Archive for Student Pro Bono

2020-2021 PSJD Pro Bono Publico Award Winners & Merit Distinction Finalist

We are pleased to announce that the 2020-2021 PSJD Pro Bono Publico Award will go, jointly, to Delaney Heigert and Ellen Bertels, both 3Ls at University of Kansas School of Law. NALP confers this honor each year to a law student whose extraordinary commitment to law-related public service work contributes to the overall growth of pro bono culture within their law school and their broader community. This year NALP has chosen to honor two award winners to recognize their joint achievements and outstanding work.

Last winter, after much deliberation, we selected selected six finalists from among the students nominated for this award. In addition to our winners, we have also selected one student to honor as a Merit Distinction finalist.

Our winners, Merit Distinction finalist, and other finalists are highlighted below. Thank you to our impressive pool of nominees for the valuable work each of you do for your communities!

WINNERS: Ellen Bertels and Delaney Heigert | University of Kansas School of Law

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Ellen Bertels and Delaney Heigert were selected as this year’s Pro Bono Public Award winners because of the outstanding achievements they made together toward the advancement and protection of transgender and nonbinary people’s rights. The impact of their pro bono work extends not only to their law school and their peers, but also to the LGBTQ+ community in Kansas, a state deep within the “Bible Belt.”

PSJD Pro Bono Publico Award Winner Delaney Hiegert

In the words of the Liz Hamor, Chapter Director of GLSEN Kansas:

Ellen and Delaney’s pro bono work to help transgender youth change their legal names and gender markers is life-saving work.

Statement of Support for the Nomination of Ellen Bertels and Delaney Heigert; 2020-2021 PSJD Pro Bono Publico Award

Further attesting to the profound impact of the clinic, Associate Professor Kyle Velte commented:

The unmet need for this work became immediately apparent: dozens of potential clients called the clinic within hours of its opening.

Statement of Support for the Nomination of Ellen Bertels and Delaney Heigert; 2020-2021 PSJD Pro Bono Publico Award

PSJD Pro Bono Publico Award Winner Ellen Bertels

Ellen and Delaney’s efforts to create change within their school and community did not stop with the clinic. They have each written legal scholarship on topics involving LGBTQ+ rights. They see the intersectionality of their work and the promotion of the rights and safety of other historically marginalized communities. As 3Ls, they successfully petitioned their school to convert two gendered restrooms to accessible gender-neutral restrooms knowing that this was as much a fight for trans and nonbinary dignity as it was for the dignity of disabled persons. Last summer, Delaney joined the fight for racial justice by working with community organizers to protest the incarceration of Rontarus Washington, Jr., a Black man held in jail for five years without a trial. This coming fall, Ellen will serve as a Skadden fellow to expand the work of the clinic and to promote the needs of BIPOC trans Kansans.

Congratulations Delaney and Ellen!

Merit Distinction Finalist: Delaney Keefe | Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law

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Delaney Keefe was selected as the Merit Distinction finalist because of the outstanding impact she has made in her community. In protest against the lack of adequate resources for homeless Philadelphians at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the homeless community created three encampments in large areas of the city, with the support of local organizing groups. When the encampments first appeared, Delaney frequently brought donations to the residents and her presence in the community became noticeable and welcomed. She was a friend, a supporter, an organizer, and a service provider. Not only did she help the community survive by creating a clothing drive, constructing tents, and providing basic necessities to residents, she also defended the community using her access to legal services help and with her body when police harassed encampment residents.

Merit Distinction Finalist Delaney Keefe

In August, the City planned to evict the residents from the encampments. To prevent the disbanding of the community, Delaney drafted the documents needed to file a preliminary injunction and temporary restraining order against the City of Philadelphia, which were eventually filed with the help of Villanova law professors and a local criminal law attorney. But Delaney’s work did not end here. She gathered witnesses to appear in court and drove all attendees to the courthouse.

Although the injunction and restraining order were not granted, Delaney, her colleagues, and her friends were able to rally approximately one thousand Philadelphians in support of the encampments, which prevented the police from destroying the encampments. From there, Delaney negotiated a solution with the City and the Philadelphia Housing Authority to transfer fifty City-owned houses to encampment residents.

