The University of Delaware offers multiple programs to prepare aspiring lawyers.

A roadmap to a law career

Article by Margo McDonough Photos by Margo McDonough and Mikey Reeves March 25, 2025

UD offers programs to prepare aspiring attorneys for success

Given Delaware’s outsized importance in the national and international legal communities, it's no surprise that the University of Delaware does an excellent job of preparing students for law school and legal careers. But what may come as a surprise is the range of ways this happens, from the Legal Professional Preparatory Program (LP3) to the HenLaw Society and the legal studies minor.

LP3, which is housed in the College of Arts and Sciences’ Student Success Center, is a co-curricular program that helps UD undergraduates navigate the process of preparing for law school through advisement and LSAT preparation. It also gives them a competitive edge through networking, mentoring and practical workshops.

“This academic year, we are working with 160 students interested in a legal career,” said Latoya Watson, senior assistant dean in the Student Success Center. “Each has engaged with us a minimum of one time, and usually often more, whether that’s via a one-to-one appointment, programming, workshops or all of these things.”

Networking opportunities are abundant in the HenLaw Society, a club for students interested in the legal field. HenLaw members meet for peer-to-peer advice and to hear from high-profile alumni. Still more networking occurs organically via the Undergraduate Legal Internship Program, a new initiative that offers students the opportunity to work alongside judges in the Superior, Chancery, Family or Common Pleas Courts. This Winter Session internship is offered jointly by the Student Success Center, the Institute for Public Administration (IPA) and Delaware courts.

Students heard from practicing attorneys as well as UD students currently in law school at a HenLaw Society event.

Adrianna Mazzio is a sophomore public policy major with a minor in legal studies who completed an internship in Chancery Court in January. Although all the other interns were upperclassmen, Mazzio felt ready for the program because she had already been actively engaged with LP3.

“I joined HenLaw my freshman year and attended round-robin events where you went to each table to hear each attorney’s story,” Mazzio said. “By the time I applied to the internship, I felt comfortable around practicing attorneys.”

Mazzio and three other interns spent Mondays through Thursdays at the courthouse and on Fridays participated in workshops led by programming coordinator Joyce Henderson. These workshops ran the gamut from a résumé writing session to a presentation from Testmasters, a popular platform for LSAT prep. During the last session, the interns took a practice LSAT.

Supporting the next generation of lawyers

“The first year in law school is as difficult as anything these students will ever go through,” said John G. Gaul, UD Class of 1978, who founded the alumni chapter of the HenLaw Society.

John Gaul ’78, meets undergraduates at a HenLaw Society networking event.

Gaul, who has enjoyed a successful career in tort litigation, speaks from experience. He recalls wanting to quit during his first year of law school. He wishes that more resources had existed to prepare him for what was ahead when he was an undergraduate. As a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council for the College of Arts and Sciences, he helped design the original LP3 program in 2017, only to see it languish during the pandemic.

He credits Watson and Henderson for breathing new life into LP3.

“Extraordinary networking and mentoring events have been planned under their leadership,” noted Gaul. “For example, last year Latoya and Joyce brought together 100 UD students with alumni who were in law school or practicing attorneys. Every single student who sought a mentor was matched with one at this event. It’s anticipated that these mentoring relationships will continue through law school and into their legal practice.”

Gaul is an active mentor but he also points to the role that young alumni like Barnett Harris, Class of 2017, play in engagement.

“The students can really relate to someone just out of law school a few years ago,” Gaul said.

UD undergraduate Gabriella Travis (left) and Elizabeth Ohakah (right) analyze a legal case during an LP3 workshop.

Harris, who went to Georgetown Law School, credits UD for “setting up students for success” through programs such as LP3 and a strong emphasis on internships. During his time on campus, he served a seven-week internship with U.S. Sen. Thomas R. Carper while juggling his role as a forward on the men’s basketball team.

Currently a litigation associate at Willkie Farr & Gallagher in Washington, D.C., and a newly elected board member of the alumni chapter of HenLaw, Harris looks forward to paying it forward to current undergrads interested in a legal career.

In addition to the Legal Professional Preparatory Program, another important resource for UD students interested in law school is the Gaul Family Fund, which Gaul created to provide financial support for LSAT prep courses. Special consideration is given to first-generation students and those from historically underrepresented populations.

“I really have benefitted from LP3,” said senior Kelsey Rice. “Joyce helped me so much with things like interview prep and making sure my resume is ready for law school. And I believe that the networking events have given me more confidence now that I’ve attended a few.”

“I definitely plan on being one of the students to come back and do networking events if I get into law school,” added Rice. “Hopefully it’ll be a full circle moment.”