Public Service Fellowships Benefit Dozens of UVA Law Students, Grads

Scores of University of Virginia School of Law students and recent graduates will take advantage of public service fellowships and other opportunities by working at government or nonprofit offices across the nation this year.

“We are so proud of the work our fellows will be doing across the country this summer and beyond,” said Annie Kim ’99, assistant dean for public service and director of the Mortimer Caplin Public Service Center and the Program in Law and Public Service. “The incredible range of causes and communities being served by our fellows speaks to the breadth of our students’ talents.”

Claire Corcoran Award: Mary Merkel ’23 will work at the Advocates for Children of New York and Alexander Schechner ’23 will work at the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division in Washington, D.C.

Democracy Summer Fellows: Divya Vijay ’24 will work at the Electronic Privacy Information Center and Jordan Woodlief ’23 will work at the National Lawyers Guild’s National Immigration Project, both in Washington, D.C.

Ford C. O’Connell Public Service Fellows: Scott Chamberlain ’23 will work for the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee and Jina Shin ’24 will work for the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform, both in Washington, D.C.

Justice John Paul Stevens Public Interest Fellows: Kevin Bui ’23 will work at the New York State Office of the Attorney General, Bryanna Lindberg ’23 will work at the San Diego County Public Defender and Alexander Schechner ’23 will work at the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division in Washington, D.C.

Katherine and David deWilde ’67 Public Interest Summer Fellows: Julia Eger ’23 will work at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law in Washington, D.C.; Kiera Goddu ’24 will work at the ACLU’s Disability Rights Project in San Francisco; and Sabrina Surgil ’24 will work at the Civil Rights Education and Enforcement Center in Denver.

LawTech Center Summer Fellowships for Privacy, Cybersecurity and Technology Public Service: Harrison Gordon ’24 will work at the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General and Devin Thompson ’24 will work at the Federal Communications Commission’s Wireline Competition Bureau Pricing Policy Division in Washington, D.C.

Monroe Leigh Fellows in International Law: Amanda Huang ’24 will work at the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs Criminal Division and Kristina Lorch ’24 will work at the DOJ’s Office of Foreign Litigation Civil Division, both in Washington, D.C.

Powell Fellow in Legal Services: Meredith Kilburn ’22 will work with the Education Law Center in Newark, New Jersey, directly representing clients and advocating for policy changes. The UVA Law School fellowship is awarded for one year with the expectation that it will be renewed for a second year.

UVA Law Public Service Summer Grants: A total of 167 students will receive $801,000 in funding from grant programs supporting summer public interest work.

Skadden Fellow: Nevah Jones ’22 will work at the Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy in North Carolina.

Squire Patton Boggs Foundation Public Policy Fellows: Michael Pruitt ’24 will work at the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division Housing and Civil Enforcement Section in Washington, D.C.

Virginia State Bar Criminal Justice Summer Interns: Malcolm Law ’24 will work at the Fairfax County Public Defender’s Office and Antonella Nicholas ’24 will work at the Prince William County Public Defender's Office, both in Virginia.