Delaney’s tireless work and commitment is a prime example of social movement lawyering, and the Award Committee is honored to recognize her as this year’s Merit Distinction Finalist.

Congratulations Delaney!

Other Finalists

Finally, the Award Committee wants to recognize the achievement of the other finalists for the 2020-2021 PSJD Pro Bono Publico Award:

  • Tanya Burke | St. Mary’s University School of Law
    Committed to helping others however she can and providing encouragement to coworkers, peers, and fellow volunteers
  • Nneka Ewolunu | University of Georgia School of Law
    Committed to creating space for historically marginalized communities
  • Sarah Kahn | University of California, Irvine School of Law
    Dedicated to improving quality of life for incarcerated people and ultimately decreasing our country’s reliance on the carceral system

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2019-2020 PSJD Pro Bono Publico Award Winner & Merit Distinction Finalist Announced

We are pleased to announce that the 2019-2020 PSJD Pro Bono Publico Award Winner is Leslie Alvarez, a 3L at St. Mary’s University School of Law. NALP confers this honor each year to a law student whose extraordinary commitment to law-related public service work contributes to the overall growth of pro bono culture within their law school and their broader community.

Last fall, after much deliberation, we selected five finalists from among the students nominated for this award. In addition to our winner, we have also selected one student to honor as a Merit Distinction finalist. Leslie Alvarez received her award at a meeting of NALP’s Public Service Section held via videoconference last week.

Our winner, Merit Distinction finalist, and other finalists are highlighted below. Thank you to our impressive pool of nominees for the valuable work each of you do for your communities.

You can read more about each of these outstanding students by following the links below to individual blog posts from earlier this year highlighting their achievements.

WINNER: Leslie Alvarez | St. Mary’s University School of Law

Ultimately, we selected Alvarez as our 2019-2020 PSJD Pro Bono Publico Award winner for her work fostering pro bono opportunities for her classmates at St. Mary’s — to the benefit of the San Antonio community broadly. In the words of one of Alvarez’ supervising attorneys:

In my 20 years of practice I have never worked with a law student who is such a doer….Leslie approached my law firm to partner with St. Mary’s Law School on a clinic for young people with disabilities. That by itself was exciting but more so was her follow through: she immediately set up a meeting of interested stakeholders, took charge of recruiting fellow law students, identified community partners to hose the clinic, coordinated multiple trainings, and conducted outreach to parents and students with disabilities. When the first clinic had low turnout, she immediately started brainstorming on solutions and realized we needed a broader outreach network. The second clinic was the most successful my law firm has hosted in our history of doing guardianship alternative work and it is because of Leslie’s dedication.

Statement of Support for the Nomination of Leslie Alvarez;
2019-2020 PSJD Pro Bono Publico Award

Congratulations Leslie!

Merit Distinction Finalist: Ming Tanigawa-Lau | UCLA Law

Although the award ultimately went to another student, the Award Committee wanted to take time additionally to call attention to the exemplary work of Ming Tanigawa-Lau, a 2L at UCLA Law. Tanigawa-Lau has played an instrumental role organizing students’ pro bono efforts to assist asylum seekers in Tijuana. In the words of a postgraduate fellow who worked with Tanigawa-Lau:

As a 1L board member, Ming was an amazing asset to the student group, Law Students for Immigrant Justice (LSIJ) last year. She spent her school breaks volunteering with detained asylum-seeking women and children in Dilly Texas, as well as migrants in Tijuana, Mexico…Ming also created opportunities for other law students to get involved in immigrant justice work[.]

Statement of Support for the Nomination of Ming Tanigawa-Lau;
2019-2020 PSJD Pro Bono Publico Award

Congratulations Ming!

Other Finalists

Finally, the Award Committee wants to recognize one more time the achievement of the other finalists for the 2019-2020 PSJD Pro Bono Publico Award:

  • Ashley De La Garza | St. Mary’s University School of Law
    Outstanding dedication to criminal justice reform.
  • Chelsea Reese | University of Georgia School of Law
    Pro bono work on behalf of children and vicitms of domestic violence.
  • Emily Holland | Pepperdine Caruso School of Law
    Human rights work, internationally and domestically.

