Student Scholarship Draws Strong Turnout at 2026 Fall Symposium

Six California Western law students took center stage during the 2026 Fall Symposium, presenting their legal scholarship before an audience of students, faculty, and staff. 

Hosted by the California Western Law Review and International Law Journal, the annual symposium highlights student scholarship selected for presentation from among articles published or forthcoming in the journals. During the event, student authors shared their research, analysis, and the legal questions that shaped their work. 

"The defining highlight of this year’s symposium was undoubtedly the turnout," said California Western Law Review Editor-in-Chief 3L Logan Hannah. "We had over 150 people attend the symposium, which speaks to the interest in and support for the scholarship being produced by our students." 

The strong attendance followed a coordinated outreach effort in the weeks leading up to the symposium. Journal Week, is an initiative designed to introduce first-year students to the California Western Law Review and International Law Journal and increase awareness of opportunities for journal participation. The effort included social media campaigns, campus tabling events featuring student authors and journal publications, and an informational session held earlier in the semester. 

"A lot of first-year students don't know what the journals are or what they do," said International Law Journal Editor-in-Chief 3L Rodrigo Vela. "We wanted to grow participation ahead of the next board. Our members signed up for tabling shifts, and everyone pulled through and played a part in getting the word out." 

Vela also commended the symposium's student organizers 3L Janet Nguyen (who also led the Journal Week initiative) and 3L Tatijana Brienza-Underwood for this year's success. Impressively, Nguyen and Brienza-Underood were also presenters at the symposium. 

Presenting authors included: 

• Ashley Munyon, author of "A Zone of Danger: Our Special Relationship with ChatGPT"
• Najeeb Alrashdan, author of "Complementarity at a Crossroads: State Resistance and the Future of ICC Jurisdiction"
• Tatijana Brienza-Underwood, author of "Extreme, Outrageous, and Reawakened: Reforming IIED to Address Stalking and Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Abuse"
• Janet Nguyen, author of "Weaponizing English Against Naturalization"
• Janan Burni, author of "The Unrealized Fears of 'Too Much Justice': Disparate Impact and the Future of Equal Protection in Criminal Sentencing"
• Nicolas Tavano Hall, author of "Contras and Climate Change: Can State Responsibility Tests for Paramilitary Activities be Applied to Climate Change?" 

Together, the presentations demonstrated the range of issues explored through student scholarship at California Western, from emerging technologies and human rights to evolving questions in constitutional and international law. 

"Ultimately, I think the Fall Symposium was a reflection of what makes our journals so special," Hannah said. "It was not simply an opportunity to showcase the impressive work of our student authors, but also a reminder that student scholarship has a meaningful place in the broader legal community."