Three Boyd Law Alumni Land Immigrant Justice Corps Justice Fellowships

Three alumni from the William S. Boyd School of Law at UNLV have been selected to receive 2023  (IJC) Justice Fellowships. This marks the first-time multiple Boyd Law alumni have been selected for the same incoming fellowship class.

Cristian Gonzalez Perez (’21), Chapman Noam (’22) and Priscila Venzor (’23) will serve two-year fellowships where they will become experts in immigration law and assist in a broad range of legal matters including asylum applications, securing special relief for juveniles and deportation defense. 

“We are overjoyed that our alumni are continuing their journeys of becoming strong and committed immigration advocates,” said Dean and Richard J. Morgan Professor of Law Leah Chan Grinvald. “They will all be invaluable additions to the fellowship cohort and provide high quality assistance to the many clients they will be serving over the next two years and beyond.”

Joyce Mack Professor of Law and Director of the UNLV Immigration Clinic, Michael Kagan, said the multiple fellowship placements acknowledge the high caliber of students at Boyd School of Law. 

“IJC is quite competitive and the applicant pool is incredibly impressive,” he said. “This is a testament to our students at Boyd School of Law that three of them were accepted into this cohort.”

According to their website, IJC pairs each fellow with non-profit legal services providers and community-based organizations. All three Boyd School of Law alumni will work at the UNLV Immigration Clinic’s Community Advocacy Office during their fellowships.

Kagan noted that all three of the IJC recipients have all previously worked at the UNLV Immigration Clinic in various capacities and is excited to have them return to the clinic.

“It’s fantastic that not only are students are able to be a part of IJC but that we will be able to keep them here in Las Vegas and that they have the opportunity to serve this community.”

Gonzalez Perez is currently working as a Judicial Law Clerk at the Eighth Judicial Court of Clark County, Nevada. He said he is excited to pick up on his Immigration Clinic journey where he left off.

“When I was in the clinic last, I was a student attorney and I was limited in the things I could do. But now, I can pick up where I left and continue to improve on the things I was working on as a student.”

Venzor, who most recently served President of the Immigration Rights Coalition at Boyd Law School, said she intends to continue down the path toward becoming an immigration attorney after the fellowship ends.

“I hope this is the beginning of my career as an immigration attorney and representing the rights of vulnerable populations in our community,” she said. “Wherever I go beyond this fellowship, I hope to focus on immigration issues and ensure immigrant rights are always being heard, valued and prioritized.”

Noam is currently a Law Clerk at the Nevada Supreme Court and is glad to continue his immigration law journey with the Immigration Clinic.

“It’s such a huge honor,” he said. “The work the clinic does is so important and to be able to be a part of that is incredibly humbling.”

Gonzalez Perez, Noam and Venzor will begin their fellowships with the UNLV Immigration Clinic this fall.