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Pro Bono Publico Award Finalists

At the October Mini-Conference, we announced the finalists for this year’s PSJD Pro Bono Publico Award. To commend each finalist on their hard work and to demonstrate how difficult it will be to select the winner, we have featured a different finalist on the blog every Monday for the past four weeks.

For our final week in this series, we feature Ming Tanigawa-Lau from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law in Los Angeles, California.

Ming Tanigawa-Lau

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Ming was selected as a finalist because of the outstanding impact she has made at her school and in her community. As a 1L, Ming felt empowered by the strong sense of community she felt at UCLA, and she fostered that feeling by strengthening the community of students dedicated to immigrants’ rights. She jumped at opportunities to volunteer at fundraisers and events that would create relationships between students and practitioners. She traveled to Dilley, Texas and Tijuana, Mexico to help nonprofit organizations prepare asylum seekers for their credible fear interviews and to conduct Know Your Rights presentations. Ming was so moved by these experiences that she dedicated her 1L summer to Al Otro Lado, where she coordinated a weekend clinic to connect volunteers with asylum seekers who needed assistance preparing their applications. Beginning her 2L year, Ming continued her work with Al Otro Lado and introduced her colleagues at work with her peers at school. Notably, Ming organized multiple trips for law students to assist asylum-seekers in detention and at the border in Texas and California. Ming’s peers, colleagues, and professors describe her as a leader in pro bono service because of her unending dedication and her ability to connect volunteers with meaningful opportunities. As she describes her work, Ming is “dedicated to making [her invaluable] experiences possible for others.”

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Pro Bono Publico Award Finalists

At the October Mini-Conference, we announced the finalists for this year’s PSJD Pro Bono Publico Award. To commend each finalist on their hard work and to demonstrate how difficult it will be to select the winner, we will feature a different finalist on the blog every Monday for five weeks.

This week we feature Chelsea Reese from the University of Georgia School of Law in Athens, Georgia.

Chelsea Reese

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Chelsea was selected as a finalist because of her compassionate commitment to children and victims of domestic violence. During her 1L year, Chelsea began working as a Court Appointed Special Advocate with Athens-Oconee CASA, where she not only produced quality work product, but also showed her supervisors her passion for ensuring children in temporary foster care receive the best possible outcomes. Chelsea grew attached to a pair of siblings and her dedication to these children has led her to follow their case with CASA and encouraged her to help as many children and families as she can. At school, Chelsea participated in UGA’s Family Justice Clinic where she provided sole representation for 10 clients and served over 600 hours. Chelsea’s devotion to family law and her exceptional work allowed her to become a teaching assistant with the Family Justice Clinic’s clinical professor for whom she supervised students’ work and addressed clients’ concerns. Alongside her clinical professor, Chelsea was also able to publish an article in the Georgia Law Review Online about the factors that cause women and children of color to become overrepresented in cases involving domestic violence. Chelsea has successfully served her community and her school as an advocate, a role model, a leader in pro bono service, and as her clinical professor describes Chelsea, someone who cares.

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Pro Bono Publico Award Finalists

At the October Mini-Conference, we announced the finalists for this year’s PSJD Pro Bono Publico Award. To commend each finalist on their hard work and to demonstrate how difficult it will be to select the winner, we will feature a different finalist on the blog every Monday for five weeks.

This week we feature Emily Holland from Pepperdine University School of Law in Malibu, California.

Emily Holland

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Emily was chosen as a finalist because of the strength of her dedication to pro bono service, which has taken her overseas to help ensure individuals’ rights are protected. Emily’s passion for volunteering began before law school, and her experiences have driven her to continue her work at Pepperdine. During her 1L summer, Emily worked as a judicial extern to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Rwanda, where she learned about the ethics of sentencing and criminal justice. She was able to apply what she learned on a week-long clinic in Uganda where she successfully negotiated a plea deal based on insufficient evidence. But Emily’s passion for service knows no borders as is evident by her participation in the Community Justice and Legal Aid Clinics at Pepperdine. Her work with these clinics allowed her to advocate for human rights and access to justice in international and domestic contexts. As her supervisors have stated, Emily’s “priority is people,” and she is described as “a true representation of the spirit of pro bono.”

