Something every law student is told: In law school, first year they scare you to death, second year they work you to death, and third year they bore you to death. If any part of this saying is true, it is that first year is frightening. Having never been to law school before, each law…
Just this Wednesday, there was a lot of buzz on the Twitterverse about FrontlineSMS:Legal, a new addition to the FrontlineSMS family. According to their website: FrontlineSMS:Legal helps our partners bridge the distance between communities and the legal services they need most, using low-cost mobile tools. FrontlineSMS:Legal develops and implements technologies that improve the delivery, reach,…
When I opened the New York Times website yesterday, I was really glad to see that one of the most popular articles was about the surge of young lawyers joining the public interest field. The article centered around the phenomenon of deferred associates spurred by the recent recession. “BigLaw” corporate firms have been affected by…
Recently, the incredible Rosetta Thurman included me on her wonderful list of 32 Nonprofit & Philanthropy Blogs Written by People of Color – and I was incredibly honored and surprised by this gesture! Thanks again, Rosetta! But what was even more surprising to me was being clearly identified as a person of color! In all…
This Friday, I’d like to feature the Equal Justice Initiative, an important non-profit headquartered in Montgomery, Alabama, and which works to reform the criminal justice system and defend those on death row. The organization’s about page states that EJI “provides legal representation to indigent defendants and prisoners who have been denied fair and just treatment…
I recently finished “Indefensible: One Lawyer’s Journey into the Inferno of American Justice” by David Feige, who worked as a public defender in the Bronx for nearly fifteen years. It is a fascinating account of his work and the stories of the clients he represents. Perhaps my favorite quote from the entire book is the…
Path to Justice from Penal Reform International on Vimeo. This quarter, I’m interning with the Northwestern University Center on International Human Rights, a legal clinic in the law school. One of our projects is an access to justice project in Malawi, where we work to improve legal representation for prisoners – particularly those sentenced to…
Today, more and more young people are finding service-oriented careers attractive. Indeed, there is a seismic generational shift underway. Generation Y is breaking with the tradition of paying one’s dues and climbing the corporate ladder; instead, Millennials seek to find work that they are passionate about, that reflects their values, and that brings deep meaning…
I recently ran across an excellent post by Rosetta Thurman, in which she writes about the importance of developing a personal mission statement. I absolutely loved the idea; organizations and companies all have mission statements – why can’t individuals? A mission statement is intended to ensure that non-profits always stay true to their original goals…
As an undergraduate student thinking of going to law school to become a public interest/civil rights/human rights lawyer, I’ve been talking to a lot of attorneys in the recent months. Informational interviews galore. I literally scoured the Northwestern University alumni database and searched for attorneys, both in the corporate and public interest area. I then…