The William Wayne Justice Center for Public Interest Law has awarded summer 2024 named fellowships to nine outstanding rising 2L and 3L students. Each fellow will receive an $8,000 stipend to work full-time for at least 10 weeks providing legal representation or advocacy to individuals or communities that lack access to legal services.
The Justice Center administers the named summer fellowships in conjunction with the law school’s Summer Public Service Program. The SPSP, launched in summer 2022, provides financial support to all rising 2Ls and 3Ls working in unpaid or low-paying summer positions with nonprofit, government, and legislative offices.
“The Law School is very grateful to the donors who support these named summer fellowships. Their longstanding generosity is the impetus for the Summer Public Service Program, now going into its third summer,” said Nicole Simmons, director of the Justice Center. “The Justice Center is honored to award these fellowships to single out exceptional public interest students for summer support and recognition.”
The Baron & Budd Public Interest Summer Fellowships, generously funded by Baron & Budd, PC, support students’ work with nonprofit organizations. The summer 2024 recipients, all members of the class of 2026, are:
Chloe Cropper will work with the Pennsylvania Innocence Project in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Eliana Metni will work with the Texas Civil Rights Project in Austin on voting rights issues.
Angelina Ramirez will work with the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) in San Antonio on projects in several practice areas, including education, immigrant rights, employment, and voting rights.
The G. Rollie White Trust Public Interest Summer Fellowships, generously funded by the G. Rollie White Trust, support students’ work with nonprofit organizations and public defender offices. The summer 2024 recipients, all members of the class of 2026, are:
Abigail Gutierrez will work with Texas RioGrande Legal Aid in Austin, assisting the Family Defense Project.
Makenna McGraw will work with the Office of the Colorado Public Defender in Denver.
The Whitehurst Public Interest Summer Fellowships, which fund students’ work with nonprofit organizations and public defender offices, honor Bill and Stephanie Whitehurst, generous supporters of summer fellowships at Texas Law. The Whitehurst Public Interest Summer Fellowships Program provides summer funding for students between their second and third years of law school. Preference is given to students who intend to pursue careers in public interest law. The summer 2024 recipients, all members of the class of 2025, are:
Rowan Gossett will work with the Instituto para las Mujeres en la Migración A.C. in Mexico City, assisting migrant women and children as part of a binational team of U.S. and Mexican attorneys.
Apurva Gunturu will work for the Center for Constitutional Rights in New York City.
Eliza Levy will work for the Southern Center for Human Rights in Atlanta, Georgia, focusing on criminal legal system reform.
Harry Katz will work for Lawyers for Children in New York City.
