Voices from the ICA – Laws Legal Institute Community
At ICA – Laws Legal Institute, our efforts to revolutionize U.S. legal research are best exemplified through the reflections of participants and mentors. Through innovative interdisciplinary programs, we have cultivated a diverse community of legal scholars and practitioners aimed at promoting the advancement of the study of law’s rigidity and dynamics. On this page, we present a selection of testimonials from former legal fellows and esteemed mentors, highlighting the personal and professional impact on their well-being.
Transformative Experiences: Participant Testimonials
“Participating in the ICA – Laws Legal Institute’s annual program changed the course of my academic career. The opportunities to work with eminent U.S. legal scholars as my mentors was unmatched, and the relationships I developed have resulted in continued research collaborations between us. The cross-disciplinary focus challenged how I thought about the ways in which the law operates outside recognised categorizations and has inspired new avenues for research.”
– Dr. Samantha Lee, Associate Professor of Law, University of Texas
“To be selected as an ICA Emerging Legal Research Fellow in New York expanded my network and my perspective. The sessions on the dynamic versus static aspects of the law, and the very practical ones moderated by practitioners helped to ground my own work on constitutional law. The program was preceded by funding that enabled me to travel and lodging which made it possible for me to engage fully with both the program and my community. Unquestionably I emerged from the program a lot more assured in myself and my abilities as a legal scholar.”
– Michael Torres, Early Career Legal Scholar, UCLA
“ICA was an invigorating intellectual environment. Indeed, one of the features of the program was its promotion of collaboration across legal disciplines; it was not uncommon for generous scholars who would not normally cross paths to engage with legal scholars from other disciplines, including sociology or political science. In fact, this experience facilitated my research and resulted in a co-authored paper that was subsequently published in a top tier law journal.”
– Priya Desai, Legal Research Fellow, Columbia Law School
Mentors’ Insights: Shaping Future Legal Leaders
“The opportunity to be a mentor to fellows of ICA – Laws Legal Institute – seminars has been one of the most gratifying of my professional experiences. The intellectual rigor and innovation of fellows’ projects never fails to impress. I have learned new ways to approach my own research through spirited exchanges with ICA fellows.”
“The Institute’s commitment to diverse perspectives is unparalleled…[As a mentor] I look forward to the opportunity to help shape and be challenged by ICA’s next generation of legal scholars. My experience has demonstrated their network becomes truly national in scope and transformative in effect.”
“ICA’s model of mentoring and cross-institutional collaboration distinguishes it from the field of legal academia…working with fellows to guide them on paradigm-changing research projects has paid dividends, both for them and for my own teaching and scholarship.”
Building Lasting Networks and Collaborations
“Through ICA’s Los Angeles and New York events I’ve made valuable contacts, resulting in collaboration with legal academics around the country. The Institute’s focus on collaboration is not just a publicly stated priority – it’s a lived experience. I’m now serving as co-leader on a cross-disciplinary project regarding regulatory dynamics that started last year in an ICA working group.”
“Even after the program’s conclusion and my return to Michigan, the Institute’s national network of scholars has continued to be tremendously supportive and helpful to me, supplying ideas and resources. I know that my focus on cutting-edge law-and-economics research supported by ICA has helped lead to grant funding for much of my scholarship.”
“The annual conferences are the highpoint of my academic year. The practical workshops, key lecture presentations and informal networking opportunities have all contributed towards my scholarly development. ICA is a center for legal innovation in America – I cannot recommend it highly enough.”
A Platform for Paradigm-Shifting Legal Research
ICA – Laws Legal Institute has no equal in fostering research to critique existing legal paradigms. Support for pursuing bold, interdisciplinary research was precisely the kind of encouragement I needed at this time in my career. The mentoring and feedback received from legal academia and practicing lawyers was priceless.
What is unique about ICA is that it is not limited to fostering scholarship alone – ICA disseminates the research output to the legal community at large. Participating and engaging in ICA’s public legal education events provided me the opportunity to have conversations with policy makers and practitioners to broaden the impact of my research in the real world.
Join our community – your next step
The information above captures the dynamic, collegial, and intellectually stimulating environment that makes the ICA – Laws Legal Institute the research hub par excellence. Whether you are an early and/or mid-career legal academic in search of national, interdisciplinary collaboration or an established scholar in ecumenical positions that want to mentor and shape the future of US law, we welcome you to join our collective.
For answers to questions about participation, upcoming legal events, or partnership inquiries, please reach out to us at 6789 Sepulveda Blvd Ste 61, Los Angeles CA 90045; (738) 735-7211; [email protected]. Visit https://icalaws.com/ to subscribe to our mailing list and be up-to-date on the latest developments.
Join us to see how it feels to be empowered through collaboration, mentorship, and reinvention in the U.S. legal research field.