Andrea Clavijo: 2016 Best and Brightest

Andrea Clavijo
Andrea Clavijo
Boston College Law School
Hometown: Weston, FL
Undergraduate School: University of Florida
Undergraduate Major and Minor: Journalism (Major); French (Minor); Leadership (Minor)
 
Extracurricular Activities, Community Work and Leadership Roles During Law School:

  • Law Students Association – Vice President (2015-2016); Secretary (2014-2015); 1L Representative (2013-2014)
  • Latin American Law Students Association – Executive Board Member (2013-2016)
  • BC Law Ambassadors – Founder (2015-2016)
  • BC Criminal Procedure Moot Court Team (2015-2016)
  • Finalist, Wendell F. Grimes Moot Court Competition (2015)
  • Staff Editor, BC Intellectual Property & Technology Forum (2014-2015)
  • Immigration Law Spring Break Service Trip (2014)
  • Quarter-Finalist, BC Client Counseling Competition (2013)

Where have you interned during law school?

  • S. Department of Labor – Boston Regional Solicitor’s Office (Boston, MA)
  • Telecommunications Management Group, Inc. (Arlington, VA)
  • Pierce, Davis & Perritano, LLP (Boston MA)
  • National Grid (Waltham, MA)
  • Middlesex District Attorney’s Office (Woburn, MA)

What practice area will you be specializing in after graduation? Regulatory law and civil litigation
Why did you choose to attend law school? I grew up wanting to be the next Katie Couric. I studied journalism in college because of my love for storytelling, engaging in genuine conversation with strangers and using my words to get an important message across to readers. I took a First Amendment course in college taught by a lawyer that opened my eyes to the fascinating concerns and values of free speech. I discovered an opportunity to marry my love of journalism with the law. I felt that going to law school and pursuing a career in media & entertainment law could take my journalism studies to the next level.
What was your favorite law school class? Cyberlaw. The field is relatively new and unchartered, so I appreciated feeling at the forefront of an emerging practice area. The course examined the way the Internet is changing the way we examine property law, First Amendment law, privacy law, and regulatory law. It’s nerdy how exciting that is. I would take the class again in a heartbeat.
Which attorney do you most admire? Lourdes German. She is a wonderfully talented woman I have relied on as a mentor since the end of my 1L year. She has run the gamut with the type of legal and business experiences she has embarked on since she graduated law school. She approaches each hurdle as an opportunity to reflect within herself to determine if her heart is in the work she does, and if her mind is being challenged. She is so good at figuring out what excites her and she pursues that. As a result, she brings tremendous energy to all that she does and it’s contagious. And as busy as she is, she finds time to check in with me and tell me she’s proud of me. I’m the one who is proud of her!
What have you enjoyed most about law school? Discovering a life outside the classroom. I entered law school convinced that I’d have to give up all the things that helped me live a happy, balanced life. I was so wrong! I have been privileged to serve my peers through my leadership positions within our student government. When the reading starts piling up and classes get hectic, I’ve come to rely on my student involvement as an outlet for stress. I’ve been in classes with the smartest people I’ve ever met, and I am honored that I’m the one tasked with bringing their feedback to the administration, advocating for the ways we wish to improve the law school experience, and interacting with students from all class levels to gauge the pulse of what’s on the minds of our nation’s future lawyers. Due to my positions, I’ve had an easy, legitimate reason to get to know the people that make up this school. It’s the people that make an experience great.
What word best describes your professional brand? Authentic. I pride myself in being a deliberate leader and legal scholar. I’m intentional with every internship I pursue, organization I get involved with, and course I take. With every decision I make, I weigh my values, my interests and my weaknesses. What is my biggest drawback to being well-rounded? What perspective am I missing? My parents raised me to follow what I love. Therefore, unless my heart is fully on board, I can’t convince myself to do something. I prioritize the relationships I have with my family and my friends – so if I’m going to take on something that takes time away from the people I love most, I’ve got to believe that it’s helping me become a better human, lawyer and leader at the end of it.
If you were debt free, how would you spend your first paycheck after landing your first law job? I would fly out all of my family members, in particular those living in Venezuela, to Boston to show them where I went to school and lived for 3 years. Due to the current political landscape, traveling to and from Venezuela is both unsafe and unforgivably expensive. The amount of support and love they provide me is unbelievable – they help me keep things in perspective. When I’m bogged down my coursework and the job hunt, they remind me of how impressive and special it is that I’m in law school in the first place. I want to show them where I learned the law, and more than anything I want us all to be together, under one roof, in a place I have come to love.
“I knew I wanted to go to law school when…I realized another way of honoring the journalism profession could be representing and protecting the journalists I’d grown up admiring.”
“If I didn’t go to law school, I would be…an event planner by day, magazine columnist by night.”
Which academic or personal achievement are you most proud of? I’m most proud of the time my moot court partner and I advanced to the finals of BC’s internal moot court competition, called the Wendell F. Grimes Moot Court Competition. More than 125 people saw us argue our final round before a panel consisting of judges from the First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, and the Rhode Island Supreme Court.  After we kept advancing in the playoffs, my partner (also one of my best friends) and I kept looking at each other asking, “Is this really happening?” I felt like a real lawyer throughout that entire experience, and it did wonders for my self-confidence.
Fun fact about yourself: I studied French Hip Hop & Rap Music in Paris for a summer in college.
Favorite book: A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
Favorite movie: A Little Princess
What are your hobbies? Cooking, journaling, going on walks with friends, reading on the beach, grocery shopping (so relaxing!).
What made Andrea such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2016?
“I recall meeting Andrea Clavijo in 2012, during an Admission’s Recruitment trip, to UF in Gainesville, FL.  As a college senior, Andrea immediately distinguished herself with her poise, confidence, relevant inquiries and upbeat enthusiasm about her future. Many of us noted her intellectual curiosity, as she unapologetically, but very respectfully, went through her list of questions and concerns from a savvy consumer/law school perspective.
Upon matriculating in 2013, Andrea hit BC Law with the same level of enthusiastic engagement that I had previously observed. Andrea’s genuine concern for her peers, as well as her strong, natural leadership skills, allowed her to quickly earn the reputation as someone that ANYONE can turn to…students, prospective students, faculty and administrators. Her combination of intellectual curiosity, open-mindedness, commitment to her community and passion for the law has allowed Andrea to succeed in various leadership roles here at BC Law, including her present position as Law Student Association Vice President.
In addition to working with her in my administrative capacity as Associate Dean of External Relations, Diversity & Inclusion, I have had the pleasure of teaching Andrea in a first-year elective course, Legal Interviewing and Client Counseling. This course is designed to introduce law students to the options and challenges affiliated with interviewing and counseling clients in various unexpected settings. Andrea always demonstrated thoughtful consideration throughout the semester and was excited to share with me her use of these new skillsets, in her role as a 1L Boston Lawyers Group Diversity Scholar, at Greater Boston Legal Services her 1L summer.
As briefly mentioned above, in addition to her numerous leadership roles overseeing students’ interests, Andrea is one of the few students that our Admissions office has asked to represent BC Law at various law school forums. Andrea has a genuine understanding about the various factors involved with selecting the appropriate law school, and her ability to accurately describe the benefits and challenges of a BC Law education has made her a much appreciated admissions ambassador.”
Tracey West
Associate Dean of External Relations
Diversity & Inclusion

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