Equal Justice America to award a two-year $130,000 Voting Rights Fellowship to a Harvard Law Graduate at the Brennan Center for Justice
Voting rights are under attack nationwide. More than 400 bills with provisions that restrict voting access have been introduced in 49 states in the 2021 legislative sessions. In many cases, these laws are aimed directly at suppressing the votes of people that Equal Justice America fights for every day.
Equal Justice America to award a two-year $130,000 Fellowship to a University of Michigan Law Graduate to fight for the victims of Human Trafficking
EJA is proud to tackle this growing crisis by awarding a University of Michigan law graduate a two-year fellowship to work with a non-profit to help victims of human trafficking.
Brian Lewinstein Lives On Through His Equal Justice America Fellowship
Even in his youth, it was readily apparent that Brian Lewinstein was an extraordinary young man destined to have a profound impact in the world.
Welcome Anesa Kajtazovic, to our EJA team!
We are excited to announce Anesa Kajtazovic has joined our team as the Director of Development and Marketing. Anesa joins EJA with a myriad of leadership experience in nonprofits, governmental affairs, management, and public relations.
EJA Launches Kelly Hii’s ‘Dream Career’ as Attorney Fighting for Immigrants’ Rights
Thanks to Equal Justice America, I landed my dream career right out of law school. In 2018, as I was finishing my third year at Georgetown, I was awarded a generous two-year fellowship to work with Ayuda’s Immigration Legal team.
EJA Fellow Saves Vietnam Vet from Homelessness
(Pictured) Kristin Hendriksen, Northwestern Law (JD 2020) EJA Veterans’ Rights Fellow, Legal Aid Chicago
Upon returning from the Vietnam War, many veterans confronted Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, hostility toward service members who’d served in the war, and challenges adjusting to civilian life.
2nd Brian Lewinstein Fellow Chosen
Racism, inequality, and criminalization place youth of color at an enormous disadvantage. By connecting youth to resources and coalitions, I hope to lead systemic reform that empowers system-involved youth to speak truth to power and be their own advocates. More than ever, youth of color need allies with legal expertise. I am immensely grateful to Equal Justice for giving me the opportunity to be that ally and help forge a community where youth of color can feel safe to walk, drive, and most importantly, thrive.
EJA Awards two-year $130,000 Immigration Fellowship to Julia Rigal at Ayuda!
Thank you to Equal Justice America for the opportunity to begin my legal career providing trauma-informed immigration services through a fellowship at Ayuda. Lack of access to legal representation remains one of the greatest barriers to acquiring immigration status for too many people in the United States. EJA’s Legal Service Fellowship with Ayuda will increase access to quality representation for low-income immigrants in the DC area.
EJA Supporter Funds Public Interest Scholarships for Law Students
Patrick Malone, a long-time supporter of Equal Justice America sponsors his own Scholarship Program putting law students to work “Representing Real People” especially those of limited financial means.
EJA Awards two-year $130,000 Veterans’ Rights Fellowship to Kristin Hendriksen at Legal Aid Chicago
I am so thankful to Equal Justice America for the amazing opportunity to work with Legal Aid Chicago to ensure veterans receive the services and benefits they are entitled to after serving their country. By providing such services, Legal Aid Chicago helps veterans navigate the many obstacles that inhibit them from successfully settling back into life at home, such as the VA's bureaucratic processes and housing market's discriminatory attitude towards them. By participating in this crucial work, I am excited to help veterans obtain the services and benefits they need to further their happiness and personal security.
A Message From Dan Ruben, Executive Director, on the Covid-19 Crisis
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed huge gaps in our economic system, with millions of people left behind without adequate health care, paid sick leave, affordable housing, basic nutrition and other necessities.
Equal Justice America Awards two-year $130,000 Immigration Fellowship to Melissa Pena to work at Detention Facility on Southern Border
I am thankful to Equal Justice America and Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid for creating this fellowship with the Dilley Pro Bono Project. We are at a moment where there is a great need for more effort towards ending family detention. I am honored to serve clients who have endured unbelievable violence and scarring trauma, and have nevertheless had the immense courage to fight for their lives and the lives of their children. I never imagined that I would be presented with such an incredible opportunity fresh out of law school. The importance of the work is not lost on me and I cannot wait to begin what I have been working towards for years.
