Skadden Postgraduate Public Interest Fellowships

Presenter: Susan Butler Plum Director, Skadden Fellowship Foundation

• Want to learn more about a two-year Skadden Fellowship?

• Interested in joining what’s been described as a legal Peace Corps?

• Have a desire to create your own project at a public interest organization?

The Skadden Fellowship Foundation was established in 1988, in recognition of the dire need for greater funding for graduating law students who wish to devote their professional lives to providing legal services to the poor, the elderly, the homeless and the disabled, as well as those deprived of their civil or human rights. The aim of the foundation is to give Fellows the freedom to pursue public interest work; thus, the Fellows create their own projects at public interest organizations with at least two lawyers on staff before they apply.

THIS INFORMATION SESSION WILL BE HELD AT NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW THURSDAY, JULY 15TH @ NOON ROOM 46, DOCKSER HALL 65 FORSYTH STREET, BOSTON

For more information about the Skadden Fellowship Foundation, visit www.skaddenfellowships.org.

EJW: Public Interest Law Opportunities

Presenter:

Jennifer Tschirch, Senior Program Manager, Fellowships

Equal Justice Works

· Interested in pursuing an Equal Justice Works Fellowship?

· Curious about the Equal Justice Works Conference and Career Fair?

· Need more information on the Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps Program?

Lawyers can make a significant difference in the lives of vulnerable people and communities that desperately need legal intervention to obtain justice. But scarce entry-level job opportunities and overwhelming student debt combine to thwart many law graduates from pursuing public interest careers. Equal Justice Works is the national leader in creating summer and postgraduate public interest opportunities for law students. Jennifer Tschirch, Senior Program Manager for Fellowships will answer your questions about public interest law opportunities and how to submit stellar applications for Equal Justice Works programs.

THIS PRESENTATION WILL BE HELD AT NUSL ON
THURSDAY, July 8th @ NOON IN ROOM 230 DOCKSER

Afghanistan Legal Education Project Fellow

The Afghanistan Legal Education Project (ALEP), founded by Stanford Law School students, is now accepting applications for a postdoctoral fellow to be based in Kabul. Please log onto JobNet for more information on how to apply.

Student Needed for the Education Law Project

 The Education Law Project seeks one student to work with Professor Teixeira de Sousa on the Liberia Education Project. This project will require the student to work with the Deputy Minister of Instruction for the Republic of Liberia to develop a framework for the Teach for Liberia Initiative. For information on how to apply, log onto the JobNet portion of Simplicity.

Learning the Frosty Fundamentals

Once again, greetings from Kenya! As the east coast enjoys / curses the summer heat, I am sitting in seventy degree, sunny weather. Oh, the majesty of the southern hemisphere in June!

Starting on the 14th, I began to assume my day-to-day responsibilities at Mapendo International (for full details regarding the organization, please see the June 17th posting). Basically, I will be interviewing at-risk urban refugees to determine whether Mapendo can offer possible assistance. On Monday and Tuesday I was allowed to observe my colleagues to learn the dos and don’ts of the interviewing process. Like me, both of my co-workers have legal backgrounds. Prior to this week, I don’t believe I comprehended the full extent of skills I gained in the past year of studying the law. An avid reader, I took no joy in much of my courses’ required reading. I could easily have done without the nights of trying to determine the holdings for late 19th century cases.

Unbeknownst to me at the time, my professors were teaching me to clear away the excess material to locate the one essential principal of the opinion. As I sat in my colleagues’ offices, I realized these same skills were being utilized in their interviewing process. Each co-worker started with the simple request that the client tell their story of escape. My colleagues rarely spoke, but when they did it was to re-focus the narrative – an attempt to concentrate on the one defining criteria that each refugee’s story must fulfill in order to obtain aid.

Like the 19th century opinions, these interviews can sometimes be maddening. As Justice Scalia once noted, the “law pronounced … must be principled, rational, and based upon reasoned distinctions.” Vieth v. Jubelirer, 541 U.S. 267, 278 (2004). Yet, a refugee’s story is often devoid of any type of rationality or logic. A refugee sees a senseless murder as a senseless murder. Whereas my legal criteria demands I determine whether this killing justifies, to my current client, a well-founded fear of persecution based upon her race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.

I have found this dichotomy between my refugees’ emotional tales and the necessity for me to ask cold and calculating questions difficult. I understand that a cold evaluation ensures the interviewer’s judgment is not clouded by emotions, and that the law is utilized in a manner which Justice Scalia would approve. Yet, I hope with time I am able to find a proper balance between interviewing objectively while providing a warm and compassionate environment. After watching my colleagues, I gained many methods I would like to emulate, perhaps none more important than trying to foster a safe environment, if not a friendly one. In the end, I hope that my worth is determined by how I use the law, and not necessarily my sunny (or lack thereof) disposition.

Best,

Jerry

Greetings from Nairobi, Kenya

My name is Jerry Donahue. I am a rising 2nd year student at New England Law Boston. Through the assistance of the administration and faculty, I was able to obtain an internship in Nairobi working for a refugee assistance program. I would especially like to thank Ms. Adonia Simpson, the Center for Law and Social Responsibility’s Fellow, and the Director of New England’s Immigration Project, Associate Professor of Law Ms. Dina Haynes.

In early fall, the Center for Law and Social Responsibility offered the opportunity to interview for an internship working with refugees in Kenya. I came to New England Law after living for a year in Phoenix, Arizona where I worked with newly arrived refugees from countries spanning the globe. The Center’s position was possibly the only internship the school could have offered that I was uniquely qualified. After first interviewing with Ms. Simpson and Professor Haynes, I moved on to an application with Mapendo International.

Sasha Chanoff started Mapendo International about five years ago. The organization’s mission is to provide assistance to refugees who have fallen through the cracks of humanitarian assistance, most notably in urban populations. In those five years, the program has acquired a crystal reputation in the humanitarian assistance world for its medical assistance, community service, and protection programs for at-risk refugees. Through the help of Ms. Simpson and Ms. Haynes, I was able to survive the interviewing process and obtain the Kenyan internship with Mapendo. On June 4th, I said goodbye to my family and friends and headed off for an African adventure.

I arrived in Nairobi after over a day of travel (for the record, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines rock). Mapendo had a driver waiting for me at the airport and he promptly dropped me off at the organization’s apartment. Mapendo staff were there to greet me upon my arrival. I started work on Monday. To be sure, my experience in Phoenix provided me with more requisite knowledge on refugees than the average bear. However, I spent the better part of the first week knee deep in reading materials regarding the situations of refugees across the continent – from reasons forcing refugees flight from their home countries to the effect the refugee populations are having on host countries like Kenya. On Tuesday and Thursday, I went with Mapendo’s outreach team to refugee havens in Nairobi. We met with families in their homes, usually little more than a 12 x 8 room with 2 to 8 people living inside. We heard stories of harassment, hunger, serious medical ailments, assault, rape, and murder.

On Monday (the 14th of June), I will begin my day-to-day duties of interviewing and assessing at risk refugees to ascertain whether they are suitable for possible protection through Mapendo. I have no doubt that the stories will be the likes of which New England Law Boston students can little imagine, let alone cope with. Yet, as of now, I am ready for the challenge.

In the coming weeks I will detail my experiences throughout my African adventure. Please check in periodically and if you have any questions or comments, please send me a shout.

Best,

Jerry Donahue