Penn Law Student Wins Scholarship for Essay on Non-Traditional Legal Hero

The Law Place Law School Scholarship has awarded $2,500 to Abigail So, a first-year student at Penn Carey Law, for her essay exploring how a research mentor outside traditional legal practice inspired her legal career. The scholarship program, detailed at https://www.thelawplace.com/scholarship, recognizes students who celebrate the influence of legal heroes, living or dead, on their ambitions. So's essay revealed that her mentor, Dr. Bermant, became her hero not through courtroom appearances or landmark opinions, but by showing her that law intersects with psychology, power, vulnerability, and truth.

So intends to work as a transactional attorney after graduation but was inspired to attend law school following a year-long undergraduate research experience with Dr. Bermant. Her essay describes how she initially approached the research opportunity reluctantly but flourished as Dr. Bermant pushed her to find a subject she was passionate about. After learning about Dr. Bermant's law school experiences, So became drawn to the subject of false admissions of guilt, reading landmark cases, psychological studies, interrogation transcripts, and wrongful conviction stories. She described the issue as "chilling and addictive—this deeply human, deeply legal issue," noting that false confessions often result from long, high-pressure interrogations paired with human vulnerability.

Continuing conversations with Dr. Bermant led So to consider pressing questions about today's legal system, including what fair interrogations should look like and whether psychologists have a role in legal reform. The most important question Dr. Bermant asked was what she intended to do with the knowledge she'd gained throughout her studies. "His questions became my calling," So says in her essay. "He lit the flame and kept it burning with every conversation…Dr. Bermant became more than a mentor—he became my hero. Not because he stood in a courtroom or wrote landmark opinions, but because he showed me that the law isn't just about rules. It's about people."

The scholarship announcement from The Law Place, whose attorneys can be found at https://www.thelawplace.com/attorneys, emphasizes that So represents the next generation of legal professionals who will bring new perspectives to the industry. Her passion for critical thought and system betterment suggests a bright future, with the $2,500 award supporting her continuing education. The scholarship program continues to highlight how legal inspiration can emerge from unexpected sources, challenging traditional notions of where legal heroes are found and what forms legal mentorship can take.