While in law school Cassie Chambers devoted herself to clinical work at the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau. In 2016, after a clerkship year, she received a Skadden Fellowship to work on domestic violence issues in Kentucky. There she discovered that her divorce client, who was a survivor of domestic violence, was required to pay for a divorce attorney for her incarcerated spouse. Cassie worked to change that.
Five Harvard Law School students and recent graduates have been awarded Skadden Fellowships to support their work in public service. The fellowships were established in 1988 by the law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom in recognition of the need for greater funding for graduating law students who want to devote their professional lives to helping poor, elderly, homeless and disabled people, as well as those deprived of their civil or human rights. The fellowships are awarded for two years to fund projects created by applicants at public interest organizations.
All five fellows participated in clinics like the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau, the Criminal Justice Institute , and Student Practice Organizations, like Harvard Defenders, Harvard Immigration Project, Prison Legal Assistance Project, Tenant Advocacy Project, and Project No One Leaves.
Texas RioGrande Legal Aid | Austin, TX
Direct representation of low-income, predominately Spanish-speaking tenants facing eviction and rent increases. Will work with a newly-formed tenants’ rights organization to enforce existing, yet underutilized tenant protections to create a model for sustainable affordable housing.
American Civil Liberties Union, LGBT & HIV Project | New York, NY
Direct services, impact litigation and legal education to ensure safe school environments and access to single-sex spaces for transgender youth in rural, low-income areas with a focus on Southern and Western states where the rights of trans youth are most under attack.
Advancement Project | Washington, DC
Impact litigation to challenge police practices under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Fourth Amendment, and challenging overbroad criminal laws under the 14th Amendment.
The Bronx Defenders | Bronx, NY
Direct representation of indigent people in the Bronx who seek to recover damages in small claims court when they are injured by police or other members of government agencies. Will focus on injuries that are individually too small for civil rights lawyers to address, but that can have an outsize impact in the lives of impoverished people.
Veterans Legal Services | Boston, MA
Direct representation of veterans in the Greater Boston area on access to benefits, housing and family law. Will also create partnerships with re-entry programs and other community organizations.
Five Harvard Law School students and recent graduates have been awarded Skadden Fellowships to support their work in public service. The fellowships were established in 1988 by the law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom in recognition of the need for greater funding for graduating law students who want to devote their professional lives to helping poor, elderly, homeless and disabled people, as well as those deprived of their civil or human rights. The fellowships are awarded for two years to fund projects created by applicants at public interest organizations. To date, the firm has funded 761 fellows, of whom 90 percent remain in public interest.
All five students have participated in more than one clinic (including the Child Advocacy Clinic, Education Law Clinic, Family and Domestic Violence Law Clinic, Harvard Legal Aid Bureau, Judicial Process in Trial Court Clinic, Supreme Court Litigation Clinic, Transactional Law Clinics), and student practice organizations, (including Harvard Defenders, Harvard Mediation Program, Harvard Prison Legal Assistance Project, Mississippi Delta Project, Tenant Advocacy Project, and Project No One Leaves).
The full list of 2016 fellows is available on the Skadden Fellowships website.
Six Harvard Law School students and recent graduates have been chosen to receive Skadden Fellowships to support their work in public service.
The fellowships, which provide a salary and benefits, were established in 1988 by the law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom in recognition of the need for greater funding for graduating law students who want to devote their professional lives to helping the poor, elderly, homeless and disabled, as well as those deprived of their civil or human rights. Twenty-eight fellows from 16 different law schools make up this year’s class.
“We have so many talented students hoping to use their legal education to aid underserved communities at a time when there is not enough funding to support those even a fraction of the attorneys needed to serve those communities.” said Alexa Shabecoff, assistant dean for public service in the Bernard Koteen Office of Public Interest Advising at HLS. “I am so grateful to Skadden for their leadership in helping to close a small part of the gap in providing high quality representation to low income clients by funding these six fantastic students.”
One of this year’s fellows, Ayirini Fonseca-Sabune ’12, was a recipient of the William J. Stuntz Memorial Award for Justice, Human Dignity and Compassion at HLS. The award recognizes a graduating student who has demonstrated an exemplary commitment to the principles of justice, human dignity and compassion while at Harvard Law School.
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