Peggy Browning Fellow Erica Oosterhout L’26, MBE’26 worked with labor and employment law firm Murphy Anderson this summer.
Erica Oosterhout L’26, MBE’26 is a Dr. Sadie T.M. Alexander Scholar from Tampa, Florida, and after graduation aspires to advocate for marginalized communities through plaintiff-side litigation.
This summer, I was awarded a fellowship from the Peggy Browning Fund to work at Murphy Anderson PLLC, a plaintiff’s-side firm specializing in labor and employment law in Washington, D.C. The Peggy Browning Fellowship Program provides summer funding to enable law students to work with organizations that advance workplace justice, such as labor unions, nonprofits, and law firms representing workers and unions. I wanted to go to law school to help build a fairer, better world—a desire rooted in many of my childhood experiences—and for that reason I was proud to become a Peggy Browning Fellow and work at a firm that is dedicated to promoting economic justice.
Murphy Anderson is not a large firm, with only eight partners and five associates. As the only law clerk this summer, I’ve been able to work closely with almost all of the firm’s attorneys, and I’ve been fortunate to have a wide variety of different assignments, including directly participating in some of the firm’s litigation. For example, in addition to labor and employment matters, such as employee benefits or wage-and-hour litigation, I’ve conducted research regarding administrative law, whistleblower law, and health law. In addition, I’ve participated in labor arbitrations involving discharged union members and several depositions concerning construction workers’ claims for unpaid wages. I’ve also assisted in the firm’s qui tam practice, helping to prevent corporations from defrauding the government. Qui tam actions are an area of the legal field that I knew very little about, and the work has been especially interesting to me.
Even though my 1L curriculum did not specifically include employment or labor law, my first year at Penn was instrumental in preparing me for my work at Murphy Anderson. The general legal skills and knowledge that I developed through my 1L courses have been transferable to much of my work with the firm. To give some specific examples, “Administrative Law” with Cary Coglianese, Edward B. Shils Professor of Law and Professor of Political Science, has been invaluable in my assignments involving federal agency rulemaking and cases before the National Labor Relations Board.
Likewise, “Civil Procedure” with Jill E. Fisch, Saul A. Fox Distinguished Professor of Law, which introduced me to the basic rules of litigation, has proven very useful as I’ve assisted in filing and defending motions and preparing discovery materials for cases in federal court.
My Legal Practice Skills course, however, has been most fundamental to my success. Because so many of my assignments have involved legal research, I relied heavily on the techniques that Senior Lectuer Karen U. Lindell taught me and my classmates. Without those practical skills, I would have struggled to successfully complete my assignments or effectively communicate my findings with the supervising attorneys.
Overall, my time at Murphy Anderson has strengthened my commitment to working as a plaintiffs’-side lawyer. Not only is the firm’s work interesting and engaging; it also serves an important role in building the fairer society that I desire to see. I have found my work exciting and stimulating, and I am proud to have had a positive impact on the clients I’ve served and the broader world around me.
Specifically, my experience at the firm has deepened my interest in litigation; to that end, I plan to participate in one or more legal clinics over my next two years at Penn. I hope that I can apply the skills I’ve gained at Murphy Anderson in my future clinical work, while strengthening and expanding those skills in the process.
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.