People who donate $30 or more to our Spring Pledge Drive can vote for up to 6 of our amazing 2018 fellowship applicants.
Chelsea Nicole Amen – Harris County District Attorney’s Office: The Harris County District Attorney’s Office works to make the Houston community safer through evidence-based prosecution, ensuring fair process, and maintaining crime prevention and victim services projects.I will be working with attorneys on trial preparation, victim and witness interviews, assisting with plea procedures, research and writing, and assisting with jury selection, hearings, and trials.
Roya Atashi – Texas Civil Rights Project, Dallas: This summer, I will be working at the Texas Civil Rights Project as a law clerk in Dallas. In my time at the TCRP, I expect to help the TCRP conduct impact litigation in areas of law such as voting rights, racial and economic justice, and criminal justice reform. I am extremely excited to be working with the TCRP as part of the fight for civil rights in Texas.
Austin Black – In Defense of Christians, Washington, DC: IDC is a nonpartisan human rights organization that focuses on advocacy and policy-making to protect minority Christian groups in the Middle East. I will specifically be working on documenting and reporting specific violations of human rights by ISIS to the UN.
Joshua Brody – King County Department of Public Defense: The organization:
The King County Department of Public Defense is a relatively new agency committed to providing excellent representation to indigent defendants in the Seattle area. King County DPD is serious about having manageable case loads, and has moved to provide holistic defense by incorporating civil attorneys and social workers into their practice.
The type of work:
First and foremost I hope to gain the best possible outcomes for my clients. Second, I hope to get good legal experience. Certified law clerks practice direct representation and usually get a fair amount of court experience. Therefore, I hope to improve my oral advocacy through suppression hearings and trials, research and writing through pre-trial motions, and interpersonal skills through client interaction.
Chandler Cale Burch – Lone Star Legal Aid: Lone Star Legal Aid offers free legal services to underserved communities. I will be working in the Military & Veterans Unit, which strictly serves low-income veterans and their families. My work will involve interviewing clients, organizing events, performing research, and other responsibilities.
Cara Campos – Office of Capital and Forensic Writs, Austin, TX: The Office of Capital and Forensic Writs is a public defender office in Austin, TX that represents individuals in post-conviction litigation. The OCFW represents both individuals who have received the death penalty and individuals challenging their conviction through forensic science writs. A law clerk’s role at the OCFW is to assist attorneys in researching whether there were any errors made during trial and gathering potentially favorable evidence that might have been missed.
Edward Cannon – Equal Justice Center, Austin, TX: Equal Justice Center helps recover unpaid wages for low-income workers, regardless of immigration status. Since starting fifteen years ago, they’ve successfully recovered over $10 million in unpaid wages. I will have the privilege of serving as first chair and working on cases at all stages of litigation. I’m excited to help Texas workers get just compensation for their labor.
Matthew Caponi – Refugee Services of Texas: Refugee Services of Texas provides free and low-cost legal aid to all immigrant groups, including refugees, asylum seekers, and non-refugee immigrants. These services range from initial filing of applications for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), Temporary Protected Status, or Permanent Residence, to applying for citizenship, to resettlement services, to education and empowerment services for survivors of human trafficking. I will work directly with clients to help them with their immigration filings.
Paige Lauren Cheung – Office of the Attorney General of Texas, Austin: The Office of the Attorney General takes initiative in providing resources to help further Texans’ security, wellness, and rehabilitation. This summer, I will work 12 weeks at the OAG and work on matters assigned to me by attorneys in my division.
Bethany Copeland – Capital Area Private Defender Service – Austin, TX: I will be clerking for the Capital Area Private Defender Service, which consults and manages panel attorneys appointed to defend indigent clients in Travis County. I will help The Forensic Project review cases where clients were convicted due to unreliable DNA evidence processed at The Austin Police Department’s Crime Lab. When a case involved bad evidence and a wrongful conviction, this leads to post-conviction litigation where I will assist with legal research, writing, and drafting writs. While working with The Holistic Defense Team, I will research and write related to the immigration consequences of criminal convictions, assist with investigation, and assist with client interviews, immigration advisements, and court proceedings.
