Category Archives: Fellowships and Grants

2012 Chayes Fellow Sarah Wheaton (JD ’14), on her summer with the St. Andrew’s Refugee Legal Aid Program, Egypt

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“RLAP is a small NGO, which has its advantages and disadvantages. …The office is small and chaotic, right in the heart of downtown Cairo, and there is never enough interview space to go around – everyone is on top of each other and no one has their own desks. But this can be fun; everyone is laid back and relaxed about it. The relationships among the attorneys, interns, and staff are great – very friendly.

I loved the work and I loved getting to have my own clients and to see refugees every day. Hearing their stories was incredibly compelling, and you get to have a real impact on their lives. I would recommend this internship to anyone interested in refugee issues. … I do feel that I have a better understanding of the UNHCR and the issues refugees face, and the interviewing experience was invaluable. Being in the field and doing direct service was a great way to see how some of the things we learned in 1L can be applied.

This internship really made me consider working on refugee issues after graduation. I was more interested in human rights and women’s issues generally, and took the internship for the field experience and interviewing experience. But I fell in love with the refugees and working with them is such a unique experience – they have gone through such horrible things and international law touches their lives in a very concrete way.This internship confirmed my desire to work in public service and to work internationally, and opened my eyes to the joys of working with refugees and the need to combine policy advocacy with direct service.”

2012 Chayes Fellow Megumi Tsutsui (JD ’14), working with the Legal Resources Centre, South Africa

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Lion's Head, Cape Town

“I’ve been working on a research report to explain general legal liability implications incurred from accidents resulting in deaths or injuries to “illegal” diggers at mines. Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) conducted by individuals and small organized groups occurs nearly everywhere in the world alongside large-scale mining (LSM). However, in the case of South Africa (and nearly everywhere else in the world), these miners are given little to no legal protections and rights, though they have been historically disadvantaged and negatively impacted by generous government concessions given to large-scale mining. Thus, these artisanal miners are often deemed to be “illegal,” even though their activities may be well-known and condoned by the owners of the mines.

 My report delves into two issues. First, it analyzes current South African law that governs liability of corporations and government in the case of artisanal miners suffering an accident while mining. Second, my report summarizes international best practices to regulate the ASM sector and offers recommendations for reforming policy and law in South Africa pertaining to artisanal mining. I am also helping to organize a workshop to present my paper in a mining town where artisanal miners were recently killed in an accident. Invitees include representatives from mining associations, NGOs, and relevant government departments. The workshop will explore how reform can be achieved in the specific context of the mining community.

 Aside from the very fascinating development work, I have also been able to take advantage of living in the beautiful city of Cape Town. Above is a picture of Lion’s Head, which I took on my hike up Table Mountain.”

Samantha Glover (JD ’14), 2012 Chayes Fellow, on her work with the Environment and Natural Resources Foundation, Argentina

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“My main project for the summer is working on a policy brief discussing public participation in climate change law in Buenos Aires, Mexico City, and Sao Paulo. I have learned a lot through my research and have even had the chance to improve my Portuguese since I am also focusing on Sao Paulo’s legislation and public participation.

I have also had a chance to travel a bit while I’ve been here. Argentina’s Independence Day was July 9th, and I took the opportunity to travel to the Northwest of the country. It was surprisingly different from Buenos Aires and it was nice to get out of the city for a bit.

Overall, I’m finding all aspects of my summer highly rewarding and wish I had more time here than I do.”

Chayes Fellow Lindsay Henson (JD ’14), spending the summer with the Human Rights Law Network, India

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“This summer, I have been working with the Human Rights Law Network (HRLN) in New Delhi, India. Some of my work has been on urban housing rights of slum-dwellers who are forcibly evicted from their homes by the government. Over the past 10 years, major cities throughout India have been engaging in massive demolition drives of slums in the name of development and modernization. As a result, tens of thousands of families who have been residing in these slum areas have been left homeless. These forced evictions and demolitions are often done in violation of both domestic and international human rights law. The Constitution of India protects the right to life which has been interpreted by the courts to include the right to shelter. To that end, local governments have established rehabilitation policies which provide that if an individual slum-dweller meets certain criteria, the government is supposed to provide them with alternative housing. However, these demolitions are often done without following due process and victims are not provided with proper rehabilitation.

During my time with HRLN, I’ve gotten to work on several urban housing rights cases that have been filed over the past few years. Ideally, we try to prevent demolitions from happening by petitioning the court for a stay order on the demolition until a proper survey can be conducted to determine which residents are eligible for rehabilitation. However, if the demolition has already occurred, then we work to get proper rehabilitation and compensation for residents as needed. Sadly, these cases can last for months and even years as people wait to be rehabilitated by the government. Often they have no other choice but to pick up the pieces of their demolished home and rebuild either in the same spot or elsewhere.

Lindsay Henson, HRLN, New Delhi

For example, in January 2009, the government arrived on site with no prior notice, gave residents 30 minutes to remove their belongings, and demolished over 200 homes. The residents filed a public grievance shortly after the demolition, but nothing came of the various hearings. HRLN filed a petition in the Delhi High Court in late 2011 seeking proper rehabilitation for eligible victims. In June 2012, we received word over the weekend that the government was threatening to again demolish the temporary structures that had been built after the 2009 demolition on Monday morning. When I asked what I could do to help, my supervisor responded with “you any good at standing in front of bulldozers?”  Only he wasn’t kidding. So first thing Monday morning, I headed to the slum waiting for the bulldozers to arrive. While I was on site, my supervisor was at the Delhi High Court filing an urgent petition. Thankfully, he was able to get a temporary stay order preventing the government from any further demolition activity until the next hearing. It is a small step to be sure, but an incredible thing to be a part of.“

Chayes Fellow Lillian Langford (JD’ 13), working in the Kyrgyz Republic with the Eurasia Foundation of Central Asia

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Chayes Fellow Lillian Langford with EBL lawyers

“I’m now in the middle of about a month of field visits to remote areas to interview the project’s lawyers and clients for a final report …The stories of our clients are often tragic, but the lawyers seem to be doing great work for people who otherwise would have no access to legal aid.”

Lillian is working this summer with Equal Before the Law: Access to Justice in Central Asia, a a program designed to increase access to justice for vulnerable populations, in particular for rural women, at-risk children and persons with disabilities.

“What strikes me most, hearing the stories and reactions of the clients we have met in our first week of field visits, is how astonished many of them were when they realized that someone was able and willing to help them with their problems.”

Lillian and her fellow interns are blogging about their experiences on the Equal Before the Law web site; please click here to read Lillian’s posts.