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Pro Bono Publico Award Finalists

At the October Mini-Conference, we announced the finalists for this year’s PSJD Pro Bono Publico Award. To commend each finalist on their hard work and to demonstrate how difficult it will be to select the winner, we will feature a different finalist on the blog every Monday for the next five weeks.

This week we feature Ashley De La Garza from St. Mary’s University School of Law in San Antonio, Texas.

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Ashley De La Garza

We selected Ashley as a finalist because she has shown unending dedication to pro bono work and criminal justice reform since she began law school. Ashley saw a need in Texas for devoted public defense and jumped in wholeheartedly to provide her support and skills. Ashley has worked in two public defender offices and has participated in her school’s Criminal Justice Clinic and Wrongful Conviction Review Project as well as the ABA’s Death Penalty Representation Project. Moreover, Ashley’s passion for service has extended to frequent participation in St. Mary’s Pro Bono Program, an alternative spring break in Washington, D.C., and public interest student organizations. As a former supervisor describes, Ashley’s compassion and advocacy for indigent clients has led her to achieve “one of the most critical student successes [the supervisor] has witnessed.” Her service has been invaluable in practice but also in the promotion of social justice reform through the selection of her legal journal article for publication in The Scholar. Ashley’s commitment, professionalism, and positive attitude has led her to be described as a leader in pro bono work among her classmates and colleagues.

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Pro Bono Publico Award Finalists

At the October Mini-Conference, we announced the finalists for this year’s PSJD Pro Bono Publico Award. To commend each finalist on their hard work and to demonstrate how difficult it will be to select the winner, we will feature a different finalist on the blog every Monday for the next five weeks.

Starting at the beginning of the alphabet, our first finalist is Leslie Alvarez from St. Mary’s University School of Law in San Antonio, Texas.

St. Mary's University: Center for Legal and Social Justice (logo)
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Leslie Alvarez

We selected Leslie as a finalist because her achievements in pro bono demonstrate a clear commitment to serving her community. Using her experiences as a first-generation U.S. citizen and with navigating the special education system, Leslie is a passionate advocate for disability rights. At work, she represented detained immigrant children with disabilities. Her supervisor describes Leslie as having “an unmatched work ethic” and “dedication to protecting the autonomy of people with disabilities.” At school, she coordinated two pro-bono legal clinics: one clinic to improve access to guardianship for individuals with disabilities, and another to “prepare psychiatric advance directives and other documents for individuals with mental health challenges.” Her tireless and compassionate efforts have made her an invaluable addition to the South Texas pro bono community. As Leslie herself asserts, “My current focus is on the disability rights fight, but my passion will always be service.”

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Job’o’th’week (Internship Edition)

Help Wanted

Photo: Brenda Gottesman – CC License

Summer 2018 Legal Intern

Western Environmental Law Center

The Organization

Western Environmental Law Center is a 501(c)(3) non-profit public interest environmental law firm. We use the power of the law to safeguard the public lands, wildlife, and communities of the American West in the face of a changing climate. To learn more about the Western Environmental Law Center, please visit our website at www.westernlaw.org..

The Position

The Western Environmental Law Center (WELC) is accepting applications from law students currently in their second or third year of law school (2L or 3L) for summer 2018 legal internship positions to work with our attorneys in these locations: Helena, Montana; and Taos, New Mexico. We are looking for bright and motivated individuals committed to public interest environmental law.

Under the supervision of a staff attorney in the office location in which they are hired, the selected interns will assist our attorneys with case development and strategy, conduct legal research, and draft pleadings, briefs, and other legal documents. The internships are unfunded positions. We will provide assistance to the selected applicants in seeking outside funding or law school credit, and in finding free or inexpensive housing. We offer a flexible summer work schedule to allow for outdoor recreation and travel.

Ready to be an environmental crusader?  Check out the full-post on PSJD.

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EXTENDED DEADLINE: Call for nominations for the 2017 Pro Bono Publico Award

2017 Pro Bono Publico Award Call for Nominations! 

It’s that time of year again. We are seeking nominations for the 2017 PSJD Pro Bono Publico Award. Information is below. You can find additional information and the nomination form on PSJD. The deadline for nominations has been extended to Friday, September 8th by 5:00 p.m. If you have any questions, please email psjd@nalp.org.

