News Release
Texas
Access to Justice Foundation
Sept. 10, 2013
Texas Access to Justice Foundation Names 2013 Texas Equal Justice Works Fellows
AUSTIN, Texas –
The Texas
Access to Justice Foundation (TAJF), in
partnership with Equal Justice Works, announces its
2013 class of fellows. The recent law school
graduates 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 begin this month.
Since 2002, the Texas Access to Justice Foundation,
as part of its commitment to ensuring access to
justice for the poor, has sponsored the fellowship
projects. This year, the Foundation is fortunate to
have the support of the law firm of Greenberg
Traurig LLP to help fund the fellowship projects.
Additionally, TAJF has a second year of funding from
The John M. O’Quinn Foundation to support a 2012
continuing fellow.
The Equal Justice Works Fellowship initiative is the
largest postgraduate legal fellowship program in the
nation. Each year, hundreds of talented law school
graduates apply to the program having designed their
“dream job” with a nonprofit organization that has
agreed to host the applicant, if awarded a
fellowship. Sponsors review the project proposals
and select candidates who meet criteria or otherwise
complement their philanthropic and pro bono
interests.
The Texas Equal Justice Works Fellow Class of 2013
and their projects are:
•
Peter McGraw, a graduate of The University of
Michigan School of Law, will work in the Corpus
Christi office of Texas RioGrande Legal Aid
providing legal advocacy and conducting outreach to
prevent and diminish the impact of civil collateral
consequences of criminal justice involvement for
South Texans with psychiatric disabilities.
Greenberg, Trauig, LLC is co-sponsoring his
fellowship with TAJF.
•
Amanda Pfeiffer, a graduate of South Texas
College of Law, will work in the Houston office of
Lone Star Legal Aid providing family law services to
refugee families and immigrants who are victims of
domestic violence and are seeking divorces from
their abusers and custody of their minor children.
•
Emily Schools, a graduate of St. Mary’s
University School of Law, will work in the Abilene
office of Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas (LANWT)
creating a juvenile division that provides education
and advocacy for youth struggling with homelessness
and the barriers created by their prior involvement
with the justice system.
•
Stephanie Truong, a graduate of South Texas
College of Law, will work in the South Texas College
of Law’s clinical program in Houston providing legal
advocacy and support to youth aging out of foster
care in Harris County in an effort to improve their
social, education and occupational opportunities in
adulthood.
Continuing fellows from the 2012 class sponsored by
the Texas Access to Justice Foundation are: Sarah
Loeffler, Montgomery County Women’s Center, Conroe;
Christine Nishimura, Disability Rights Texas,
Austin; Meghan Kempf, Family Violence Prevention
Services, San Antonio, and Keegan Warren-Clem, Texas
Legal Services Center, Austin.
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 Texas
families 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.
-30-
Contact: Kimberly Schmitt 512-320-0099, ext. 104
or 512-944-4021
kschmitt@teajf.org
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