Equal Justice America Awards two-year $130,000 Brian Lewinstein Youth Justice Fellowship to Yasmine Tager
I grew passionate about youth advocacy while living in Beirut, Lebanon, where I got to know several children working to support their families. These children could not count on a legal system strong enough to counter-balance racial, economic, and security concerns. When I moved back to start at Berkeley Law a couple of years later, I saw a comparable lack of protection for young people in the United States.
Equal Justice America Awards two-year $130,000 Immigration Fellowship to Evelyn Zheng at Greater Boston Legal Services
I am so grateful to Equal Justice America for giving me the opportunity to work towards protecting the rights of some of the most vulnerable communities. We can’t restrict human rights only to the success stories – every individual must be guaranteed the right to basic living essentials and security of person. I want to do away with the ‘good immigrant’ narrative in my work. Immigrants who come to the U.S., for whatever reason, with whatever background, are entitled to have their voices heard and to be treated with humanity and respect.
EJA Alum Wants You to Know Your Rights
The revision of holding policies after an arrest has been at the forefront of recent national debate. After years of studying current practices, statistics render a view of how such policies disproportionally affect marginalized groups. Oluchi Ifebi, a 2015 Equal Justice America fellow and former attorney with First Defense Legal Aid in Chicago, explains what rights citizens have and can choose to exercise if held by law enforcement.
Impact Report: Washington, DC Immigration Fellowship
It was still dark outside when we pulled into the parking lot. My morning coffee hadn’t quite kicked in yet as I stumbled into the small, brightly lit waiting room of a non-profit organization that works with survivors of domestic violence on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. As I looked around, I was surprised to see how many people had shown up. The room was filled with women waiting for an immigration consultation. Some made eye contact with us and smiled kindly. Others looked anxious and kept their heads down. They all had suffered greatly and were looking for some relief.
2012 Fellow Fights for Civil Rights in Hawaii
Wookie Kim is a Harvard Law School graduate, 2012 Equal Justice America Fellow, and a staff attorney at ACLU Hawai‘i. Wookie was initially motivated to attend law school after teaching in DC public schools as a Teach For America corps member where he witnessed the systemic inequalities that are “baked into society,” and he developed a passion for changing things for the better.
Apply for EJA Two-Year $130,000 Immigration Fellowship at Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid
The Dilley Pro Bono Project, a collaboration of the American Immigration Council, American Immigration Lawyers Association, CLINIC and Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, is pleased to announce a post-graduate fellowship for graduating or recently graduated Columbia Law School students in partnership with Equal Justice America.
EJA and The Dilley Pro-Bono Project Announce two Two-Year $130,000 Post-Graduate Fellowships
Equal Justice America and The Dilley Pro-Bono Project have announced the creation of a two two-year, $130,000 Immigration Fellowships. The Dilley Pro-Bono Project provides free legal services to asylum-seeking mothers and their children who are being detained in the South Texas Family Residential Center (STFRC), the largest detention center in the country.
EJA Announces Brian Lewinstein Youth Justice Fellowship
Equal Justice America and the East Bay Community Law Center have announced the creation of a permanent Brian Lewinstein chair at the EBCLC. Brian, a UC Berkeley law student and EJA Fellow at the EBCLC, lost his life in August in a tragic accident.
2012 Fellow, Now Senior Immigration Attorney, Gives Back
"I think it’s important to maintain a connection with the community you’re working with. One of the [ways] I define my professionalism is to maintain some level of community service."
Honoring the life and legacy of EJA Fellow with the Brian Lewinstein EJA Memorial Fellowship
It is with a great sadness that we mourn the loss of EJA Fellow Brian Lewinstein of the UC Berkeley School of Law. This summer, Brian fellowed with the East Bay Community Law Center to "represent young people at risk of entering the juvenile justice system in Alameda County through the Education, Defense & Justice for Youth (EDJY) clinic." Brian leaves behind a legacy of compassion, advocacy, and generosity, which we wish to honor with the annual Brian Lewinstein EJA Memorial Fellowship.
EJA Fellow Aids Families Separated at the Southern US Border
"For the women and children in the detention center... life is far from comfortable. Successfully making it out of the detention center is a matter of life or death. Jones said that’s one thing she wishes people understood better."
2017 Fellow Aims to Work with LGBT Community on Discrimination, Name Change Cases
"While I was in the internship, being able to actually see the day-to-day work, to interact with the individuals that we represented… rather than just sitting in the classroom and theorizing about it — that helped solidify my decision in wanting to go into public interest [law]."
