| PILI Intern Essays |
Emily Meehan DePaul University College of Law, 2L AIDS Legal Council
After years of political activism, I decided that being a lawyer would allow me the ability to make real changes in people’s lives and our society using the exact same tools wielded by those in power. So, needless to say, public interest law has always been my intended area. What I had not anticipated, though, was that it would be so difficult to decide what area of public interest law I wanted to ultimately work. Fortunately, I have had two summer jobs that helped enormously. My position as an intern in a family law agency last summer taught me that I am not well-suited for the area of domestic violence and divorce, although I developed a great admiration for the attorneys doing that work.
This summer was a different experience, entirely. Almost as soon as I started my training at the AIDS Legal Council, I knew I would be happy doing this work. I have had a lot of personal experience that makes me especially interested in working with and for people suffering from HIV/AIDS, as well as pursuing policy changes in how our society treats gays and lesbians. So although I took this job knowing I liked what the agency did, it wasn’t until I got my hands “dirty” that I realized this was work I would enjoy doing, too. I met with clients, drafted social security appeals, did legal research on policy and regulations effecting people with AIDS, wrote legal correspondence, and participated in client intake meetings, all with the guidance and support of an incredible staff.
The PILI organization, too, helped make this a very influential summer. The attentiveness shown to me personally, as well as the really informative group luncheons, made me feel like I was an important and valuable addition to Chicago’s legal community, capable of making a real difference in the world.
Lauren Barker University of Cincinnati, 2L National Immigrant Justice Center
My PILI internship at the National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) taught me a great deal about public interest law. I spent the majority of my time working with the General Immigrant Services and Violence Against Women programs at the NIJC. While working with the General Immigrant Services Program, I helped a child from Mexico---who had been adopted by her permanent resident grandparents---apply for lawful permanent residency. I researched the United States immigration laws pertaining to adopted children and I prepared an application to show that the child’s adoption complied with the United States adoption and immigration laws so the child could legally live in the United States.
Through the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), I also helped two battered women apply for lawful permanent residency. The women were from Mexico and Burundi and they were both married to United States citizen husbands who abused them physically and emotionally throughout their marriages. Both husbands also refused to help their wives become lawful permanent residents of the United States, so the women lived in constant fear of abuse and deportation. Despite the hardships they suffered, both women were extremely sweet and excited about the prospect of finally acquiring legal status in the United States. The women talked to me at length about their lives and they supplied me with the documents I needed to prove that they qualified for lawful permanent residence status under the VAWA.
Although I enjoyed working with the general immigration services and VAWA programs, my work with unaccompanied immigrant children impacted me most profoundly. Each year, approximately 5,000 immigrant children who enter the United States illegally and without a parent or guardian are detained by the Department of Homeland Security. Many of the unaccompanied children come because they were abused, neglected, and persecuted in their countries of origin. Sadly, some of the children find themselves in terrible situations in the United States as well. I traveled with two of the NIJC attorneys to an out-of-state detention center where children were being held. I spent several hours talking to two boys from Central America. Both boys reported feeling extremely depressed at the facility and they stated that they spent the majority of the day locked in their individual cells without access to education, recreation, or books. The boys told me they were even prohibited from talking to the other detained children. We reported our troubling findings to the other lawyers at the NIJC. These lawyers are now working to improve the conditions at that detention facility and to develop a network of pro bono attorneys that can serve all of the detained immigrant children.
Erica Byrd John Marshall Law School, 1L Chicago Legal Clinic
My experience as a PILI intern at the South Chicago Legal Clinic was the most rewarding legal education that I have had during law school. Through my internship, I was able to help those less fortunate in my community obtain legal services that they are entitled to as Americans. In school, it is easy to forget that the reason the legal system is in place is to protect the everyday people of the community. My PILI internship has reminded me that as a lawyer, I have a responsibility to share my knowledge and skills with those in the community who need it to the most.
At the South Chicago Legal Clinic, I was exposed to many different types of cases. Every client I worked with was so grateful that someone was taking the time to sit down and talk to them about their problems. Clients were even more grateful when their problems could be solved and they could go about their normal lives again. I took great pride in helping the hardworking people of South Chicago receive the equal justice they deserve. My summer experiences collectively helped shape my legal education and career; and for that, I will be forever grateful. Teresa Mambu Marquette University Law School, IL Citizen Advocacy Center
I entered law school motivated to work for others. As such, my first year was rather deflating. I don’t know how I could have returned to law school without my PILI summer experience. My summer was nothing short of empowering. As I learned with and from other like-minded law students and attorneys both at PILI and at the Citizen Advocacy Center, I regained my confidence in my study of law and my respect for the legal profession.
