When Camrin Rivera walked across the stage as part of the last class to graduate from Maine Law’s iconic “round building” on Deering Ave., he didn’t anticapitate that he’d be returning to the school in a new role as Dean of Students.
“I loved my time at Maine Law,” Rivera ’22 recalled. “I love how Maine Law is a catalyst and hub for legal education not just in Portland but throughout the state and region.”
As a student, he immersed himself in the life of the school, from serving as an Admissions Fellow and helping plan orientation to leading the Multicultural Law Society and co-chairing the Maine Association for Public Interest Law (MAPIL). He also spent significant time in the Refugee and Human Rights Clinic (RHRC), gaining real-world experience as a student attorney and in immigration law. All of these experiences, he said, serve him in excellent stead as he takes on his new role at the law school.
While he feels Maine Law will forever be a central part of his life and identity, Rivera came to the law later in life and as a second career. He earned his bachelor’s degree in biology, with concentrations in chemistry and applied mathematics, and began his career working in infectious disease. “I found myself in a hazmat suit in a fume hood, talking to no one for hours at a time,” he said. “It was a lonely, isolating job.” Seeking more connection, he began volunteering at the Utah AIDS Foundation and the Cache Valley Immigration Center in Logan, Utah. There, he worked alongside an immigration attorney to help new Americans settle into their communities—a role that would ultimately spark his interest in law school.
When an email from RHRC Director Professor Anna Welch landed in his inbox, Rivera felt it was kismet. After Admitted Students Day he was immediately sold.
“I didn’t want to be isolated anymore. I wanted to have more impact in my community, and I wanted my community to be in Maine,” he said.
After earning his J.D., Rivera clerked for Justice Rick Lawrence during the justice’s first year on the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. “He was incredible to work for, and my research and writing skills took off,” Rivera said. “Although it, in many ways, reminded me of my science career, I was more engaged in the work and saw the direct impact I was having on Maine’s legal landscape.”
Rivera then went on to pursue a practice focused on litigation and employment law at the Law Firm Perkins Thompson, where he gained expertise in the Americans with Disabilities Act, Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, Title VII, and the Maine Human Rights Act. While the work was rewarding, he came to the realization that private practice wasn’t his long-term goal. “When this position opened, it combined everything I was looking for,” he explained. “It’s the education side of the same statutes I was already working with, I get to work with and support students all day instead, and I get to foster a sense of connection and belonging within the community that was so important to me while here.”
For Rivera, returning to Maine Law is more than just a career move. It’s a chance to give back to the institution that shaped his own professional journey, and to ensure that every student feels supported, seen, and empowered to succeed.
