that time.
Eventually, I did manage to work part-time while attending classes and even while having a newborn. It was rough, but I was able to navigate through all the challenges thanks to my wonderful support system. Although, I don’t have a lot of family nearby, I built a strong support system through friends and classmates. Moreover, my husband provided an immense amount of support as well.
What’s something you learned in law school that you wish someone would’ve told you about before?
The mental strain that comes with it. I knew it was going to be stressful, but I didn’t realize it would be so overwhelming at times, sometimes even depressing. There were times that I was so exhausted and anxious from all the pressure that it was difficult to see the light at the end of the tunnel. It becomes debilitating sometimes and no one tells you that beforehand. There are ways to manage your stress better and I wish I would have anticipated needing those tools so that I could’ve worked on those stress management skills before going to law school.
How important is self-care as you’re going through law school?
It’s incredibly important because it will literally make or break you. If you don’t have support or a solid support system, it gets really hard sometimes. I remember after I had my son, it was awful, and I had to reach out to Dean Atkinson. He was so supportive, and it relieved some of my stress to just have someone to talk to who understood my situation and what I was going through. Your friends and family don’t understand the stresses of law school and everyone tries to tell you not to stress, but it doesn’t work that way. During my first year, I had young kids at home and my husband was deployed at the time, so I became really close with some other 1L’s. Someone would pick up my kids when I was in class, bring them to school and wait in the library with them until I got out of class. That kind of support was incredibly important for me and if you’re really close with other students, you can possibly set up playdates while you get studying done or go over outlines while your kids hang out. It was incredibly helpful that I developed this bond with other women who became like second moms to my kids because together, we were able to come together and make one great mom for all of them.
What areas of law are you passionate about and did you discover it during law school?
I originally went into law school to do family law, but I became open in law school about other areas. During my second year, I interned at the Fifth District Court of Appeals and had the opportunity to work with appellate attorneys and do a lot of research and writing. I fell in love with that work and that is what I do today.
What’s your experience been like so far at the Fifth District Court of Appeals?
It’s been great. We are currently working from home, so I only got to work there for six weeks before I went on Bar prep leave. It was a little intimidating because as a new graduate, you never feel like you know what you’re doing and you’re working on some heavy stuff - these are real people’s lives in your hands. Fortunately, I have a wonderful mentor there and she’s been very helpful. I just love working in such a supportive and family-friendly environment.
What’s your best Bar prep advice?
Don’t try to go into Bar prep too early. I made that mistake and burned myself out, especially right now that we are already burned out from all the changes that COVID brought. I actually got COVID and had to postpone taking the Bar until February 2021. I would also suggest putting yourself on a schedule and doing your active learning like practicing MBEs and essays during the day. That is going to help condition your brain to perform at it’s best during the time when you will actually be taking the Bar.
How has the pandemic changed your daily routine and the way you studied in law school and for the Bar?
Due to the pandemic, I have my kids at home now. My son is back at daycare, but my daughters are doing virtual schooling. Before the pandemic hit, my plan was to study from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. every day while the kids were in daycare or school. Now, I have two kids at home who are also learning, and it’s thrown me off schedule, so I’ve had to find creative ways to get some quiet time. I get up at 4 a.m. and study until 7:30 a.m. when my son gets up. Then, I’ll get him ready for daycare, drop him off and continue studying. I’m also forced to take breaks because the girls are home and I need to get lunch ready and help them with whatever they need. It can be very distracting, but I try my best to keep my focus.
The pandemic also brought on a new Bar format which I’ve had to adjust to. As you may already know, the Bar is now online with no physical materials allowed. I’ve had to learn to work strictly on screen which has been difficult. I’m the type of person who likes everything in print, so I really had to work hard on doing my essays and MBEs on screen without scratch paper or diagrams.
Any advice for staying productive while studying from home?
Take a lot of breaks. Every two hours stop what you’re doing and go and do something else for 15 minutes. Go outside and get fresh air, get a coffee, or just take a quick walk. Those breaks really help. Whenever I started getting sleepy, I'd run around the kitchen island and that helped get the adrenaline going. Strange, but it works for me.
Want to learn more about San Joaquin College of Law, attend a virtual student forum or set up an appointment to discuss your law school future? Contact our Admissions Counselor, Francisco "Javier" Rosas, today!