Rising 3L Josh Allen is spending his summer working at the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC), a nonprofit in Massachusetts that works to help financially stressed families build and retain wealth, stop exploitative practices, and advance economic fairness. While working as a research assistant at the S.J. Quinney College of Law last fall, Allen became interested in this aspect of law.
“Professor Chris Peterson, a recognized authority on consumer law, first introduced me to consumer protection. He and our career development office introduced me to an alum of the S.J. Quinney College of Law who works for the NCLC,” Allen recalls. “I was so impressed with the work they do, so I applied for their internship program and am fortunate to be working for them now.”
Allen says the best part of his summer field placement is knowing he can make a meaningful difference.
“I came to law school wanting to help people and have a positive impact, and I feel like I’m doing that at the National Consumer Law Center. NCLC’s mission is to protect consumers from unfair and deceptive practices and to advance economic justice generally, specifically focusing on lower-income and historically underserved communities,” he says. “The work I’m able to do directly makes a positive impact for people who need it the most, and that’s something I can take pride in and gives me a deeper sense of satisfaction at the end of the day.”
The culture at the National Consumer Law Center is also a win for Allen.
“The attorneys and other staff are so experienced and passionate about NCLC’s mission. They’ve created an amazing work environment that is just very people-centered, both for the employees and the people we help,” he says.
As he will be leaving Massachusetts soon to return to Utah, Allen is also looking forward to his final year at S.J. Quinney.
“There are so many great things about SJQ. It’s a great school. I have formed a lot of great friendships, and I think that has contributed very positively to my learning experience,” he says. “The class sizes and faculty-to-student ratio are small, so there’s a very personalized learning experience. You’re able to connect with the professors, who are always willing to help students. It’s been a supportive community.”
Despite always knowing he wanted to attend law school, Allen notes that he didn’t know what he wanted to pursue within law until he was closer to entering his 1L year.
“Law is something that I’ve always enjoyed talking about, probably to the annoyance of a lot of people over the years. There are so many fascinating areas of the law, but the one I’m most passionate about is consumer protection and economic justice, especially as that relates to corporate law and business law generally,” he says. “I think wealth inequality is one of the most pressing issues that we are facing. We’re seeing more and more people being locked out of economic opportunity as wealth increasingly accumulates at the top. It’s only getting worse and exacerbates racial and environmental problems.”
Now that graduation is near, Allen has no set career goals but says he hopes to be in a position where he can continue to help people who need help the most.
“Throughout my education, and especially as I started law school, I realized how much injustice remains, especially as a result of the law,” he says. “I knew that I wanted to pursue a career path that would put me in a position to do what I can to reverse that and help others.”
See a NCLC report Allen co-authored with Utah Law alum Anna Anderson.