Equal Justice America Awards $130,000 Immigration Fellowship to Kelly Hii at Ayuda
Thanks to the Equal Justice America program, I am able to start my dream career right out of law school; serving and empowering some of the most vulnerable and marginalized members of our society- immigrant victims of crime, abuse, and persecution.
EJA sponsoring two year $130,000 Immigration Fellowship at Ayuda in Washington, DC!
Thank you very much for your generous contribution to Ayuda, and to the immigrant communities that we serve. An Equal Justice America Fellow will assist Ayuda in responding to the urgent demands for direct immigration legal services in our region. We are extremely grateful to Equal Justice America for this opportunity and we look forward to getting to work!
The Unmet Need for Legal Aid
Nearly a million poor people who seek help for civil legal problems are turned away because of the lack of adequate resources. The justice gap represents the difference between the level of civil legal assistance available and the level that is necessary to meet the legal needs of low-income individuals and families. According to LSC’s 2009 report Documenting the Justice Gap in America, 50% of all those who sought legal assistance from LSC grantees were turned away because of the lack of adequate resources. That means for every client served by LSC programs, another person who seeks help is turned away.
President Trump’s Budget would End Funding for Legal Services Corporation!
President Donald Trump’s 2018 budget eliminates funding for the Legal Services Corp. In his first budget proposal released Thursday, Trump is cutting discretionary spending to pay for an increase in defense spending and the wall on the Mexican border, the Washington Post reports.
Tim Kaine paid tribute to Equal Justice America
We congratulate our Senator Tim Kaine on his selection to run for Vice President and thank him again for his support for Equal Justice America. This is what then Governor Kaine said about EJA when we launched Virginians for Equal Justice.
EJA and UDC Law School Working Together to Support our Veterans
Equal Justice America is proud to partner with UDC Law School to fund a Veterans Fellow at the Law School. The Veterans Fellow will work full-time to protect the rights of female veterans, help them receive the benefits they’ve earned and represent women veterans in family law matters including custody disputes, child support and domestic violence.
EJA Makes Top 10 List for Best Summer 2015 Fellowship Opportunities
“What you’ve been waiting for: our annual list of our Top 10 Summer Fellowships! Funded summer fellowships are competitive opportunities to get valuable work or research experience that will make your resume stand out from the crowd. Application deadlines for summer fellowships typically fall between January and February, so now is the best time to prepare and apply. Here are our fellowship program recommendations ordered by application deadline.” ~ ProFellow
Pace Law School Alumni Profile: Dan Ruben
For some people, reaching out to those in need means helping a motorist stranded road-side; to others, it means donating money in the wake of a disaster. For Dan Ruben, helping those who need it most is his vocation.
Lawyer seeks public benefits for Tri-Cities citizens
When citizens are denied public benefits like food stamps or unemployment insurance, they rarely seek legal council, said Geraldine M. Doetzer, the only public-benefits attorney at the Legal Aid Justice Center in Petersburg.
“If they apply and are turned down, they feel that it is something they didn’t deserve, so they don’t pursue a legal avenue even though they have a right to those benefits,” she said. “An attorney could be crucial for them to get the benefits.”
Fifteen-Year Anniversary for Equal Justice America
In 1990, when Dan Ruben was a second year student at Pace University Law School he spotted a small item in the New York Times about a student-run program at NYU Law School. Students were raising money to help their fellow students work during the summer in public interest law. There was no such organization at Pace so Ruben started one, the Public Interest Law Scholarship Organization (PILSO), which continues to thrive at Pace today.
Law students’ intro to legal needs of poor Midlothian-based group provides fellowships for work in legal aid offices
Her first client got a $3,000 “line of credit” from a car-title lender with an interest rate of 300 percent. In just six months the woman has already had to pay back $5,000 — with just $16 going to the principal, the rest to interest.
For University of Richmond law student Miriam Sincell, her client’s predicament is an example of the sort of case she hopes to devote her career to.
EJA Founder Receives Lifetime Achievement Award at Pace University School of Law
Dan Ruben, Founder & Executive Director of Equal Justice America accepts Public Interest Law Students (PILSO) Lifetime Achievement Award at Pace University on March 21, 2003. Ruben also received a Congressional Proclamation for having founded PILSO in 1990 as a Pace law student and for his work building Equal Justice America.