The University of Texas School of Law has selected a recent alumnus and a graduating student to receive law school funded postgraduate “Justice Corps” fellowships with nonprofit organizations in the United States. The two fellowships are administered by the William Wayne Justice Center for Public Interest Law. The fellows were selected by a faculty committee.
Christopher Larson ‘15 will receive the G. Rollie White Trust Fellowship in Public Interest Law, funded by generous support from the G. Rollie White Trust, to work with Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas. His project will focus on helping low wage workers in the Dallas/Fort Worth area overcome legal barriers to economic success. His work will include helping workers obtain or regain occupational licenses and representing victims of wage theft, discrimination, and other workplace violations. At Texas Law Larson was editor-in-chief of the American Journal of Criminal Law and a research assistant to Professor Joseph Fishkin. He participated in the Transnational Worker Rights Clinic and the Entrepreneur/Community Development Clinic, and worked for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles and the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs in Washington, D.C. He is currently a law clerk to U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephen William Smith of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas in Houston. “My clinical and summer experiences representing low-wage workers were essential pieces of my law school education,” Larson said. “With the backing of the G. Rollie White Trust, I can commit full-time to assisting workers in need throughout the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex.”
Alexandra Manautou ‘16 will receive the Julius Glickman Fellowship in Public Interest Law, funded by generous support from Julius Glickman ‘66, to work for the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas in Houston. Her project will focus on the solitary confinement of juveniles in Texas correctional facilities, and will include advocating on behalf of youth who are subject to solitary confinement and working to reduce the use of solitary confinement. At Texas Law Manautou participated in the Immigration Clinic, Civil Rights Clinic, and Legislative Lawyering Clinic, and served as staff editor of the American Journal of Criminal Law. She worked for the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights and the ACLU of Texas. She focused on Texas school law issues as a legislative intern for the Austin Independent School District; as a summer associate at Walsh, Gallegos, Trevino, Russo & Kyle; and as an intern at the Texas Municipal Court Education Center. Before law school she taught elementary school in Houston as a Teach for America Corps member. “I have a passion for ending the school to prison pipeline. Solitary confinement is the final stop for many youth ensnared in the pipeline,” Manautou said. “I am grateful for the support to pursue this project.”
“Texas Law is very proud of these outstanding graduates,” said Eden Harrington, director of the Justice Center. “Their commitment to serving the public is admirable, and we are pleased to be able to help them launch their public interest careers. We greatly appreciate the generosity of Julius Glickman and the trustees of the G. Rollie White Trust who made these fellowships possible.”