Purpose

To recognize the significant contributions that law students make to underserved populations, the public interest community, and legal education by performing pro bono work.

Eligibility

The Pro Bono Publico Award is available to any second- or third-year law student at a PSJD U.S. or Canadian Subscriber School.  Each Subscriber School may submit up to 2 nominees.  The recipient will be announced during National Pro Bono Week – usually held in October – and honored during an Award Ceremony at the recipient’s school thereafter.  The award recipient will receive a commemorative plaque and a monetary award of $1,000.

Award Criteria

Selection is based on the extracurricular commitment the nominees have made to law-related public service projects or organizations; the quality of work they performed; and the impact of their work on the community, their fellow students, and the school.  Actual pro bono work will be the primary consideration.

Nomination Deadline & Packet Contents

Initial nominations must be received by Thursday, August 31, 2017 at 5pm Eastern Time, by fax, mail, or email (see contact information at bottom).  Along with the nomination form and a résumé, nomination packets should include a two-page statement detailing the work the nominee has done, the impact it has had on the nominee’s community, and why this nominee is deserving of the award.  Input or quotes from those involved in the work or from impacted community members may be included and are strongly encouraged. PLEASE SUBMIT ONE PDF CONTAINING ALL THE NOMINATION MATERIALS.

Need an idea for your nomination? Check out the 2016 Pro Bono Publico Award winner Gabrielle Lucero’s blog post at the link below.

Pro Bono Publico Award Winner Gabrielle “Gabs” Lucero

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What Exactly Is a Split Summer?

By: Brittany Swett, J.D.

A new trend known as the “split summer” is gaining popularity among large law firms across the country. Despite the growing popularity of the split summer, a lot of law students and legal professionals have never heard of it. Today at PSJD, we are taking a quick look at what a split summer is and what some of the benefits and drawbacks are.

What a Split Summer Is:

Split summers come in a variety of forms. Most commonly, a split summer allows a law student who has secured a summer associate position for their 2L summer to spend the first half of the summer working at a law firm and the second half of the summer working for a nonprofit organization. Under this basic model, the law firm will then continue to pay the salary of the summer associate during the second half of the summer while they are at a non-profit. Some firms have taken this basic idea and added their own twist. Firms may require that the summer associate remain at the law firm for more than half of the summer and spend less time at the non-profit. Others have specific requirements about the non-profit chosen by the summer associate, while still others will only pay the summer associate for the time spent working at the firm. Each program is unique, but overall there are benefits and drawbacks to consider regarding a summer split.

Benefits to Splitting Your Summer:

Splitting a summer allows for a law student who is torn between the private sector and non-profit world to explore careers in both. The law student still gets to complete a summer associateship and enjoy all the benefits that come along with doing so, such as writing experience, the salary, professional contacts, and a potential offer at the end of the summer. In addition, the student gets to explore the non-profit sector, potentially working more closely with the public and for a cause they feel passionately about. In addition, if the student is someone who likes new experiences, two jobs in a short time span will keep them on their toes. Split summers also allow for a student to make a larger number of professional contacts in both fields. In addition, some split summer programs allow for their summer associates to work in two different cities over the course of the summer.

Drawbacks to Splitting Your Summer:

While eight or ten weeks can sound like a long time, it will fly by. One potential drawback of a split summer could be that the student is spreading themselves too thin. It may be more difficult to gain all the benefits of the experience at a law firm or at a non-profit organization if the student only spends a short time at each. In addition, forming meaningful professional connections with employees at each place may be more difficult due to the shortened length of time. Additionally, some law firms will give summer associates the time off to work at a non-profit, but will not compensate the summer associate for this time. Finally, the non-profit law world is also becoming more competitive in terms of job placement after graduation. If a law student knows that this is the field that they ultimately want to go into, spending a full summer at an organization ultimately may be more beneficial.

The split summer is an interesting new trend definitely worth exploring. To further research specific split summer programs, visit PSJD’s resource guide.

Sources:

https://law.yale.edu/student-life/career-development/students/career-guides-advice/what-are-firm-sponsored-split-public-interest-summers

http://hls.harvard.edu/content/uploads/2008/06/pi-summers.pdf

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