This summer, Shreya Babu L’26 worked in the family law unit of Chicago Volunteer Legal Services.
Shreya Babu L’26 is a rising 2L at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School and a native of Doylestown, PA. She was awarded the Alan M. Lerner Summer Fellowship, which was established in memory of Professor Alan M. Lerner by his family and friends to provide summer stipends to law students engaged in child advocacy work during their first or second summers. Babu aims to work in nonprofit criminal defense.
This summer, I am being funded by the Alan M. Lerner Summer Fellowship to work at Chicago Volunteer Legal Services (CVLS) in the family law unit. Although I’m interested in criminal law, I decided to explore family law to gain an understanding of interrelated legal spheres. I work with low-income clients predominantly on case types such as adoptions and child representative/guardian ad litem appointments.
Penn Carey Law has prepared me for this work by providing the opportunity to engage in pro-bono work as a 1L, growing my client interaction experience, and allowing me to apply myself outside of a classroom setting so early on.
While family law is not where I ultimately aim to be, I am planning to work in the public sector and this internship has been a great chance to do so. One of the biggest skills I’ll be able to take away with me after this summer is the ability to self-manage. Nonprofits typically lack resources but are overflowing with cases and clients. However, our clients are not large corporations setting hard deadlines; you have to be intentional about setting your own deadlines and priorities in a setting where everyone deserves help and is in relatively equal need, but can’t all be served at once.
I’ve truly enjoyed my time at CVLS, and I am grateful to have learned so much from an incredible organization and team.
Pathways to the Profession highlights Penn Carey Law students and post-graduate fellows as they launch impactful legal careers. From summer internships in the private sector to public interest post-graduate fellowships and externships, these firsthand accounts of substantive legal work demonstrate the myriad opportunities available to Penn Carey Law students and graduates.
Read more Penn Carey Law students’ Pathways to the Profession.