Los Angeles City Councilmember Jack Weiss kicked off the UCLA
School of Law’s government month with a keynote address at
the Law Building Wednesday.
Weiss, who was elected to city council June 2001 and represents
about 258,000 people, addressed a group primarily composed of
first-year law students about his experiences as a student of UCLA
and in a career in public service.
Weiss said though he “had no idea what was expected”
of him when he first enrolled in law school; taking advantage of
the resources the school had to offer helped him network and gain
exposure to various aspects of law.
“There are people here who have research interests related
to yours,” said Weiss, referring to research opportunities
that he pursued.
Weiss reflected on a semester of his third year in law school
““ which he spent at a private firm ““ as the experience
that really “opened (his) eyes.”
He also thanked former Law School Dean Susan Prager, who was in
the audience, for helping him get the clerkship that made
“the total difference in my career.”
Weiss also spoke about the honor of working in public law, and
mentioned that he still “gets goosebumps” when he
remembers working for the United States attorney’s office and
“walking into federal court and announcing my appearance:
Jack Weiss on behalf of the United States.”
Weiss also commented on his current position on the city
council, where he has the unique status of being the only
lawyer.
“You get to use the tool of law to improve the quality of
life in a neighborhood. … The people tell you how much they
appreciate it,” said Weiss, speaking of the rewards of public
service.
Weiss curtailed his own speech to field questions from students,
who mostly sought advice on how to achieve their individual career
goals. Weiss encouraged students to get involved as early as
possible ““ writing research papers, pursuing clerkships, and
gaining professional experience in Washington, D.C.
When asked about his goals, Weiss said he wanted to stay in
public service.
“I’ll keep running for office,” he said.
“It’s great to have the public as your client; to
have justice as your client,” Weiss added.
The students responded to Weiss’ speech with loud
applause.
“I really enjoyed listening to him speak,” said
first-year law student Nikki Buffa. “It’s wonderful to
have someone talk to us about what we want to do with our law
degrees.”
Prager, who currently teaches at the law school, found the
speech equally valuable.
“It’s wonderful to come back into contact with an
alum who has achieved so much and who has such enthusiasm,”
Prager said.