Rhode Center Civil Justice Student Fellows Jessica Wang and Brian Xu have been awarded the 2025 Susman Godfrey Prize, which the law firm awards annually to students of color who have demonstrated excellence and overall achievement. They are two of only 25 winners from law schools across the country and will each receive a prize of $4,000 and ongoing mentorship from Susman Godfrey’s partners and associates.
“I am so honored to be a part of this amazing cohort,” Jessica said. “I’m grateful to the Rhode Center for giving me opportunities to work on the causes that brought me to law school, and to Professor David Freeman Engstrom in particular for nominating me for the Susman Godfrey Prize. I look forward to making the most of the Susman Godfrey community’s mentorship, and paying it forward to future cohorts.”
Reflecting on his selection, Brian shared that “the Rhode Center has been such an integral part of my law school experience, and I am especially grateful to Professor David Freeman Engstrom for nominating me for the Susman Godfrey Prize. I am excited to meet the other members of my cohort, and I am looking forward to connecting with the rest of the Susman Godfrey community later this summer.”
As Student Fellows, Jessica and Brian have played integral roles in the Rhode Center’s work. Jessica has been a key player in a cutting-edge Center project to expand the assistance that court staff provide to self-represented litigants in navigating potentially life-altering cases. She is also an editor on the Stanford Law Review, a member of Stanford’s Religious Liberty Clinic, and has been active in the Housing Pro Bono Project. She holds a B.A. in Economics and Rhetoric from UC Berkeley, where she researched access to civil justice.
Brian has been deeply involved in the Center’s collaboration with the Los Angeles Superior Court, particularly in identifying ways to help pro se litigants navigate the court system. Outside of the Center, Brian is an editor on the Stanford Law Review, a Harry Bremond Fellow at the Stanford Center for Racial Justice, and a co-director of the Workers’ Rights Pro Bono Project. He earned a B.S. in Foreign Service from Georgetown University and is pursuing a concurrent Master of Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School.