Miguel Angel De Hoyos – Texas Riogrande Legal Aid, Austin and Edinburg: Texas RioGrande Legal Aid provides free legal services to low-income residents all over southwest Texas. TRLA deals with more than a dozen practice areas, such as real estate, civil rights, employment, and so much more. TRLA gives hope to those people who because of their financial situation have no other access to a legal remedy. Working there, I plan to find solutions for these families and hopefully give them the solution they much need.
Brian Downs – Office of the Chief Counsel for Trade Enforcement and Compliance (Washington, D.C.): The Office of the Chief Counsel for Trade Enforcement & Compliance is a division of the International Trade Administration. As a law clerk, I will assist attorneys in matters relating to the administration and enforcement of unfair trade laws, litigation at the Court of International Trade, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and before NAFTA and WTO panels. My role will consist of performing legal research and preparing memoranda, motions, and briefs.
Rachel Adi Enav – Office of the Attorney General, Austin TX: My work will help ensure that Texans can trust charitable organizations. As a law clerk at the Financial Litigation and Charitable Trusts division, I will assist attorneys with research and writing, and attend hearings and depositions.
Natasha Ertzbischoff – U.S. Attorney’s Office – Eastern District of New York: The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York is a uniquely positioned litigation office that handles a wide array of federal crimes and encompasses a very diverse population. In the Criminal Division, I will be working on trial preparation, interviews and depositions, and legal research and writing for matters such as human and sex trafficking crimes, child pornography and exploitation offenses, and environmental crimes.
Alan Gaines – California Attorney General’s Office – Civil Rights Enforcement Section: I will be working in the Civil Rights Enforcement Section of the California Attorney General’s Office in Los Angeles. The section’s work includes combating discrimination in public accommodations, housing, and employment, and enforcing civil rights laws in the areas of hate crimes, human trafficking, immigrant rights, education, environmental justice, and the protection of Native American sacred and cultural sites. I will primarily be researching, investigating, and providing legal analyses to deputies of the Attorney General.
Sarah George – Capital Area Private Defender’s Service: The Capital Area Private Defender’s Service (CAPDS) is a 501(c)(3) organization that oversees and manages court-appointed counsel in Austin, a city that lacks a typical public defender’s office. CAPDS employs social workers and an immigration attorney to holistically serve people in Austin. CAPDS is also currently reviewing every case that was convicted using evidence from the Austin Police Department Crime Lab, which has been found to be unscientific.
Ricardo Gilb – Texas Appleseed: Texas Appleseed attacks systemic injustice from several angles, using strategic advocacy, policy, and research to bring about long-lasting change. The School-to-Prison Pipeline Project (which I will be working on) is focused on ending practices in schools which push students away from the classroom and toward the criminal justice system. By doing careful research and working with both educators and legislators, Appleseed has already led the Legislature to limit suspensions for young students, and it will continue working to help students stay in environments best for their development.
Greer Allison Gregory – Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid, Beeville: Texas RioGrande Legal Aid (TRLA) is a nonprofit that gives legal assistance to individuals with mental illnesses. I would like to work with TRLA on supported decision making to help set individuals up for success and recovery, while also preventing possible recidivism. This experience will inform both my current research and future advocacy work. Impoverished individuals are the most likely to suffer from mental illness and yet at the same time the least likely to have access to support. I am dedicated to working in the public interest sector, particularly for individuals struggling with mental illnesses, by using my privilege and access to resources to break down barriers to opportunities and empower those in need.
Bria Guthridge – Federal Public Defender – Capital Habeas Unit: I will be writing crucial briefs and performing mitigation research that may ultimately be the stark difference between another state sponsored killing and a life saved. As a new unit, CHU is taking on many complex cases that represent a large swath of procedural issues. Though it will be a challenge, taking on difficult cases inspires me to apply my legal reasoning to the most exhausted cases and to use my burgeoning skills to make a difference in the most challenging capital cases.
Lena Hall – Texas Civil Rights Project, Austin: The Texas Civil Rights Project works to create policy change in order to protect, advance, and empower the civil rights of Texans. TCRP has three major projects: voting rights, racial and economic justice, and criminal justice reform. I will be working under the head of the Voting Rights Project, and will have a role in each of TCRP’s major projects.
