Beyond the rankings: Experiential learning and public service at ASU Law

Every time a student walks into her office with news of a clerkship, government role or public interest job offer, Vanessa Pineda knows the moment represents something bigger. It’s more than an employment update — it’s another future lawyer stepping into a role dedicated to public service.

“The most rewarding part of my job is knowing that I’m helping get more lawyers on the ground to serve,” said Pineda, director of public interest at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University. “I can’t wait to see how their education and experience makes a difference in each one of their clients’ lives.”

That sense of purpose extends well beyond one office. At ASU Law, preparing students to use the law to serve others isn’t an afterthought — it’s central to the way the school trains future lawyers.

The results are reflected in national recognition. According to the American Bar Association, ASU Law ranks in the top 10% of law schools for graduates entering public service positions — including government, clerkships, public interest and education roles — and in the top 10% nationally for clerkship placements at the federal, state, local and Tribal levels. The college is also in the top 6% nationally for experiential learning opportunities and in the top 3% for field placements filled.

But for the faculty, administrators, alumni and students who make up the ASU Law community, the rankings simply confirm what they witness every day: a culture where legal education and public service move hand in hand. That connection comes to life through experiential learning opportunities that allow students to apply classroom knowledge to real legal work.

Ann Ching, clinical professor of law and faculty director of the externship program, said experiential learning opportunities such as externships and clinics are designed to help students build both confidence and professional judgment.

“Effective experiential learning strikes a balance between allowing students enough autonomy to take risks and develop their skills while still providing oversight and guidance,” Ching said. 

Central to that experience, she noted, is mentorship. Experienced attorneys and judges work closely with students, helping them turn classroom theory into practical judgment.

Over time, those experiences begin to shape how students see themselves as lawyers.

“The most noticeable change I see is increased confidence in their legal skills,” Ching said. Through externships and clinics, students apply the research, writing and advocacy skills they develop in class while working with real clients.

“Students learn that effective lawyering requires more than legal knowledge,” she added. “They develop skills like active listening, client counseling and negotiation.”

That preparation is paying off. Ninety percent of the Class of 2024 completed at least one externship before graduating, and roughly one-third received a job offer directly from one of their placements. For Andrew Jaynes, assistant dean for law students, those numbers reflect a model built on connection and access.

“You never really know if you’re going to like something until you try it,” Jaynes said.

Through career fairs, employer visits and networking events, ASU Law’s career services team connects students with opportunities early in their legal education. Located in the nation’s fifth-largest city, the college’s strong ties to the local legal community help create a pipeline that benefits both students and employers.

“There’s something for everyone here,” Jaynes said. “If you want to explore an area of law in the classroom and then see what it’s like to work in that field, we’re an excellent school for you.”

That pipeline extends well beyond graduation.

For ASU Law alumna Ann Marie Bledsoe-Downes (JD ’94), the impact of those early experiences continues to shape her career. She now serves as chief administrative officer at Ho-Chunk Inc., the Tribal economic development corporation of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, where she works at the intersection of law, governance and community development.

“Our law school emphasizes the diverse ways a law degree can serve communities and individual citizens,” Bledsoe-Downes said. Through clinics, externships and coursework, she noted, students encounter public service pathways they may not have considered when they first arrived at law school.

Experiential learning, she added, provides a perspective that cannot be replicated in a classroom. “Not even the most compelling judicial decision can bring that impact home like listening firsthand to a client’s story,” Bledsoe-Downes said. “Once you’ve seen how the law shapes daily lives — both positively and negatively — it puts meaning into the daily grind of three years of law school.”

Bledsoe-Downes was recently named one of ASU Law’s inaugural Distinguished Public Service Fellows, a program that expands pathways for students pursuing careers in government, policy and nonprofit sectors by connecting them with experienced public service leaders.

That commitment to mentorship and opportunity can be seen not only in the careers of alumni, but also in the students currently navigating their own public service paths.

For Nicole Fordey, recipient of ASU Law’s inaugural Outstanding Public Interest Law Student Award, the motivation to serve began long before law school. Before enrolling, she spent more than a decade working as a clinical social worker and addiction counselor.

“I have committed myself to public service for a long time and don’t see much of anything that could pull me away,” Fordey said. She chose to pursue a law degree in part to better understand her own rights as a disabled person and to help defend the rights of others. “I believe that the struggles people face are intertwined,” she said. “Someone else’s difficulty is also my difficulty.”

During her second year at ASU Law, Fordey externed with Disability Rights Arizona, where she researched and supported advocacy related to the rights of people with disabilities. In one case, she assisted a client whose child’s school repeatedly refused to provide accessible communication formats despite legal requirements.

“Despite the law being on our side, there was a lot of resistance,” Fordey said. “But I knew in my work with him and others that I was making a real difference.”

Across ASU Law, students learn early that the law does not exist only in textbooks or court opinions — it lives in the everyday struggles and hopes of the people it is meant to serve.

Through externships, mentorship and real-world advocacy, they begin to see how their skills can help someone secure justice, protect a right or navigate a difficult moment. Those experiences shape not only their careers, but their sense of purpose.

For ASU Law, national rankings tell only part of the story. The fuller measure is found in the graduates who leave campus ready to put the law to work for the communities that need it most.