Joan Komolafe is a rising third-year law student at UCLA School of Law who is interested in entertainment, public policy, and technology law. Born and raised on Long Island, NY, before joining UCLA School of Law, Joan served as a United States Peace Corps Volunteer, collaborating with a regional NGO to provide access to legal aid for marginalized groups in the region. Joan attended undergrad in New Orleans, LA, where she studied business while serving as a board member of the Black Student Union. Outside of her undergraduate studies, she interned at the New Orleans Public Defenders’ office and volunteered with the non-profit Reading is Fundamental. During her first year as a law student, Joan was one of only 30 students selected to participate in UCLA’s Public Interest Law and Policy Program, which helps students refine their skills in client advocacy. During her 1L summer, Joan split her time, spending the first half as a Summer Legal fellow at Yale Law School’s Jerome N. Frank Legal Services clinic. At Yale Law School, she engaged in work directly with local clients of color in the New Haven area. She spent the second half of her summer refining her understanding of corporate law through an internship with the Association of Corporate Counsel’s Southern California chapter.

 

As a 2L, she served as a proud board member of UCLA’s BLSA, where she chaired the annual gala, raising over $100,000 to support incoming Black UCLA students. She was appointed Chief Executive Editor of the UCLA Law Review for Vol 71 of the university’s flagship journal. She completed coursework in her Race, Sexuality, and the Law course, where she wrote a Substantial Analytical Writing paper about proposed legislative solutions for Black women facing stress in the workplace. She also completed the UCLA Voting Rights Clinic, where she helped write a complaint for a marginalized community facing voter suppression to a district court in the 10th circuit. Now, as a 3L and first-generation law student, Joan continues her membership of UCLA Law’s BLSA and hopes her experiences will help her contribute to the legal profession by serving as a mentor, role model, and pipeline for diverse candidates.