Aro Han – Austin Medical Legal Partnership- Texas Legal Services Center: Austin Medical-Legal Partnership is a collaboration between legal professionals and healthcare providers working to ensure better outcomes for patients in almost three hundred healthcare facilities. With the understanding that health can be affected by many other factors, the Partnership works to mitigate or eliminate circumstances which inhibit patients from good health and well-being such as food insecurity or unhealthy living conditions. The Partnership trains healthcare professionals to be advocates for their patients and provides direct legal services to patients at no cost.
Girija Hathaway – U.S. Coast Guard’s District Seventeen Legal Office in Juneau, Alaska: The U.S. Coast Guard’s D17 encompasses the entire state of Alaska—33,000 miles of coastline and over 3.8 million square miles of ocean. The Legal Office in Juneau is its in-house. I’ll be working with a handful of JAG officers to support the District Commander, two sectors, six buoy tenders, seven patrol boats, three small boat stations, two air stations, and six marine safety detachments who provide maritime safety, security, and stewardship for the American people.
Madison Haueisen – Oregon Innocence Project – Portland, Oregon: The Oregon Innocence Project works to exonerate the innocent throughout the state of Oregon while providing legal training and education to law school students and working on policy reforms for the prevention of wrongful convictions. I will be engaged in a variety of tasks from reviewing inmate requests for OIP’s legal assistance and screening cases at various stages of representation to investigating claims of innocence and drafting motions and briefs. Central to my work at OIP will be developing research and writing skills along with other practical lawyering skills such as interviewing, negotiating, and preparing for trial.
Dymond Elise Hayes – United States Attorney’s Office for the S. District of Texas, Houston: I will be combatting violence and seeking quality prosecution at the nation’s seventh largest USAO nationwide-the Southern District of Texas. My department coordinates investigations and prosecutions of violent crimes committed by organized crime groups, violent prison and street gangs. I will be assisting with the national anti-violent crime strategy through Project Safe Neighborhoods. My legal responsibilities will include managing the criminal case load; initiating charges; drafting prosecution memoranda, plea agreements, stipulations, warrant and summons requests; and assisting with witness interviews.
Madeline Hillsmith – ACLU of Texas – Dallas Office: The ACLU of Texas is one of the leading defenders of civil liberties in Texas. Their caseload covers fair justice reform, reproductive rights, LGBTQ equality, free speech, freedom of religion, youth rights, voting rights, privacy rights, and the rights of immigrants. Many civil liberties in Texas still stand on uncertain ground, and the ACLU’s work remains as important as ever.
Over the course of my work this summer, I will be investigating civil liberties complaints, performing factual and legal research, and assisting with all stages of civil rights litigation. I will be working on a variety of the issues listed above, but focusing primarily on criminal justice reform.
Joseph W. Hoggatt – Hays County District Attorney, San Marcos TX: Hays County District Attorney – Seeking justice every day!
Kelly Hogue – Texas Defender Services: Texas Defender Services works to improve the quality of representation afforded to those facing the death penalty in Texas. Texas Defender Services assists capital trial lawyers, directly represents clients in post-conviction litigation, and works to shape Texas’s death penalty laws. I will primarily be working with the Capital Trial Project, which assists capital trial lawyers in the early stages of capital litigation.
Aiden Johnsen – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas: I will work under the Civil Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas (Houston), which focuses broadly on civil rights enforcement, affirmative civil enforcement, and defensive litigation to handle cases brought against the United States and its employees. My duties will include conducting research and writing assignments, helping Assistant U.S. Attorneys with trial and witness preparation, participating in depositions, mediations, and trials, and much more.
Elizabeth Jones – Texas Fair Defense Project: Texas Fair Defense Project is a nonprofit that works to eradicate one of the largest injustices in American society—unequal representation in the criminal justice system. During my internship, I will conduct legal research, writing, and participate in ongoing litigation projects to help fight for a system of equality and justice. I am excited by this opportunity to be a part of the public interest community.
Robert Kaltenbach – Department of Justice – U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania: The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Philadelphia represents the federal government in civil and criminal litigation in one of the nation’s largest districts. As an intern in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, I will work with criminal and civil AUSA’s on every stage of the litigation process. I will help conduct investigations as well as help prepare for the trial and appellate process.
