Yale Law School

In the Fall of 1997, Equal Justice America began sponsoring the Yale Law School Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) Project at the New Haven Legal Assistance Association (NHLAA). The program puts Yale law students to work providing critical services to victims of domestic violence who come to the courthouse to file orders of protection on their own.

Alexis Smith, the Director of NHLAA, calls the EJA sponsored TRO Project “one of the longest standing and impactful student projects to ever come out of the Law School.” This project is now considered to be a permanent part of the law school programming.

Equal Justice America Fellowships for Yale law students and graduates are made possible by contributions from Yale Law School alumni. With continued support from the alumni, we look forward to putting many more Yale law students and graduates to work providing vitally needed legal assistance to the poor.

(Equal Justice America is an independent non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation unaffiliated with any law school.)
Please click the links below to read more about the students’ EJA Fellowships.

"I feel so grateful for the experience I had this summer. I came into the summer hoping to learn more about impact litigation and the important role it can play in redressing injustice, particularly toward the most vulnerable among us. Through my experience this summer, I learned so much more. I not only saw how the experienced litigators on my team navigated complex legal questions and strategy, but also learned about a wide array of issues including consumer protection, immigration, and child welfare. I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to work at NYLAG this summer and will wholeheartedly recommend the experience to others in the future."
Rachel Baker
Yale University Law School
EJA Summer Fellow, 2022
  • Summer 2022
    • Rachel Baker worked at the New York Legal Assistance Group.
    • Ella Bunnell worked at Lawyers for Civil Rights in Boston.
    • Terin Patel-Wilson worked at Communities Resist in Brooklyn.
  • Spring 2022
    • Grace Choi worked at the ACLU of Southern California in Los Angeles.
  • Fall 2021/Spring 2022
    • Colbie Holderness, Patrick Holland and Adela Lilollari worked at the TRO Project at the New Haven Legal Assistance Association.
  • Fall 2019/Spring 2020
    • Michael Avi-Yonah, Scott Perrygo and Caroline Wallace worked at the TRO Project at the New Haven Legal Assistance Association.
  • Fall 2018/Spring 2019
    • Jacob Bennett, Evelyn Cai, Brendan Costello, Juliana Moraes Liu, Max Reinhardt and Becca Steinberg worked at the TRO Project at the New Haven Legal Assistance Association.
  • Summer 2016
    • Rachel Chung worked at the East Bay Community Law Center in Berkeley, CA.
  • Fall 2012
    • Brigid Davis worked at the Michigan Clinical Law Program.
  • Fall 2011/Spring 2012
    • Julia Freeland, Shari Inniss-Grant, Rayma Kasturi, Ming-Yee Lin, and Marisa West worked at the TRO Project at the New Haven Legal Assistance Association.
  • Fall 2010/Spring 2011
    • Shari Inniss-Grant, Kenneth Jamison, Ramya Kasturi, Chelsea Purvis and Rebecca Scholtz worked at the TRO Project at the New Haven Legal Assistance Association.
  • Fall 2009/Spring 2010
    • Kaitlin Ainsworth, Kenneth Jamison, Chelsea Purvis and Kristin Shaffer worked at the TRO Project at the New Haven Legal Assistance Association.
  • Fall 2008
    • Hannah Benton, Class of 2008, began a two-year $80,000 post-graduate EJA Fellowship at the Center for Children’s Advocacy in Hartford, CT.
  • Fall 2008/Spring 2009
    • Kaitlin Ainsworth, Jonathan Cochran, Ilana Gelfman and Caroline Gross worked at the TRO Project at the New Haven Legal Assistance Association.
  • Fall 2007/Spring 2008
    • Alexander Berlin, Ilana Gelfman, Erin Phillips and Smita Singh worked at the TRO Project at the New Haven Legal Assistance Association.
  • Fall 2006/Spring 2007
    • Alexander Berlin, Erin Bradrick, Hannah Jacobs, and Kristina Scurry worked at the TRO Project at the New Haven Legal Assistance Association.
  • Fall 2004/Spring 2005
    • Erin Bradrick, Raquiba Huq, Robin Preussel, and Samuel Wiseman worked at the TRO Project at the New Haven Legal Assistance Association.
Thank you for your support of the Temporary Restraining Order Project, a public interest organization at Yale Law School that assists applicants as they seek temporary restraining orders. The TRO Project offers students at YLS the opportunity to provide meaningful assistance to vulnerable women, men, and children in the local community…Last year, we attracted over 40% of the 1L class to the program and helped hundreds of applicants apply for and receive TROs. Your support of this project helps keep our office full of enthusiastic volunteers, ensuring that we meet the needs of New Haven residents who may be experiencing a crisis.
Cassie Crockett
Yale Law School
EJA Fall Fellow, 2015
  • Spring 2005
    • Amy Carroll, Class of 2004, received a two-year $80,000 post graduate EJA Fellowship at MFY Legal Services in New York City.
  • Fall 2004/Spring 2005
    • Gina Guariento, Abja Midha, Benjamin Novick, and Marc Silverman worked at the TRO Project at the New Haven Legal Assistance Association.
  • Spring 2004
    • Sheila Hayre, Class of 2002, received a two-year post-graduate EJA Fellowship at the New Haven Legal Assistance Association.
  • Fall 2003/Spring 2004
    • Tina Charoenpong, Abigail Greene, Nancy Liao, and Limor Robinson worked at the TRO Project at the New Haven Legal Assistance Association.
  • Fall 2002/Spring 2003
    • Nola Breglio, Annie Harland, and Sarah Renee Holland worked at the TRO Project at the New Haven Legal Assistance Association.
  • Fall 2001/Spring 2002
    • Kimberly Brayton, Anjum Gupta, Stacey Kamya, and Erin O’Donohue worked at the TRO Project at the New Haven Legal Assistance Association.
  • Summer 2001
    • Avani Mehta worked at the National Center for Youth Law in San Francisco.
  • Fall 2000/Spring 2001
    • Courtney Clark, Grace Lee, Sarah Sundell, and Suchon Tuly worked at the TRO Project at the New Haven Legal Assistance Association.
  • Fall 1999/Spring 2000
    • Arlety Campos, Shad Doellinger, Lisa Hasday, and Jennifer Stuart worked at the TRO Project at the New Haven Legal Assistance Association.
  • Fall 1998/Spring 1999
    • Kathleen Keller, Melissa Frydman, and Gail Dave worked at the TRO Project at the New Haven Legal Assistance Association.
  • Fall 1997/Spring 1998
    • Suzanne Boyce, Zoe Neuberger, and Stephanie Stern worked at the TRO Project at the New Haven Legal Assistance Association.
  • Summer 1998
    • Zoe Neuberger worked at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights in San Francisco.
    • Eve Stotland worked at the Legal Aid Society of San Francisco.
  • Spring 1997
    • Portia Wu, Satchen Pandya, and Michelle Riley worked at Farmworkers Legal Services in New Paltz, New York.
  • Fall 1996
    • Alison Bethel and Tina Forbush worked at the New Haven Legal Assistance Foundation.