Carlos Juarez ’25: Charting His Own Villanova Law Experience

Carlos Juarez ’25 is no stranger to paving his own path. He came to Villanova Law after an eight-year career working in business development and practice strategy for two AmLaw100 law firms in New York City and earning an MBA. The California native chose Villanova Law for its emphasis on business law, experiential learning and the opportunities available through the John F. Scarpa Center for Entrepreneurship and Law.

Juarez has taken full advantage of the business-focused offerings at Villanova Law.  He was accepted to the business law concentration and was offered a fellowship with the Scarpa Center. Juarez quickly saw the need for an outlet that would allow students to publish original writing about business, entrepreneurship and law. He began working with Scarpa Center Director MarySheila McDonald to launch The Forum on Entrepreneurship & Law, a student blog which features articles on topics ranging from tax law and capital raising to cybersecurity and intellectual property. “It’s another way to position students and the law school as thought leaders,” he says.

In December of his 1L year, an unexpected opportunity arose. Professor Caitlin Barry was seeking bilingual students for the Migrant Justice Program, an effort to provide pro bono legal aid to migrants in Guadalajara, Mexico, through a collaboration with the Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. Juarez decided to sign up.

In May 2023, Juarez, Jorge Navarro ’25 and Andrea Solis Canto ’25 spent a week advising individuals seeking entry to the U.S., which culminated with their presentation on workers’ rights in the U.S. to the Commission on Human Rights for the State of Jalisco, Mexico. Juarez says this “once-in-a-lifetime” experience stayed with him.

“My parents are immigrants from Guatemala. I can’t help but feel a connection to the migrant community and the need to help. Villanova Law helped me see that someone pursuing a career in transactional law could also make a difference through immigration law and advocating for migrant workers’ rights.”

After returning for their 2L year, the three students approached Daniel Cortes, director of the Clinic for Asylum, Refugee and Emigrant Services (CARES), and Catherine Kapples ’21, CARES clinic fellow, about continuing the Migrant Justice Program. The students formed a partnership with Al Otro Lado, an organization working in Tijuana, Mexico, and San Diego to provide legal and humanitarian aid to people seeking entry into the U.S. They selected five additional bilingual students to participate and, with the law school’s approval, began planning a May 2024 trip. 

“This collaborative project brought together law students with diverse backgrounds and career paths, including those focused on private practice and public service,” commented Juarez.  After months of studying current immigration law, the group traveled to Tijuana, where they helped people waiting at the border city understand the process of applying for asylum. “We went to shelters and spoke to real people, handed out flyers inviting folks to come to presentations on asylum in the U.S. and developments in immigration law,” Juarez says. The students also conducted individual consultations at Al Otro Lado and various shelters.

The group also traveled to San Diego to assist migrants who were being released into the U.S. “We were there to welcome them and help them with next steps. It was a heavy experience, very hands-on, and all pro bono,” he adds. “I was always focused on giving back to the community, but these trips showed me how—it wasn’t abstract, and it wasn’t just theory.”

Now a 3L, Juarez appreciates these and other opportunities he’s had at Villanova Law, such as participating in the six-credit Clinic for Law & Entrepreneurship, serving on the interview committee for new faculty and managing Villanova’s inaugural Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot team, a competition held annually in Vienna, Austria.

“I haven’t heard the word ‘no’ yet,” he says. “With drive, determination and support from faculty, staff and colleagues, anything is possible. Villanova Law students have the ability to come together and make something happen—our Mexico trips exemplify that.”

Next fall, Juarez will join Mayer Brown LLP as an associate in the Capital Markets Group, where he was a summer associate and formerly worked in practice and business development. He hopes to do more pro bono work in the future, and he’s grateful to be at a law school that did not confine him to one box.

“Although I didn’t take any immigration law courses, I still learned so much about that area of the law,” he says. “I am glad we have professors here who empower you to do what you want with your legal education and chart your own experience."