Patrick Kane – Office of the Attorney General: I will be working at the Office of the Attorney General for the State of Texas. I have yet to be placed in a division. However, I hope to work in the general litigation or cyber crimes divisions.
Omar Khawaja – Federal Trade Commission, Bureau of Consumer Protection: The Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection serves the American people by stopping fraudulent and deceptive business practices. The Bureau of Consumer Protection sues companies and people who break the law. I will have the honor of working in Washington, D.C. with the Bureau of Consumer Protection’s litigators and help draft pleadings, discovery requests, and responses, in addition to other tasks, as needed.
Claire Kimutis – Harris County District Attorney’s Office: The Harris County District Attorney’s Office is the dedicated to pursuing every case following its guiding principles. These include recognizing mental illness as a public-health concern, treating those accused of criminal offenses with dignity and fairness, and making decisions about criminal cases based on evidence, not personal relationships. I plan on working to learn about the criminal justice system and seeing how the legal system can truly bring justice to victims.
Alexandra Donna Kleemann – City of Chicago Department of Law, Chicago, IL: This summer, Alex will be working for the City of Chicago Department of Law with the Conservation Group of the Building and License Enforcement Division. Through the investigation, formulation, and enforcement of innovative social and legal policies regarding property ownership and building standards, the group works to improve the quality of life of city residents. Alex will be working alongside municipal attorneys to enforce city building policies and improve the standard of living of residents around the city.
Molly Knowles – Texas Attorney General’s Office, Austin: I am planning to work for the Office of the Attorney General. Law clerks are divided between divisions within the Office and work with agency attorneys, conduct legal research, draft pleadings, memos, and briefs, may assist in developing discovery, interviewing witnesses, and attending hearings and trials.
Savannah Kumar – ACLU of Texas and Center for Court Innovation, New York City: I am spending my summer working on criminal justice-related issues at the ACLU of Texas and the Center for Court Innovation in New York City. At the ACLU of Texas, I will assist with impact litigation that will defend the rights of inmates, immigrants, and other groups who are particularly vulnerable in our criminal justice system. At the Center for Court Innovation, I will work on a team to design and implement alternatives to incarceration.
Megan E. Legband – Cru, Orlando | Office of the Texas Attorney General (TOAG), Austin: This summer, I’m splitting my time between a nonprofit and a government office. During the first half, I’ll work in Orlando, FL with Cru, a global missions nonprofit, in their general counsel’s office, where I’ll work on international issues in different substantive legal practice areas. During the second half, I’ll work at the Texas Attorney General’s office; while I have not been placed in a specific sector yet, I hope to learn more about litigation.
Aaron Zachary Luttenberger – United States Attorney’s Office Springfield, MA: The United States Attorney’s Office in Springfield, MA prosecutes criminal cases in western Massachusetts. It consists of seven Assistant U.S. Attorneys, providing a great opportunity to be given significant substantive responsibility. These responsibilities include legal research, accompanying attorneys to hearings and trials in the courtroom, attending proffers, reviewing evidence, and composing motions.
Laura Mahler – Orleans Public Defenders, New Orleans, LA: Orleans Public Defenders is a public defender’s office in New Orleans, LA. The public defenders at this office have been described as operating within the eye of the criminal justice reform storm. Public defenders in New Orleans face unbelievably heavy caseloads and very little funding. As a result, there is no better place to learn how to be a public defender that can adapt to the worst situations the criminal justice can throw at an attorney. I will be interviewing clients, drafting motions, observing court proceedings, and helping with investigation.
Paul Justin Marsh – San Diego Public Defender: The San Diego County Public Defender provides legal representation to those persons who have been charged with a crime, but cannot afford a private attorney. My day to day work will vary with the types of cases, but I will aid the office in its mission of legally representing the indigent.
Madeleine Claire Mashon – Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights, New Orleans, LA: I will clerk for the Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights in New Orleans, Louisiana, a nonprofit legal office that defends children in the juvenile justice system. LCCR is unique in its holistic approach to juvenile justice: each child, for instance, is appointed a public defender, social worker and youth advocate. While there, I will work closely alongside one or two LCCR attorneys, helping them conduct projects through research, investigation, and preparation of briefs and other legal documents. I am incredibly excited to join such an amazing team of advocates.
