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

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.”

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.”

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

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.

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

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.”

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.

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.

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.

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.”

By: Brittany Swett, J.D.