Read this story in Spanish (español) here.
ASU has many legal clubs and Hispanic culture clubs, but the one that has combined both values is the Hispanic Legal Students Association (HLSA).
The HLSA started in Fall 2025 and has gained support from other legal and Hispanic clubs on campus.
“The Hispanic Legal Students Association is an organization on campus that specializes for the Hispanic community, those who are interested in law or government or policy,” Jonathyn Osuna, co-president and a junior studying business and political science, said. “We’re here to help bridge the gap for the Latinos in that area of interest.”
That gap in the legal field is where the idea to start the club came from. According to the American Bar Association, Hispanics made up 6% of lawyers nationwide in 2024.
“If you look at the numbers, that says enough on why it’s important,” Clara Munguia, co-president and a senior studying political science and global studies, said.” (Osuna) and I co-founded this together, primarily with that kind of vision in mind of having that space for other students like us, who look like us.”
Munguia said an important part of the Latino culture is connection and community, which are two of the main values the club embodies.
Through these values, many club members share their stories and backgrounds of coming to the University, opening different perspectives to their peers.
“There (are) just so many stories that they have to tell that I honestly didn’t even know about,” Gerardo Torres Viveros, director of club outreach and a freshman studying political science and history, said. “It teaches you a lot about the world, it teaches you a lot about why they want to pursue law in the first place, or the struggles they have faced, and they somehow still prevailed through all that.”
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This organization’s goals do not just stop locally; the HLSA has plans of expanding, hopefully to other universities around the country.
Currently, they are focused on other Arizona universities like UA and NAU.
“We’re currently in the process of registering this organization as a nonprofit,” Munguia said. “We would love to see this chapter go, not just stay at ASU, but it’d be all across Arizona, eventually, all across the United States.”
The club has general meetings every Tuesday, which consist of career development presentations led by peers and guest speakers.
The organization has also done collaborations with clubs like the Undergraduate Law Association at ASU, the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers at ASU and Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity, International.
“It’s a lot of professional development or speakers,” Osuna said. “So LinkedIn workshops, resume workshops, networking workshops, just growing yourself professionally.”
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In addition to their academic activities, the club hosts social events every other Thursday.
Usually, these are club bonding events meant to expand past the formal setting of regular Tuesday meetings. These have included hiking, carne asada mixers and volleyball games.
“It helps bring upon unity, with members and becoming some type of, what we like to call it, a familia,” Osuna said. “We like to make the club, have that sort of environment where people don’t feel left out, and it’s just something extra they can do.”
Through the HLSA’s leadership and core values, the club strives to be a welcoming and supportive community for any Sun Devil.
“We lead with values at the end of the day,” Munguia said. “While we support the mission of helping students reach those legal opportunities, we also lead with passion … we lead with integrity, and I just want people to know we care about them.”
Edited by Natalia Rodriguez, Henry Smardo, Emilio Alvarado and Ellis Preston.
Reach the reporter at galawre3@asu.edu.
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Grace LawrenceCommunity Reporter
Grace Lawrence is the lead reporter for the community and culture desk at The State Press. This is her 2nd semester working with The State Press.