Chloe McGrath – San Diego Public Defenders Office: This summer I will work as a Legal Intern with the San Diego County Office of the Primary Public Defender to help provide indigent clients with effective legal representation. My position includes meeting with clients, conducting legal research, drafting legal documents, and observing legal proceedings and meetings. I am also able to appear on behalf of my clients in court. I hope to be able to try my first case for an adult charged with a misdemeanor. Furthermore, I hope to have experience conducting preliminary hearings, arguing motions, and working on cases from arraignment to disposition. This work will provide the needed support for the attorneys who work tirelessly to promote justice for our clients and ensure each individual has access to a vigorous defense. I am excited to be a part of a dedicated team who is committed to each individual who requires legal assistance.
Mikayla McIntyre – Attorney General of Texas and State Representative Ryan Guillen: The Office of the Attorney General of Texas provides the opportunity to work with multiple top-notch attorneys in Texas and learn in a setting that fosters education and with an office that works for and represents Texas. Conversely, interning with Representative Ryan Guillen provides the opportunity to interact directly with Texans and help formulate meaningful solutions to their problems through legislation and personal interaction. These opportunities will create a more holistic view of public service.
Daniel Michon – Texas State Board of Pharmacy (Austin, TX) and the Texas Office of the Attorney General (Austin, TX): The Texas State Board of Pharmacy regulates the practice of pharmacy in Texas. As a legal intern, I will review complaints from the public, assist in drafting allegations, and help represent the Board in administrative hearings. The Texas Attorney General is the lawyer for the state of Texas and represents the state in legal actions. As a law clerk, I will assist in giving legal advice to state agencies as well as provide enforcement litigation support.
David Miracchi – Texas Civil Rights Project: The Texas Civil Rights Project (TRCP) uses impact litigation to advance criminal justice reform, promote racial and economic justice, and protect voting rights in Texas. I am excited to contribute to TCRP’s current litigation challenging inhumane prison conditions and over-incarceration. I will be researching and writing memos to help with TCRP’s suit opposing the intolerably hot conditions for inmates in the Wallace Pack Unit. I am eager to help advocate for the Texas inmates who languish in overheated prison facilities.
Ralph Michael Molina – Office of the Attorney General of Texas: I will be working for the Office of the Attorney General of Texas doing litigation work. I hope to work either in the General Litigation Division, the Financial Litigation and Charitable Trusts Division, or the Administrative Law Division and improve my advocacy skills while representing the great State of Texas.
Darrick Monson – Maricopa County Attorney’s Office (Phoenix, AZ), U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas (Tyler, TX): At both the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office and the US Attorney’s Office, I will be assisting prosecutors with investigation and trial preparation including but not limited to interviewing witnesses, reviewing evidence, researching legal issues, drafting motions and memoranda, and attending court proceedings.
Katherine Moody – Federal Public Defender of the Northern District of Florida – Capital Habeas Unit: This summer, I will be working for the Federal Public Defender of the Northern District of Florida in the Capital Habeas Unit. In the Capital Habeas Unit, my work will focus on representing those who have been sentenced to death and challenging their convictions and death sentences in federal courts. I entered law school knowing that I wanted to pursue a career in capital defense and I am excited that with this internship I will be doing just that.
Michelle Muscara – Travis County District Attorney’s Office: The Travis County District Attorney’s Office internship allows summer interns to be assigned to teams of attorneys to get hands-on training in the courtroom. In addition to traditional legal research, interns will have the opportunity to listen to and view interviews and jail calls, observe court proceedings including pre-trial hearings and jury trials, and observe witness and victim interviews. In this program, interns not only get an overview of the Criminal Justice System, but contribute to the quality of our community.
Oluwaseun Hannah Rahaman – Texas Association Against Sexual Assault (TAASA): I will be working for the Texas Association Against Sexual Assault (TAASA). TAASA is an organization dedicated to helping end sexual violence in Texas through education, prevention, and advocacy. As a TAASA intern, I will be working with the Director of the Incarcerated Survivor Advocacy Program to gather and review reports of sexual violence from incarcerated survivors, and provide resources and information to survivors to help ensure sexual safety in correctional facilities.
