105 VLS students receive 2018 summer stipends to support pro bono legal work

One hundred and five Vanderbilt Law students received summer stipends to support their volunteer legal work with government agencies, in the chambers of federal and state judges; in the offices of federal attorneys general and state district attorneys and public defenders; in state and municipal legal offices; and with public interest and advocacy organizations. During summer 2018, these students are working in unpaid legal positions in 18 states, the District of Columbia, and the Netherlands.

Summer stipends are supported by Vanderbilt Law School, the Vanderbilt Legal Aid Society, the Garrison Social Justice Fellowship, the George Barrett Social Justice Program, the Henricksen Charitable Trust, the McCune Charitable Trust, the Starrett Family Fund, the Hartman Public Interest Stipend Fund, the Torry Johnson Stipend Fund, the Nichols Humanitarian Fund, the Program in Law and Government, the Hyatt Fund, the Anne Riley Public Interest Fund, the Environmental Stipend Fund, the Law and Economics Fund and the Branstetter Litigation and Dispute Resolution Program. These stipends provide summer funding for students who serve in unpaid legal positions with government or nonprofit organizations. The 105 VLS students who received stipends worked in 112 different legal positions during summer 2018.

“Vanderbilt Law students gain invaluable experience in many areas of law with the help of stipends that help defray their living expenses, which are funded by Vanderbilt’s Legal Aid Society, alumni contributions and academic programs,” said Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs Susan Kay. “Students often tell me these work experiences help them decide on a career path.”

International (1)

  • Global Rights Compliance, The Hague, Netherlands

Federal Agencies (13)

  • Department of Commerce, Washington, D.C.
  • Department of Justice, Washington, D.C. (3)
  • Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C.
  • Federal Communications Commission, Washington, D.C.
  • National Labor Relations Board, Nashville
  • Securities and Exchange Commission, Atlanta, Georgia (4)
  • Securities and Exchange Commission, Washington, D.C. (2)

U.S. Attorney Offices (8)

  • Southern District of Georgia
  • Eastern District of New York (2)
  • Southern District of New York (2)
  • Eastern District of Pennsylvania
  • Eastern District of Arkansas
  • Middle District of Tennessee
  • Federal Public Defenders Offices (6)
  • District of Colorado and Wyoming
  • Middle District of Tennessee (5)

State Attorney Generals Offices (3)

  • Cook Country Office of the State’s Attorney, Chicago, Illinois
  • Office of the Attorney General for the State of Albany, NY
  • Tennessee Attorney General’s Office, Nashville, TN

State Agencies (2)

  • Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, Lansing
  • Office of the State Attorney, Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Judicial Chambers-Federal (17)

  • Judge Juan Torruella, U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, Boston
  • Judge Marjorie O. Rendell, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, Philadelphia
  • Judge Jill A. Pryor, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
  • Judge Timothy Kelly, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
  • Judge Mark D. Houle, U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California, Riverside
  • Judge Jesus G. Bernal, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Riverside
  • Judge Phillip J. Green, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, Grand Rapids
  • Judge Marjorie O. Rendell, United States Court of Appeals, Philadelphia, PA
  • Judge Jeffrey Frensley, U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee
  • Judge Alistair Newbern, U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee (3)
  • Judge Jon Phipps McCalla, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, Memphis
  • Judge Amos Mazzant III, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Sherman
  • Judge Jason B. Libby, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Corpus Christi (2)
  • Judge John C. Coughenour, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, Seattle

Judicial Chambers-State (10)

  • Justice Ming W. Chin, California Supreme Court, San Francisco
  • Justice David Nahmias, Supreme Court of Georgia, Atlanta
  • Judge Elizabeth Grimes, California Court of Appeals, Los Angeles
  • Master in Chancery Morgan T. Turn, Delaware Court of Chancery, Wilmington
  • Judge Mary Ellen Barbera, Maryland Court of Appeals, Rockville
  • Judge Stephen Louis A. Dillard, Court of Appeals for the State of Georgia, Atlanta
  • Judge James Kaddo, Los Angeles Superior Court, Van Nuys, California
  • Judge Valerie Salkin, Los Angeles Superior Court, Van Nuys, California
  • Judge Richard Dinkins, Tennessee Court of Appeals, Nashville
  • Judge Deanna B. Johnson, Criminal Court for the 21st Judicial District, Franklin, Tennessee

Federal Public Defenders (4)

  • Middle District of Tennessee, Nashville (4)

State Public Defenders Offices (12)

  • Public Defender Agency, Anchorage, Alaska (2)
  • Colorado State Public Defender
  • Jacksonville Public Defender, Florida (2)
  • Orleans Public Defenders, New Orleans, Louisiana
  • Metropolitan Justice Center of Southeast Michigan, Detroit
  • Metropolitan Nashville Public Defender’s Office, Tennessee (4)
  • Dallas Public Defender’s Office, Texas

Municipal Legal Departments (3)

  • Metropolitan Government of Nashville Department of Law, Tennessee (3)

State Attorneys General (4)

  • State of Illinois, Carbondale
  • State of New York, Albany
  • State of Tennessee, Nashville
  • State of Virginia, Richmond

District Attorneys’ Offices (2)

  • Metropolitan Nashville Office of the District Attorney, Tennessee (2)

Advocacy and Nonprofit (27)

  • American Bar Association, Center for Human Rights, Washington, D.C.
  • American Bar Association Justice Defenders Program, Washington, D.C.
  • American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee, Nashville
  • Association of Public Health Laboratories Inc., Silver Springs, Maryland
  • Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project, New York, New York
  • Bay Area Legal Aid, Oakland, California
  • The Capital Appeals Project, New Orleans
  • Committee for Public Counsel Services, Boston
  • Disability Rights Tennessee, Nashville
  • Legal Aid Justice Center, Richmond, Virginia
  • Legal Aid Office of New York, New York
  • Legal Aid Society of Atlanta (3)
  • Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands
  • Legal Aid Society of New York, Bronx
  • Manhattan Legal Services, New York
  • Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project, Washington, D.C.
  • New York Legal Assistance Group, New York
  • Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project, Pittsburgh
  • Southern Center for Human Rights, Atlanta
  • Tennessee Justice Center, Nashville
  • Texas Civil Rights Project, Austin
  • Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid, Mercedes
  • ThinkTN, Nashville (3)