The J. Reuben Clark Law Society’s International Women In Law (WIL) Committee partnered with BYU-Hawaii’s Pre-Law program to present a pre-law panel and speed networking event in Laie, Hawaii, on February 7, 2025.
Under the direction of Jennifer Kajiyama, BYU-Hawaii’s Legal Studies Program Director, the event featured panelists Sunny Chen Beutler, Sarah Chow, Noelle Lau, Jennifer Kajiyama, Past WIL Chair Candace Andersen, and current WIL Chair Audrey Perry Martin. Each attorney told of her individual path to entering law school, with a common theme regarding the inspiration each received to pursue a legal education. The panelists also described how their law degrees have been beneficial in both their professional
work, including with non-profit organizations, family businesses, elected office, law firms, and also in raising their families. The women also related how having a law degree has opened doors to opportunities they might not have otherwise been offered, and provided a tremendous foundation for serving others.
During the speed networking portion of the event, students had the opportunity to ask each attorney questions about the logistics of attending law school, how they balanced their careers with raising children, and how the practice of law might fit in with the career paths they hoped to take.
A special “Mahalo” goes out to the BYU-Hawaii team for organizing the event, with special thanks to Jennifer Kajiyama and her student assistant, Valerie Agustin, who did an outstanding job publicizing the event and handling the logistics. The aloha spirit was felt by all in attendance and the event is an important example of the powerful influence Law Society members can have on aspiring law students.
About the Author
Candace was first elected to the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors in June 2012. In June 2016 and March 2020
she ran unopposed and was re-elected to four-year terms.
Previously, Candace was on the Danville Town Council from 2003 through June 2012, serving two terms
as Mayor. In her role as County Supervisor, Candace currently sits on 29 local and regional boards and
commissions addressing planning and land use, transportation, pensions, mental health, healthcare, reuse
and recycling, economic development and public safety.
Candace also served on the Morgan Hill City Council in the early 1990's. She is an attorney licensed to
practice law in California and Hawaii and began her legal career as a Prosecuting Attorney in her
hometown of Honolulu. She put her legal career on hold to serve the community and raise her family.
Candace received both her B.A. in Public Policy (1982) and Juris Doctorate (1985) from Brigham Young
University. She attended Punahou School in Honolulu, Hawaii from K-12.
Along with her responsibilities on the Board of Supervisors, Candace remains an active volunteer in her
church and community. She and her husband, attorney Philip M. Andersen, have been married for 37 years and are the parents
of six children ranging in age from 22 to 35, have four daughters-in-law, a son-in-law, and six grandchildren.