Sandhya Ramaswamy – Texas Civil Rights Project: The Texas Civil Rights project serves the movement for equality and justice in and out of the courts. They use tools of litigation and legal advocacy to protect and advance the civil rights of everyone in Texas, and partner with communities across the state to serve the rising movement for social justice.
TCRP’s program areas address some of the most pressing social justice problems in Texas — protecting voting rights, advancing racial and economic justice, and reforming our broken criminal justice system.
I will be working in TCRP’s impact litigation as a summer law clerk, and will be working directly with TCRP attorneys.
Philip C. Reyneke – Rio Grande Legal Aid: I will be working with Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid, focusing primarily on immigration and family law cases. I hope to gain experience working with international clients, as well as a better understanding of immigration and family law.
Kevin Dollard Robinson – Federal Public Defender for the Western District of Texas: As a summer clerk for the Federal Public Defender for the Western District of Texas, I hope to gain foundational experience for a career as a public defender. I will work with trial, appellate, and research and writing attorneys to complete research projects and draft briefs and sentencing memoranda. In addition to reviewing discovery and attending court, I will also meet with Spanish-speaking clients on a supervised and one-on-one basis.
Corina Isabela Rodriguez – Office of the Attorney General (Austin, TX) and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas (Laredo, TX): The Office of the Attorney General defends the state laws and constitution, represents Texas in litigation, and approves public bond issues. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas, represents the interests of the United States in civil cases and prosecutes federal crimes. Through both of these internships, I will be conducting research and writing assignments, assist in developing discovery, and attend legal proceedings.
Paul Gregory Samuel – Disability Rights Texas (Austin, TX), Legal Aid of Northwest Texas (Dallas, TX): Disability Rights Texas – I will spend the summer representing individuals with disabilities in a wide variety of matters, including employment and housing discrimination, healthcare, special education, foster care, and more.
Legal Aid of Northwest Texas – At LANWT, I will spend my time representing individuals who otherwise would not be able to afford legal representation in housing and employment discrimination matters.
Lillian Seidel – Disability Rights Texas: This summer, I will be working for Disability Rights Texas, the federally designated legal protection and advocacy agency for people with disabilities in Texas. Their mission is to help people with disabilities understand and exercise their rights under the law, ensuring their full and equal participation in society. They work towards their mission by providing direct representation and legal assistance, educating policy makers and community members, and making referrals to other programs and services. In my role this summer, I will be helping represent individuals with disabilities in a wide variety of matters, including employment and housing discrimination, healthcare, special education, foster care, and more.
Patrick Sellars – New Hampshire Public Defender Program: NHPD is a state-wide public defender office in New Hampshire. Their attorneys work to represent all indigent clients charged with crimes in the state. As a rising 3L, I will have the opportunity to carry my own case load, and will be permitted to represent indigent defendants in misdemeanor trials.
Jacob Smith – Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Office: The Tarrant County Criminal DA’s Office is responsible for administering justice in Fort Worth and the surrounding area. I will be serving the people of Tarrant County by reviewing police evidence and preparing case summaries that will be presented to a Grand Jury. The Grand Jury is an important protection for citizens against prosecution, and my reports and recommendations will help ensure only the guilty face prosecution.
Edith Alicia Solis – US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas, Houston, TX: I will be interning at the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas in the Human Rights and Organized Crime division. This division works closely on rescuing victims of human trafficking and prosecuting a wide range of offenders from human traffickers to those that commit hate crimes, gang member violence, and immigration crimes. The internship involves helping prosecutors with research, drafting motions, observing prosecutors in court, and attending depositions and meetings with agents.
Joseph Dominic Starsia – Capital Area Private Defender Service: Capital Area Private Defender Service oversees indigent defense in Austin. I will assist with case reviews and evaluations for the Forensic Project, a unit of CAPDS formed after it came to light that the Austin Police Department’s crime lab was utilizing unscientific DNA testing. And I will observe criminal cases in court, working with the Holistic Defense Team, which assists attorneys in provided client-centered advocacy through the use of social workers, investigation, and immigration consultation.
Madeline Stein – US Attorney’s Office Southern District of Texas, Houston: The US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas is one of the largest federal prosecution offices in the country. The office focuses largely on federal immigration offenses. Through my internship, I will work primarily in the appellate division. I will assist attorneys with research and writing to be used for briefs submitted to the Fifth Circuit. Additionally, I will participate in moot courts prior to oral argument.
