Rachel Johnson-Farias

Rachel Johnson-Farias has dedicated her career to making the law accessible to low-income people and communities of color. After graduating with honors from Occidental College, Rachel went on to earn her J.D. from Berkeley Law School where she received the Francine Diaz Memorial Award for her commitment to social justice. After successfully implemented California’s first juvenile record sealing clinic, Rachel founded Esq. Apprentice; a non-profit that provides legal training to non-traditional law students of color. To ensure a more diverse legal profession, economic empowerment, and justice for all, Esq. Apprentice creates a debt-free path to law licensing for low-income women of color.

Project Description 

Esq. Apprentice is on a mission to create a world where the law works for–and not against– low-income people by providing low-income women of color with the tools needed to complete California’s legal apprenticeship program and become attorneys. To meet this goal, participants complete a 4-year course of part-time study which emphasizes legal writing and research. Esq. Apprentice improves the employability and lives of low-income women of color and their communities by creating meaningful opportunities to obtain legal skills and employment.