When Lawrence, a fellow Daily Bruin alum who was in law school in Boston around the same time I was at a different law school in Boston, emailed me out of the blue and told me that one of his mentees was interested in immigration law, I thought that I would meet Lauryn a few times over coffee while she peppered me with a bunch of questions.

I didn't anticipate that she would be willing to drive to my office, answer the phones, sit in on consultations, shadow me at court hearings, and also meet with my clients who had agreed to be the monthly immigrant spotlights.  (She also continued to ask a lot of questions and jotted down her notes in a telltale 4x8 spiral-wire notebook.)

In the old days (like way before Romben was even born), "dash thirty dash" was used by telegraph operators to indicate the end of a transmission.  The -30- found its way to the printing presses.

The Daily Bruin has a tradition of providing its graduating staff members the opportunity to write a "-30- Column."  While at UCLA, I had stints as a Night Editor, Copy Editor, and then News Reporter.  So you can find my -30- column in the archives, written . . . an undisclosed number of years ago.

After a year as Romben Law's "Student Intern and RFC Features Writer," Lauryn is heading to a law school in the Boston area (just like both her Daily Bruin mentors), but at the one that starts with an H.  Hogwarts?  Hotchkiss?  I keep forgetting.  And so, in keeping with the Daily Bruin tradition and without further ado

Lauryn Wang's RFC -30- Column

By Lauryn Wang 

Many law school programs offer a course in “Lawyering for Good.”  Students learn about advancing the rule of law to expand public access, achieve social progress, or advocate for equity.  Fortunately for me, I’ve had a wonderful example of lawyering for good in front of me all along.

Since joining Romben Law last fall, and meeting Romben the fall prior to that, I’ve been exposed to the realities of running a firm, working in immigration, and most memorably: serving the community.

One of the most impressionable experiences I had at Romben Law was hearing countless stories about clients facing adversity and challenges at the hands of previous lawyers – unresponsive staff, entreaties to falsify records, or losing entire case files to name a few.

Many of these individuals and those with whom I interviewed for the Romben Fan Club Spotlight spoke of negative experiences with prior attorneys, citing a general distrust of lawyers.

As a wide-eyed college senior seeking to enter the legal profession, it was a sobering but galvanizing experience to connect with people vulnerably sharing these stories.

I felt compelled to envision a future wherein I can provide the support that Romben does: whether a shoulder to lean on, a resource to assuage worries, or the source of a timely and good-natured joke.

It’s truly fitting that I learned these lessons from Romben, since we both took a course titled “Asian Americans and the Law” as undergraduates – an offering within the Asian American Studies Department that emphasizes the importance of serving the people.  Romben completed a research paper for that class, where he met none other than J Craig Fong, his now retired law partner. 

Some (undisclosed number of) years later, I also enrolled in the same class, and it proved a pivotal chapter in my path to becoming a lawyer. It was in this course that I discovered how law plays a key role in the construction of race. But I also discovered how the letter of the law can spark reimagination and reconstruction. I realized how I could approach the law, interrogate it, and consider it a tool to reimagine my community’s conditions. 

Interning at Romben Law allowed me to transcend the confines of the classroom and witness these phenomena in the real world. Shadowing Romben at court and during consultations, watching Ana connect with clients, it truly was such a privilege witnessing the inner workings of true public interest law. 

I’m looking forward to translating these experiences to my legal education in the fall, and I am confident that my tenure at Romben Law will inform my ability to succeed in clinical settings.

The commute from Westwood to West Covina is not for the faint at heart, but it was well worth it. I can’t wait to see what the future has in store, and I’m so grateful for the time I’ve spent under Romben’s wing. As always, lift as we climb!  - 30 -

We at Romben Law will miss Lauryn and her myriad contributions in furtherance of service to our clients. We wish her the best as she continues her legal journey at Hahvahd Law School.   And once again, apologies to Randall Park, we keep running out of time and space.