Professor Liza-Jane Capatos was recently recognized for her outstanding contributions to the 2025 Association of Academic Support Educators (AASE) Annual Conference, held in Boston, Massachusetts.
At the conference, Professor Capatos delivered a timely and impactful presentation titled “Destigmatizing Academic Success Interventions.” The session addressed a critical and often unspoken barrier in legal education: the stigma students may feel around seeking academic support. Drawing on her extensive experience, she offered inclusive, practical strategies to help institutions make support services more visible, welcoming, and equitable—ensuring all students can access the resources they need to succeed.
Professor Capatos serves as Associate Clinical Professor of Law and Assistant Director of the Office of Academic & Bar Success at Santa Clara University School of Law. She leads the first-year Academic Success Program, where she provides workshops, diagnostic tools, and one-on-one support to help students navigate the transition into law school and prepare for the bar exam. Her commitment to student success and educational equity is grounded in both her professional expertise and her own academic journey—she earned her J.D. summa cum laude from Santa Clara Law with a certificate in Public Interest and Social Justice Law.
Before entering academia, Professor Capatos clerked for the Arizona Court of Appeals and served as an Assistant Attorney General in Arizona, focusing on civil appeals. Her insights into legal writing, appellate practice, and access to justice continue to inform her teaching and mentorship.
Her leadership at the AASE conference was formally acknowledged in a letter of recognition, and we are proud to see her work featured on a national platform. Professor Capatos’s contributions exemplify a deep commitment to student-centered legal education and continue to elevate Santa Clara Law’s impact on the academic support field nationwide.