Peggy Browning Fund Fellow Sadie Basile L’26 spent the summer working with Justice at Work in Philadelphia.
Sadie Basila L’26 is from the Albany, New York area and aspires to advance the legal rights of workers after graduation.
I was awarded a Summer 2024 fellowship from the Peggy Browning Fund to work at Justice at Work in Philadelphia. Justice at Work provides legal aid and education to immigrant and low-wage workers. After working as a minimum wage employee during the COVID-19 pandemic and seeing the importance of labor power in my economics coursework in college, I came to law school with the specific goal of being a labor/employment lawyer and advocate for workers. I even wrote about wanting to advocate for justice in the workplace in my application to Penn. I learned about this fellowship and placement site opportunity through a dinner event at Public Interest Week.
Justice at Work primarily provides legal aid for clients with employment and/or immigration issues. This summer, I had the opportunity to work at the intersection of those issues by assisting with visa applications for victims of labor trafficking. I have also conducted legal research and writing on employment issues like gender discrimination and sexual harassment. I’ve participated in client-facing work, written memos to capture my research, and improved my professional Spanish as well.
I am currently looking forward to an upcoming “community outreach” trip, which is part of Justice at Work’s efforts to connect with and assist workers across Pennsylvania to accomplish lasting change. Justice at Work is an admirable organization that leads with empathy and truly focuses on the goals of their clients, and I am so honored to have been a small part of its work. It is a truly special place with such intelligent and compassionate staff.
Legal Practice Skills with Silvia Diaz, Senior Lecturer, prepared me well for my summer internship. I learned from Professor Diaz about the importance of an empathetic client-centered approach, and of course about the mechanics of legal research and writing. I found that class challenging, but I feel so proud to have built a strong skillset through that hard work.
I also learned a good deal about the work of legal aid organizations in “Access to Justice” with Jasmine Harris, Professor of Law. I found that “Administrative Law” with Cary Coglianese, Edward B. Shils Professor of Law and Professor of Political Science, helped me with drafting comments on agency rules this summer.
I would not have known about this opportunity if it weren’t for Penn’s incredible alumni network and the great effort of the Toll Public Interest Center in putting together Public Interest Week, where I met some amazing attorneys in labor, employment, and immigration law, one of whom discussed Justice at Work with me.
This internship experience gave me practical skills as well as substantive knowledge of employment law and immigration law. I have met so many amazing advocates in my role and have even connected with other organizations and public interest firms through this position. I am certain that a career in employment and labor law is right for me, and I felt inspired to take “Employment Discrimination” this fall. I feel confident in my plan to pursue a career in labor and employment law after graduation. I am looking forward to applying the skills I have developed in client-facing work and legal research in the future.
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.