Zoe Paolantonio, class of 2009, recipient of an Equal Justice Works fellowship

Zoe Paolantonio graduated from Ithaca College in 2006 and came to law school with a focus: to help women. She said, “they say that you should look at the resume of the person you want to be, and then go get it.” So Zoe looked to advocates and policy-makers involved in women’s issues and knew that a law degree would help her develop a career as an advocate for equality for women.

Actively involved in self-labeled “feminist work” and women’s issues in college, Zoe began her legal career at New England following the same route. Zoe joined the Women’s Law Caucus in the fall of her first year and took part in the Judicial Language Project. She volunteered as an Interviewer/Advocate and a Team Leader at the Boston Medical Center program at the Northeastern University Domestic Violence Institute during all three years in law school. In addition, Zoe focused her studies and activities on public interest law.

Perhaps the culmination of an education based upon women issues and public service, Zoe decided to apply for an Equal Justice Works Fellowship with the help of a mentor, former Equal Justice Works Fellow Attorney Rebecca Brink.

Equal Justice Works’ mission is “to create a just society by mobilizing the next generation of lawyers committed to equal justice.” An applicant must create a project that reflects this purpose. Zoe created her fellowship with the Domestic Violence Institute so as to continue her work advocating for domestic violence victims. Zoe summarizes her project as: helping to fill the void in Boston Medical Center’s domestic violence advocacy program “by providing full time emergency legal advice and advocacy services to domestic violence victims who use BMC.”

Zoe will be the first full-time legal advocate for domestic violence victims who come to the BMC. Zoe will also help develop hospital policy relating to treatment of domestic violence victims.

The fellowship will run for two years. Zoe hopes that she will be able to find funding to continue the project that she creates at the Domestic Violence Institute permanently.

Post - Graduate Fellowship Application Tips

Join former Skadden Fellow, Professor Monica Teixeira de Sousa and Equal Justice Works Fellowship Recipient, Zoe Paolantonio, to learn the ins and outs of putting together a successful post-graduate fellowship application. If you are interested in pursuing a career in public interest, this is the program for you!

Monday, March 23rd, 12:15pm
31 St. James Street Conference Room

Refreshments will be service.

Please RSVP with CSO

Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review Jena 6 Conference Invitation

The Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review invites the Center for Law and Social Responsibility as well as the Criminal Justice Project to join us in exploring the legal dimensions of the Jena 6 phenomenon with leading legal academics:

On December 4, 2006, at a segregated schoolyard in Jena, LA, 3 nooses hung ominously from a "whites only" tree, sending a racially charged message to black students and the community. The ensuing tensions exploded in a fight that resulted in a range of criminal charges for 6 black male students, including attempted murder. The prosecution of the "Jena 6" has raised concerns about the continuing racial disparities pervading the American criminal justice system.

What: CR-CL Jena 6 Symposium Conference
When: March 13 - 14th
Where: Harvard Law School, Ropes Gray Room, Second Floor, Pound Hall
Contact E-mail: crcljena6conference@gmail.com

Panel Schedule
March 13: Crime, History and Governance 10am-12pm; Prosecutorial Ethics, 2pm-4pm.
March 14: Hate Speech, 10am-12pm.
Email to register for meals on a first-come-first-served basis.