Meet Outstanding UC Law SF Graduate Maddy Klein '22

Maddy Klein ’22 will pursue an MBA along with her JD.

Maddy Klein, a native of Los Altos, CA, and graduate of Scripps College, said she was drawn to attend UC Law SF because of its strong business curriculum and its proximity to tech companies and law firms that specialize in business law.

“I worked at tech companies in Silicon Valley for three years before law school, and I saw tremendous potential for collaboration between business and legal teams,” she said. “I knew that combining my legal skills with the ability to understand businesses holistically would be invaluable.”

This insight inspired her to pursue a JD/MBA.

Once she graduates from UC Law SF in May, Klein will attend the University of Cambridge as a Forté Fellow and earn her MBA, then join Gunderson Dettmer, a Bay Area law firm that represents start-ups and venture capitalists.

While at Hastings, Klein got involved in several organizations – including serving as the Senior Development Editor for UC Law SF Journal, the Vice President of the Tech and Law Society, the Vice President of the Hastings Jewish Law Students Association, and Treasurer of Hastings Youth Advocates. She also participated in Startup Legal Garage and was a teaching assistant for master’s degree students in Legal Research and Writing.

But she is most proud of creating four mentorship programs that have assisted over 120 students. Klein is also an active mentor. She said, “Being involved in many aspects of student life has been a good way to balance the academic aspects of law school. But most importantly, I’ve found ways to give back to the community that are personally meaningful, bring me joy, and never feel like work. By far the most rewarding part of my law school experience has been mentoring students, helping them discover their own unique paths, and seeing many of them persevere in the face of tremendous adversity.  I am constantly inspired and humbled by their grit, commitment, and bravery, and I hope they in turn become mentors, as they have so much to offer their peers.”

Klein also had productive summer internship experiences. After her 1L year, she worked at Loon, an Alphabet and GoogleX company that put cell networks in high-altitude balloons to provide internet access to remote areas. After her 2L year, she worked at Gunderson Dettmer.

Her advice to law students: “Asking for what you want gives you the best chance of getting it. Many of my most impactful life experiences—traveling around the world for a year, attending Hastings, interning for GoogleX, being admitted to business school—began simply because I had the guts to email a stranger and ask.”