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Graduates and alumni win national public interest fellowships

August 15, 2016

National fellowships provide recipients with an entry into careers in public interest law.
National fellowships provide recipients with an entry into careers in public interest law.
Five Penn Law graduates and alumni were awarded prestigious national fellowships to pursue a diverse array of public interest projects.

A number of different national organizations provide support for lawyers at the beginning of their public interest careers, and, this year, five of the Law School’s graduates and alumni successfully navigated highly competitive selection processes to be awarded prestigious national fellowships to pursue a diverse array of public interest projects.

“These graduates embody the ethic of public service that the Law School fosters,” said Arlene Rivera Finkelstein, Associate Dean for Public Interest Programs and Executive Director of the Toll Public Interest Center. “They are brilliant, dedicated, and innovative. Their proposals captured the attention of respected public interest organizations and earned them well-deserved support to launch essential services and impactful careers.”

Anna Deknatel L’14 received a Skadden Fellowship, which provides two years of funding for attorneys to pursue public interest work. Deknatel will be spending her fellowship at Brooklyn Legal Services Corporation A in New York, where she will provide bankruptcy representation for low-income Brooklyn and Queens homeowners facing foreclosure.

Elli Marcus L’15 was awarded an E. Barrett Prettyman Fellowship at Georgetown Law. Prettyman Fellows provide quality representation to adults and adolescents accused of crimes and receive comprehensive training in trial advocacy, litigation, and clinical teaching. During the second year of the fellowship, Marcus will supervise students in several clinics at Georgetown Law.

With the support of an Independence Foundation Public Interest Law Fellowship, Sean McGrath L’16 will be working with the Education Law Center to increase access to early intervention services and learning programs for vulnerable young children, especially those experiencing homelessness or foster care. Independence Foundation Public Interest Law Fellowships support young lawyers pursuing public interest work in the Philadelphia region.

Frank White L’16 was awarded an Equal Justice Works Fellowship, which funds legal projects that serve communities in need of legal assistance. He will be working with the Legal Aid Society of Eastern Virginia, where he will focus on protecting the working poor from auto fraud and predatory lending in car financing.

As a Justice Fellow with the Immigrant Justice Corps, Noelle Yasso L’16 will provide high-quality legal assistance for immigrants seeking citizenship and fighting deportation. Yasso will be working with Catholic Migration Services in New York.

“We are very proud of these graduates and alumni,” said Neta Borshansky, Associate Director of Public Sector Careers and Director of Government Programs. “They are taking their legal training where it is critically needed, and we are grateful to the organizations that are supporting them.”

The Toll Public Interest Center is the hub of public service at Penn Law. TPIC oversees the Penn Law pro bono program, facilitating a wide array of pro bono and public service opportunities that focus on impactful service, personal enrichment, and professional skill development. In addition to administering the pro bono graduation requirement, TPIC is home to all of Penn Law’s public interest programming, including the Toll Public Interest Scholars program.