Equal Justice America supports law students and early-career attorneys working on the front lines of civil legal aid across the country. Sometimes the impact of that support becomes clear very quickly.

EJA Immigration Fellow Marian Woznica, an attorney with Legal Aid Chicago, recently received a call about a man who had been detained in an immigration workplace raid. The man was seriously ill with diabetes and liver cancer.

Working with senior attorneys at Legal Aid Chicago, Marian helped file an emergency habeas petition challenging his detention. A judge granted the petition, and the client was released on bond and able to return to his family.

The case illustrates why access to legal representation matters. Rights on paper have limited meaning when someone does not have an attorney who can help enforce them.

Marian is serving a two-year EJA Immigration Fellowship with Legal Aid Chicago, where she works in the Immigrants and Workers’ Rights Practice Group. Her fellowship is part of EJA’s growing Post-Graduate Fellowship Program, which places early-career attorneys in legal aid organizations where they can provide critical representation while beginning careers in public interest law.

Through fellowships like Marian’s, EJA expands the capacity of legal aid organizations to serve people in need today while helping build the next generation of public interest lawyers.