Leigh Bianchi L’24

Leigh was born and raised in Washington, D.C., by a family whose history of government service inspired her to pursue a public interest career. Leigh is passionate about working to protect the rights of those involved in the criminal justice system and hopes to return to her hometown and serve as a public defender following law school.

Leigh graduated in 2021 from Georgetown University where she majored in Government and was a member of the Women’s Rowing team. While at Georgetown, she worked with several volunteer organizations, including assisting a campus facilities staff member pass the U.S. Citizenship test and helping incarcerated individuals prepare for the GED. During college, she also interned with the DC Pretrial Services Agency and worked on a wrongful conviction case, experiences that sparked her interest in public defense.

Leigh interned her 1L summer with the Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project in support of civil rights litigation on behalf of incarcerated people and externed 2L fall with the Appeals Unit of the Federal Defender’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. At Penn Carey Law, Leigh serves on the boards of the Criminal Record Expungement Project and the Innocence Project, and is an Associate Editor of the Law Review. In her free time, Leigh enjoys playing and watching sports, hiking, and biking.