Before beginning her studies with the Texas Law Class of 2029, Angelina Johnson is gaining hands-on experience in public interest law through the Weil Legal Innovators Program.
The WLI Program enables incoming students nationwide to work on urgent social and legal challenges through placements at nonprofit organizations across the country. The Innovators will focus principally on human rights, criminal justice reform, sustainability, and food insecurity, among other issues.
WLI annually selects 10 students who have been accepted to prestigious law schools—including Texas Law, along with Yale, Harvard, and Stanford, among others—but choose to defer their admission by one year to work in a real-world setting. They each receive a salary and $10,000 scholarship award towards the first year of law school tuition.
Texas Law has been represented in the program every year since its 2021 launch.
National Women’s Law Center
As a member of the 2025-26 WLI cohort, Johnson is currently a program associate with the National Women’s Law Center in Washington, D.C. She works with two of the center’s projects: the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund and the Legal Network for Gender Equity. In her role, Johnson connects individuals facing sex discrimination in school or the workplace with the attorneys in the center’s network.
“I believe that treating every individual with dignity, worth, and autonomy is essential to a just society,” Johnson says. “By advocating for individuals who have had their value undermined due to their identities, I am doing my part in shaping the type of world I want to live in.”
WLI Opportunity
Johnson says the experience is preparing her for law school and developing her communication, networking, and advocacy skills. “I am getting vast exposure to both private and public sector legal work, various civil rights statutes, and the legal needs of marginalized communities,” she says.
Johnson graduated from Louisiana State University in 2022 with bachelor’s degrees in English and psychology. As an undergraduate, she co-founded her school’s first student-led movement against sexual assault and served on Louisiana’s statewide Power-Based Violence Review Panel. Johnson also has been involved with the University of North Texas End Rape on Campus program, the youth-led advocacy group Young Invincibles, the civic engagement program Made By Us, and the girls’ leadership program Girls Inc. In 2024, she earned a master’s degree in social work from Fordham University in New York City.
Johnson follows in the immediate footsteps of Daniel Iskhavkov, now a 1L at Texas Law, who participated in the 2024–25 WLI cohort. Iskhavkov’s placement with the International Rescue Committee in New York City allowed him to explore his interest in housing policy law. “WLI is unique because the position at your nonprofit is created specifically for you,” he says. “So, make sure to use your placement to explore your passions and spearhead initiatives that are important to you.”
Texas Law-WLI Connection
The WLI Program was created by the Weil, Gotshal & Manges law firm to engage soon-to-be law students with pressing social and legal challenges.
“Our ongoing partnership with Weil and the Legal Innovators program reflects a shared mission to empower students pursuing public interest careers,” says Mathiew Le, Texas Law’s assistant dean of admissions and financial aid.
In 2024, the Law School provided more than $1.1 million through its Summer Public Service Program for students holding summer positions in public service and through its Loan Repayment Assistance Program helps to repay student loans borrowed during law school to eligible Juris Doctor graduates who enter qualifying public service.
“The WLI program is a powerful way to support public interest pathways while reinforcing our belief that law students benefit from seeing how public and private sector careers intersect—not compete,” Le says.
“This program has given me the opportunity to do work I am passionate about, meet so many incredible people, and prepare for law school in an incredibly unique way,” says Johnson. “I am immensely grateful to Texas Law and Weil for the partnership that made this life-changing experience possible.”
Applications for the next cohort of Weil Legal Innovators Program will open in January 2026.