Series Title: “In the Heart of Wilmington: Delaware Law’s Downtown Story”
With Delaware Law’s move to downtown Wilmington planned for fall 2027, the school is already building its future in the city. This series explores how students, faculty and alumni are strengthening connections, expanding opportunities and shaping a law school experience rooted in the heart of Delaware’s legal community.
Installment 1 — “Student Organizations: Leading in the City”
Grades, exams, and applications typically define the path into the legal profession. At DE.CO Food Hall, Delaware Law students stepped into a more immediate entryway—face to face with Wilmington’s attorneys, judges, and legal leaders. Hosted by the Delaware Law Related Education Center (DELREC), the event gave first generation law students early access to the attorneys, judges and legal leaders who define Delaware’s legal landscape, underscoring the advantages that next year’s downtown move will create through daily proximity to Wilmington’s legal community.
“As first-gen students, one of the main impediments we have to successfully entering the profession is the lack of a professional network,” said Alexandra Tolhurst, president of the First Generation Law Student Association.
“DELREC events give our students a more laid-back and low-stakes environment to start building those connections early in law school,” she said.
Tolhurst said students have left the events with mentors and even employment opportunities.
“It wasn't until I started going to the downtown events that I felt a bridge between the academic work we do in a classroom and the profession we're going to join in a few years,” she said.
She expects the move to expand partnerships, including lunchtime meetings with firms, court outings and joint programming with Wilmington University’s first-generation law student community.
Connecting Students to Wilmington
As the governing body for more than two dozen student organizations, the Student Bar Association helps coordinate programming and connect student leaders with Wilmington partners. SBA President Damon Edwards II said networking events are already strengthening ties with the city’s legal community.
“Students will have the opportunity to become immersed in the city's legal culture and develop relationships with attorneys, judges, businesses and other professionals,” he said.
Edwards noted that student organizations are active downtown through career fairs, service projects and naturalization clinics.
“This is only the beginning,” he added, encouraging alumni to stay involved.
Building Belonging and Representation
Founded in 2023 to support students from historically underrepresented backgrounds, particularly women of color, The Eight Percent has grown into one of Delaware Law’s most active student groups and community partners and is open to all students who want to participate in its programming.
During the 2025–26 academic year, members launched the Kids in Law book drive and reading day/week at St. Michael’s School and Nursery, donating 135 books and presenting each child with a “Legal Hero” certificate. This past year, they also hosted their first large-scale panel event, Voices of Trailblazers: Breaking Barriers in Law, which drew about 60 attendees.
Sharnae White, president of The Eight Percent, said belonging “looks like creating a space where women feel seen, supported and empowered. Children in the Wilmington area need to see people (law students) who reflect their own experiences and identities because representation matters,” she said.
Why the City Matters
Students increasingly describe Wilmington as an extension of Delaware Law—an environment where the profession feels closer, more tangible and more accessible. Walking to events, courts and firms turns proximity into opportunity. The city offers daily avenues for leadership, service and community engagement—experiences that are difficult to replicate on a suburban campus.
For student organizations, Wilmington is not just a location change; it is a platform. It expands visibility, strengthens partnerships and creates new ways for students to connect with the communities they will one day serve.