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.