The Citizen Advocacy Center is a non-profit, non-partisan, community-based legal organization located in Elmhurst, Illinois. For twelve years, the Center has been a free public resource dedicated to building democracy for the 21st century. The Center serves the greater Chicago community by equipping citizens with the information and resources they need to advocate for themselves and their community.
I spent ten weeks helping citizens get access to government information, write appeal letters for Freedom of Information Act denials, research their election questions, and navigate the political process. I will never forget the first time I personally witnessed attorneys and legal workers using the law positively impact people’s lives, and the reaction of those we helped!
My main project, though, was following, researching, and analyzing the General Assembly’s newest public-private partnership prospect: the Illinois Tollway. I found my work fascinating and challenging. I researched various issues related to Illinois law and public-private partnerships, attended State public hearings and commission meetings, met with other organizations concerned about this issue, and testified before the State Senate Appropriations Committee.
Through PILI and my work at Citizen Advocacy Center, I learned a lot about myself, the attorney I want to be, and the importance of citizen empowerment in a democratic system. For the first time, I feel confident studying law and becoming an attorney who can and will work for others. Tim Brennan Loyola University Chicago, 1L Legal Assistance Foudnation of Metro Chicago I worked in the Northwest neighborhood office of the Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago (LAFMC), the largest provider of free civil legal services for poor people in the Midwest. Under the close and constructive supervision of an LAFMC staff attorney, I had the opportunity to work in such varied areas as family law, housing, and unemployment. I wrote research memos, drafted proposed judgments and appellate briefs, and represented a client in an unemployment insurance administrative hearing. I also acted as an advocate on behalf of clients facing termination of their utility services. I learned a great deal in a small amount of time this summer, and most importantly, provided some benefit for people in need.
I also benefited personally from attending PILI luncheons. While I was very busy this summer and could not attend each presentation, I certainly learned from those I did attend. In fact, one of the presentations made at the American Constitutional Society luncheon was so impressive that it inspired me to write my Law Journal article on a topic addressed in the presentation. In general, I appreciated the mix of luncheon presentations on substantive legal topics, along with presentations on career paths and practical legal tools.
Finally, one particular experience this summer impacted me in a way that aptly characterizes my PILI experience. I represented a single mother of one who had been fired from her job at a bank, and had come to us with no money and no source of income. The state had denied her application for unemployment benefits because it found she was terminated for “misconduct.” In fact, the client had made an honest mistake by grabbing the wrong work schedule, and had realized too late that she was supposed to have been at work at 7:00 a.m. one particular morning. I represented the client in a telephone hearing before an administrative law judge, where I performed a direct examination of the client and delivered a closing argument, citing case law. The judge reversed the state’s initial determination, and awarded unemployment benefits to the client. When I told the client the good news, her level of appreciation was overwhelming; she must have said “thank you” 25 times in our phone conversation. She will now receive benefits amounting to approximately 70% of her original income, so she can feed herself and her child until finding another job.
Experiences like this one made my PILI internship a success, and I greatly appreciate having had such an opportunity. Carrie Stephenson Sanford, PILI Intern Public interest work is hard. It is also incredibly rewarding. My experience as a PILI Intern with the Lawyers’ Committee for Better Housing has been gratifying; filled with both challenges and encouraging moments that have reaffirmed my commitment and dedication to public interest work. I have learned a tremendous amount about landlord-tenant law, Lawyers’ Committee specific area of practice, and have been able to use that knowledge to assist the low and middle income communities in Chicago. My days at the Lawyers’ Committee for Better Housing were filled with meeting clients, drafting pleadings, participating in settlement negotiations, appearing in court, attending educational seminars, and creating a piece of policy research about the current conditions in Eviction Court. There was never a dull moment, let alone a dull day, and it was an invigorating way to spend my summer. I think what makes my internship even more unique was the opportunity it provided to work with housing tenants in the private market. I learned first-hand the tragic shortage of safe, affordable housing available to Chicago residents. At times I felt as if I was fighting a flood with a kitchen pail. However, I discovered that even when the only action we could do for our clients was stand beside them in court, or attempt negotiations with their landlord, our clients felt empowered by the experience. There is simply nothing better than to receive a big hug in thanks from a client for a job well done. I am grateful to the Public Interest Law Initiative for providing me with this amazing summer.
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