Ramya A. Sundaram – United States Securities and Exchange Commission: The average consumer of financial products faces a considerable imbalance of power against the financial institutions and banks that sell them. At the SEC, I will be working in the Division of Enforcement, whose sole purpose is to protect investors through administrative proceedings and civil suits. I hope to gain a more thorough understanding of the process of an SEC enforcement action and of how the attorneys at the SEC develop their cases from the start of an investigation through to the end of a trial.
Elena Thompson – Ohio Civil Rights Commission (Columbus, Ohio): The Ohio Civil Rights Commission is the primary educator and enforcer of Ohio’s Laws Against Discrimination for employment, housing, public accommodation, and disability in higher education. The OCRC is an administrative agency does not represent either party to the claim, but serves as an impartial fact finder on whether discrimination likely occurred.
I will aid in discrimination investigations and assist with administrative policy to protect the people throughout the state of Ohio from discrimination.
Jessica Tremayne – Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights: The Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights – formerly Juvenile Regional Services – is a nonprofit law office that defends the right of every child in Louisiana’s juvenile justice system to fairness, dignity, and opportunity.
Laura Catherine Tucker – Texas RioGrande Legal Aid: Texas RioGrande Legal Aid provides free legal services, in three dozen different practice areas, to low-income Texans. TRLA has offices across Texas, and most are located near the border. The Alpine office is one of the smallest and most remote, with only two staff attorneys and one paralegal. I will be their first-ever summer intern.
Christian Eric Vieira – The Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas: The Office of the Attorney General of Texas serves and protects the rights of all citizens of Texas through the activities of various divisions and includes initiatives in areas such as synthetic drugs, family violence, and human trafficking. I will work on Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Charges of Discrimination and Family and Medical Leave Act issues on behalf of more than 4,000 employees of the OAG whom have chosen a career in public service.
Julia Wang – Texas Fair Defense Project – Austin: This summer, I will be working for the Texas Fair Defense Project serving indigent clients who need quality representation. TFDP focuses on challenging modern-day debtor’s prisons and money-based bail systems that disproportionately affect low-income minorities through impact litigation, legislative advocacy, and education. TFDP works to improve the unequal practices found in Texas’ courts and ensure that these individuals have access to justice. I will assist attorneys with habeas corpus proceedings and civil rights litigation against government agencies whose criminal defense policies violate the U.S. Constitution.
David Farnham Whitney – Orleans Public Defenders: New Orleans has been described as the most incarcerated city in America. Orleans Public Defenders provides indigent persons with tenacious, community-oriented criminal defense under some of the most difficult conditions in the country. As a summer clerk, I will assist staff attorneys in all aspects of criminal litigation including performing legal research, conducting factual investigation, drafting of memoranda and motions, analyzing discovery materials and preparing briefs.
Colin Matthew Wolff – Office of Consumer Credit Commissioner: The Office of Consumer Credit Commissioner protects consumers by regulating payday/title loan lenders, high interest lenders, etc. While these industries do provide a needed service for many underserved Texans, instances of predatory business practices remain high. My work will help protect Texans by focusing on legal research regarding consumer complaint resolution and licensing.
Christopher Woolfolk – Travis County District Attorney’s Office: I will be working in the Civil Rights Unit of the Travis County District Attorney’s Office. My goal is to help attain justice for members of our community who are victims of state sanctioned violence while also ensuring fairness and due process for law enforcement personnel and respect for the invaluable services that police officers provide. I will be interning with the unit that investigates officer use of force and determines whether prosecution is appropriate.
Harjeen Zibari – Capital Area Private Defenders and the Human Rights Initiative of North Texas: CAPDS: I will be working on the Forensics Project, conducting investigations of convictions obtained from unreliable DNA evidence from the Austin Police Department. This is closely related to my work with the Innocence Project of Texas while I was an undergraduate at UT Dallas. I will review case evidence and correspond with clients to determine if there was sufficient evidence to obtain their convictions.
At the Human Rights Initiative, I will be working closely with children who have suffered human rights abuses, such as sexual abuse, sex trafficking and family violence. I will do legal research, draft memos, and correspond closely with clients.