For Your Information…

The following Columbia University School of Law students have received fellowships from Equal Justice America. These fellowships are made possible by contributions from Columbia University law alumni. With continued support from the alumni, we look forward to putting many more Columbia University law students to work providing vitally needed legal assistance to the poor. We need your help!

Columbia University now guarantees funding to first and second year law students pursuing summer public interest internships.  Equal Justice America will provide supplemental funding to these students and will continue to provide fall and spring fellowships to Columbia students.

Equal Justice America has recently awarded a two-year $80,000 Legal Services Fellowship to a graduating Columbia law student, which will begin in September 2008.

(Equal Justice America is an independent non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation unaffiliated with any law school.)

Please click the links below to read letters from the students on their EJA Fellowship experiences.

Fall 2008

  • Laila Hlass, Class of 2008, will begin a two-year post-graduate EJA Fellowship at the Loyola Legal Clinic in New Orleans.

Summer 2008

  • Carl Forbes and William Hughes are working at Brooklyn Legal Services Corporation A.
  • Chava Spivak-Birndorf is working at Greater Boston Legal Services.

Spring 2008

  • Peng Wu worked at Brooklyn Legal Services Corporation A.

Summer 2007

  • Rebecca Bonagura and Maria Emanuelli worked at the Center for Battered Women's Legal Services at Sanctuary for Families in New York City.
  • Eleanor Bryant worked at the Equal Justice Center in Austin, TX.
  • Jennifer Chung worked at the National Center for Law and Economic Justice in New York City.
  • Sueanne Co worked at the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem.
  • Jessica Espinosa worked at the Legal Aid Society in New York City.
  • Daryl Kuo worked at Boat People SOS in Houston, TX.
  • Adriana Luciano, Edward Timlin and Joaquin Torres worked at Brooklyn Legal Services Corporation A.
  • Jennifer Oh worked at the Urban Justice Center in New York City.
  • Emily Weiss worked at Greater Boston Legal Services.

Spring 2007

  • Amanda Torres-Dietrich worked at Brooklyn Legal Services Corporation A.

Summer 2006

  • Dorian Berger, Nathan Carle, and Michael Maier worked at Brooklyn Legal Services Corporation A.
  • Katherine Brandes worked at Catholic Charities Community Services in New York City.
  • Owen Conroy worked at the New York Legal Assistance Group.
  • Alida Garcia worked at the Public Counsel Law Center in Los Angeles.
  • Marie Annabelle Gardere worked at Dwa Fanm (“Women’s Rights in Haitian Creole”) in Brooklyn.
  • Jose Ramirez worked at the Equal Justice Center in Austin, TX.
  • Zachary Sharpe worked at Project Renewal in New York City.

Spring 2006

  • Minji Kim worked at the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) in New York City.

Summer 2005

  • Sydney Bird worked at Catholic Charities Community Services.
  • Kevin Frankel worked at Brooklyn Legal Services Corporation A.
  • Robert May worked at the Legal Aid Society in New York City.
  • Lateef Nurmohamed worked at the Harvard Law School Legal Services Center.
  • Sydney Tarzwell worked at the Urban Justice Center in New York City.
  • Sergio Leal worked at Texas RioGrande Legal Aid.
  • Kristi Schaeffer worked at the Migrant Farmworker Justice Project of Florida Legal Services.

Fall 2004/Spring 2005

  • Jaime Parks worked at Catholic Charities Community Services.

Summer 2004

  • Jessica Caroll, Anna Arceneaux, and Ryan Fahey worked at Brooklyn Legal Services Corporation A.
  • Robert Bickel, Kathy Jung, and Thien Nguyen worked at the Legal Aid Society in New York City.
  • Anne Lainer worked at Bet Tzedek Legal Services in Los Angeles.
  • Geoff Hu worked at Queens Legal Services.
  • Liang Gao worked at Legal Information for Families Today in New York City.
  • Nicole Beliveau worked at the Legal Assistance Corporation of Central Massachusetts.
  • Rebecca Gutner worked at Catholic Charities Community Services.
  • Lydia Mendoza worked at Los Angeles County Neighborhood Legal Services.

Fall 2003

  • Doris Cho and Myra Elgabry worked at the Legal Aid Society in New York City.
  • Annie Hsu and Amy Mulzer worked at the Welfare Law Center in New York City.

Summer 2003

  • Harrel Connor and Erin Durba worked at Brooklyn Legal Services Corporation A.
  • Paola Garcia worked at In Motion, an organization in New York City that provides legal representation to victims of domestic violence.
  • J. Clare McRae worked at Legal Aid Services of Oregon.
  • Nicole Vanderlaan worked at the HIV & AIDS Legal Services Alliance in Los Angeles.

Fall 2002

  • Joyce Kim worked at the Sanctuary at Families Center for Battered Women's Legal Services in New York City.
  • Giliane Cherubin and Kristina Holm worked at Catholic Charities Immigrant and Refugee Services.
  • Jennifer Lav and Camilla Roberson worked at the Welfare Law Center in New York City.

Summer 2002

  • Molly Biklin worked at the National Employment Law Project in New York City.
  • Melissa Cohen, Mindy Foss and Paul Powell worked at Brooklyn Legal Services.
  • Sonia Mansoor worked at Sanctuary For Families Center for Battered Women’s Legal Services.

Spring 2002

  • Giliane Cherubin worked at Catholic Charities Community Services.
  • Sandeep Satwalekar worked at the Welfare Law Center.

Fall 2001

  • Giliane Cherubin worked at Catholic Charities Community Services.

Summer 2001

  • Aimee Creed and Syed Mehdi Imam worked at Brooklyn Legal Services Corporation A.
  • Matthew Elston worked at Legal Services in New York City.
  • Michelle Ko worked at MFY Legal Services in New York City.
  • Peter Tsapatsaris worked at Merrimac County Legal Services in Lowell, MA.
  • Thomas Widor worked at the Washington Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights in Washington, D.C.

Summer 2000

  • Kai-Lin Hsu worked at Legal Services at The Door, NYC.
  • Michael Altschuler worked at Legal Services of Greater Miami.

Spring 1999

  • Amber Busuttil and Jason Solomon worked at Brooklyn Legal Services Corporation A.
  • Aleshia Amon-Ra worked at Brooklyn Legal Services Corporation B.

Fall 1998

  • Heidi Gilchrist and Catherine Lifeso worked at Brooklyn Legal Services Corporation A.

Spring 1998

  • Melissa Rothstein worked at Brooklyn Legal Services Corporation B.

Fall 1997

  • Jason Fraser and Relaina Ruvalcaba worked at Brooklyn Legal Services Corporation B.
  • Tiffany Matthews worked at MFY Legal Services.

Summer 1997

  • Africa Davidson worked at the Legal Aid Society in New York City.

Spring 1997

  • Tami Parker and Judy Wong worked at MFY Legal Services.
  • Julie Smith worked at Brooklyn Legal Services Corporation B.

Summer 1996

  • Palyn Hung worked at Public Advocates in San Francisco.
  • Phyllis Hwang worked at the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law in San Francisco.

Spring 1996

  • Rachel Gemen worked at MFY Legal Services.

Fall 1995

  • Ian Rose and Ruby Nidiri worked at MFY Legal Services.

Summer 1995

  • David Lund worked at Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services.

Summer 1994

  • Shannon Hill worked at the Youth Law Center in San Francisco.
  • Josh Gray worked at Brooklyn Legal Services Corporation B.