Rising second-year student Nicole Steinberg ’23 has been awarded a summer fellowship by the Peggy Browning Fund. Peggy Browning Fellows are distinguished students who have not only excelled in law school but who have also demonstrated their commitment to workers’ rights through their previous educational, work, volunteer, and personal experiences. Steinberg is spending the fellowship working at Service Employees International Union (SEIU) in Washington, D.C, assisting attorneys in the legal department with immigration and internal governance matters.
Steinberg became interested in workers’ rights through her position at a workforce development agency. As a case manager in the refugee services department, she helped clients with refugee and asylum status obtain employment. In addition, she worked as clinic coordinator at a volunteer-run immigration clinic to help asylum seekers gain status. Her experience working with immigrants exposed her to different kinds of workplace issues and taught her the importance of organizing on behalf of all workers.
“I am excited to be working at SEIU because it is, in my view, the best at organizing marginalized groups that have also been historically underrepresented in the labor movement, particularly women of color and immigrant workers,” said Steinberg. “I hope to learn from SEIU how, as a lawyer, I can support workers and vulnerable communities in their fight.”
The Peggy Browning Fund is a not-for-profit organization established in memory of Margaret A. Browning, a prominent union-side attorney who was a member of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) from 1994 until 1997. Peggy Browning Fellowships provide law students with work experiences fighting for social and economic justice and are intended to encourage and inspire students to pursue careers in public interest labor law.
“I am so thankful to the Peggy Browning Fund for this experience. The organization provides events throughout the summer to connect fellows to unions, nonprofits, labor and employment lawyers, and other law students and to educate us about labor law and the labor movement,” said Steinberg. “The fellowship is a great opportunity for law students interested in the any type of public interest law – advocating for workers is advocating for immigrant justice, racial justice, gender equality, etc. I hope more Texas Law students apply in the future.”