To promote careers in public interest law, the Massachusetts Bar Foundation awards stipends to law students who intern at legal aid organizations during the summer months. Since its inception in 1996, the Legal Intern Fellowship Program has awarded more than $297,000 to 78 law students. Funded through the MBF Fellows Fund and the Smith Family Fund, the LIFP serves as a springboard to public interest law careers for the area’s most promising law students.
The Foundation recently selected the following seven students to receive stipends for their summer work:
MBF Fellows Fund Fellows
Funded through pledge payments of MBF Fellows
Emily Barbour
Boston College Law School
Children’s Law Center of Massachusetts – EdLaw Project
Jubilee Menzies
Boston College Law School
Alternatives for Community and Environment – Massachusetts Environmental Justice Assistance Network
Matilda Mutanguha
Suffolk University Law School
Neighborhood Legal Services – Domestic Violence Immigration Project
Mekhala Raghupathy
Boston College Law School
Greater Boston Legal Services – Latinas Know Your Rights Project
Jacqueline Silva-Sanchez
Stanford Law School
WilmerHale Legal Services Center
Smith Family Fellow
Funded through the Smith Family Fund, and awarded for work with children
John Espinosa
University of Michigan Law School
Children’s Law Center of Massachusetts – Education Advocacy Program
In addition, this year, in memory of MBF Fellow and lifelong legal services advocate Nancy King, a special fellowship has been created in her honor.
Nancy King Memorial Fellowship
Funded through the contribution of MBF Holmes Fellow Elaine Epstein
Emily Strickland
Suffolk University Law School
South Middlesex Legal Services – Housing Unit
Chaired by MBF Trustee Robert Marchand, this year’s selection committee faced a daunting task of selecting just seven from a highly competitive pool of candidates.
“It is humbling to see the work these kids are doing at such early stages of their careers,” Marchand remarked. “Despite barriers to entering public interest law, most notably the exorbitant cost of law school, it gives hope that there continues to be a healthy number of law students committed to dedicating their careers to public service.”
For more information about the MBF’s Legal Intern Fellowship Program, visit www.MassBarFoundation.org.