AUSTIN, Texas – The Texas Access to Justice Foundation (TAJF), in partnership with Equal Justice Works, has announced its 2012 class of Fellows who have developed new and innovative legal projects that will impact lives and serve communities in desperate need of legal assistance. The two-year fellowship projects began in September.

Since 2002, the Texas Access to Justice Foundation, as part of its commitment to ensuring access to justice for the poor, has sponsored these innovative fellowship projects. This year, the Foundation is fortunate to co-sponsor a Fellow with the law firm of Greenberg Traurig LLP and to have received a grant from the John M. O’Quinn Foundation to help fund the work of another fellow.

Supported by partners like the Texas Access to Justice Foundation, Equal Justice Works is the largest postgraduate legal fellowship program in the nation. Each year, hundreds of talented law school graduates apply to Equal Justice Works having designed their “dream job” with a nonprofit organization that has agreed to host the applicant, if awarded a fellowship. Sponsors like TAJF then review project proposals and select candidates who meet general criteria or otherwise complement their philanthropic and pro bono interests.

The Texas Equal Justice Works Fellow Class of 2012 includes:

Sarah Loeffler

Host Organization: Montgomery County Women’s Center, Conroe
Issue area: Domestic Violence

Christine Nishimura

Host Organization: Disability Rights Texas, Austin
Issue area: Education, Children/Youth

Meghan Kempf

Host Organization: Family Violence Prevention Services, San Antonio
Issue area: Domestic Violence

Keegan Warren-Clem

Host Organization: Texas Legal Services Center, Austin
Issue area:  Health Care/Medical-Legal Collaborative

Continuing Fellows from the 2011 Fellowship class sponsored by the Texas Access to Justice Foundation are: Adriana Rodriquez, Texas RioGrande Legal Aid in Laredo, and Michelle Smith, Texas Civil Rights Project in Austin.

-30-

The Texas Access to Justice Foundation (www.teajf.org), created by the Supreme Court of Texas in 1984, is the primary state-based funding source for the provision of civil legal aid in Texas. The organization is committed to the vision that all Texans will have equal access to justice, regardless of their income. The Foundation administers a variety of funding sources, which are earmarked to assist nonprofit organizations in providing legal aid to approximately 100,000 Texans each year.

Equal Justice Works is the national leader in creating public interest opportunities for law students and lawyers. Collaborating with the nation’s leading law schools, law firms, corporate legal departments and nonprofit organizations, Equal Justice Works offers a continuum of opportunities that provide the training and skills that enable attorneys to provide effective representation to underserved communities and causes. Equal Justice Works is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. For additional information about Equal Justice Works, please visit www.equaljusticeworks.org.