-
our mission
The Legal Gist serves to de-mystify the process of applying to law school and becoming an attorney through providing affordable resources and pre-law guides. The podcast presents the journeys of inspiring, diverse attorneys while providing further insight for students navigating their legal journey. Our goal is to increase access and transparency to the legal profession, while opening the door for the next generation of diverse legal leaders.
WHAT WE DO
-
guides
We publish pre-law guides on Instagram and our website that share free and affordable resources to the law school application process, pre-law programs, scholarships, and more.
-
Podcast
The Legal Gist Podcast shares the journeys of diverse and underrepresented legal leaders and their advice to pre-law and law students. It is hosted by our founder, Giselle Valdez, Columbia Law Class of 2024.
-
Community
The Legal Gist supports thousands of diverse, aspiring attorneys—a community interlinked through digital media platforms. We also serve to support and mentor these communities, while building our own cohort of support with the Executive Board and Campus Representatives.
ABOUT the founder
My name is Giselle Alexandria Valdez, and I am Columbia Law student, Class of 2024.
As a first-generation aspiring Latina attorney, I founded The Legal Gist during my law school application process. After realizing the many barriers to entry, I founded this platform with the mission to de-mystify the process of becoming an attorney through free guides and a podcast. With now over 25k+ individuals following our work and a growing group of student representatives who assist me, it is so rewarding to support underrepresented and low-income pre-law students with helpful resources and community-building.
my journey
I was born and raised along the border in San Diego, California, surrounded by a loving Mexican family. My first introduction to the law was on my high school mock trial team, when we competed in the California Mock Trial State Competition. From this point, I dreamed of becoming an attorney.
I attended Columbia University for my undergraduate education and majored in English Literature. During college, I continued my legal interest through a summer internship on Google’s legal team and as the Editor-in-Chief of the Columbia Undergraduate Law Review. After college, as Columbia University’s Doctorow fellow, I earned a Master’s in the Social Science of the Internet at the University of Oxford on a full-ride scholarship. I focused my studies on the intersection of creative expression, online creativity, and copyright protections.
At Columbia Law School, I am on the Executive Board for the Latinx Law Students Association. I am on the American Intellectual Property Law Association Team and the Lawyering in the Digital Age Clinic. After graduation, I plan to pursue a career in corporate law, focusing on intellectual property and technology issues and pro-bono asylum work.
I enjoy reading poetry, eating tacos, watching sports, spending time with family, and finding the best boba spots!
The Legal Gist guides have been presented at
pre-law organizations at the following undergraduate institutions:
-
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
-
BARNARD COLLEGE OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
-
NEW YORK UNIVERSITY
-
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES
-
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SANTA BARBARA
-
JOHN JAY COLLEGE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE
TESTIMONIALS
I’d love to hear The Legal Gist has been helpful for you. Share your story below.
I
PRESS
Newsletter
Sign up to get access to our newsletter that shares pre-law programs, resources, and guides.
want to get more involved?
HAVE IDEAS ON HOW TO SUPPORT THE LEGAL GIST? LOOKING TO HOST THE LEGAL GIST ON YOUR CAMPUS? CONTACT US BELOW.