2020-2021 PUBLIC INTEREST FELLOWSHIP RECIPIENTS
Ronald Avila ’21
Los Angeles County Public Defender's Office
“My time with the Los Angeles County Public Defenders Office has shown me how passionate and dedicated a public defender is in representing their clients. This experience has made me hopeful for my own goals and ambitions as a public defender.”
Mary Jacob '21
Montgomery County Public Defender's Office
“I primarily participated in intensive trial training to improve my legal writing, argument, and examination skills. Throughout a simulated trial training, I participated in team trial strategy development. Within this training, I also gained experience with drafting preliminary motions, arguing preliminary hearings, interviewing clients and witnesses, and cross-examining witnesses.”
Elisabeth Freer ’22
United States Attorney's Office
Villanova Law School Faculty and Staff Fellow
“I primarily assisted attorneys by writing briefs and memoranda concerning complex issues of federal law including the Savings Clause of the Federal Tort Claims Act, enhancements under the Federal Criminal Sentencing Guidelines, and the use of the Controlled Substances Act and False Claims Act to prosecute doctors for unlawfully prescribing opiates. This internship was truly an invaluable experience that allowed me to work directly with federal prosecutors, learn more about government work, and hone my legal advocacy skills.”
Antionna Fuller ’22
Pennsylvania Innocence Project & South Carolina Appleseed Justice
This summer I had the pleasure of working at two incredible organizations. At the Pennsylvania Innocence Project, I wrote an investigative report for a client seeking to be exonerated for a third-degree murder charge. At South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center, I was able to help the Hunger team administer a new federal program called Pandemic EBT (“P-EBT”). P-EBT is a one-time food assistance benefit, meant to reimburse families for food assistance lost during the months that schools would have been in session.”
Gabi Lipschitz ’22
Montgomery County Public Defender's Office & Research Assistant
“This summer I learned about trial advocacy from the public defender side and was able to practice both my oral advocacy as well as my writing skills. As a research assistant, I was able to practice my critical research skills, focusing on fair housing and racial discrimination ordinances and other obstacles minorities have faced in the housing market.”
Matt Marchini '22
Villanova Federal Tax Clinic
“I had my own caseload where I interviewed clients, collected and complied documentation for cases, and did relevant legal research. I was able to meaningfully interact with clients, helping guide them through their tax issues and advising them on options for resolving their cases.”
Meghan Rafter '21
Cape May County Prosecuter's Office
Penny Pether Fellow
“This summer I worked for the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office in the Domestic Violence Section. I had the opportunity to observe/hear about many different matters regarding issues such as sexual assault, drug-induced death, and child endangerment. Court proceedings were somewhat limited due to COVID-19, but I was able to watch many detention hearings live via Zoom. I improved my legal research and writing skills by writing several briefs, motions, and memoranda over the course of the summer. My research assignments included the use of protective orders to suppress information on a victim’s phone to prevent undue harassment, reconsideration of detention orders under the federal bail system, the admission of a statement after an ambiguous assertion of the right to counsel, the admittance of a recent conviction, clerical errors in judgment of convictions.”
Jerry Shaen '22
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
“The State, Local, & Tribal program works with Fair Employment Practices Agencies (FEPAs) or the state and local equivalents of the EEOC. My job performed substantial weight reviews of charges dismissed by the FEPA or when the FEPA found no probable cause. It was an opportunity to not only learn the legal analysis behind these claims but also to provide charging parties with relief. Overall, my job showed me the commitment to the law my agency has which felt necessary to experience in my first law school summer internship. Additionally, to work at the EEOC with the COVID-19 Pandemic and Supreme Court rulings that impacted our law was a unique experience in real time.”
Tasha Stoltzfus Nankerville '22
Lancaster County District Attorney's Office
Krasno, Krasno, & Onwudinjo Fellow
"I worked closely with a variety of Assistant District Attorneys specializing in the Juvenile Unit, the Special Victims Unit, and the Major Crimes Unit and completed discovery redaction on over twenty cases. The Lancaster DA’s office also has an expansive Victim/Witness Advocate Unit which allowed me to compassionately interact with many victims who have experienced trauma.”
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