Justice Catalyst Announces 2024 - 2025 Fellowship Projects
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Renée Schomp, Deputy Director
Email: fellowships@justicecatalyst.org
https://www.justicecatalyst.org/fellowships
JUSTICE CATALYST ANNOUNCES 2024 - 2025 FELLOWSHIP PROJECTS
Justice Catalyst is proud to announce its 2024 - 2025 fellowship projects. Justice Catalyst Fellowship projects are hosted at public interest organizations, unions, plaintiffs’ firms, and state, local, and tribal government agencies around the United States, furthering Justice Catalyst’s mission of activating path-breaking approaches to lawyering for social and economic justice that have real-world impact and improve the lives of those denied access to justice.
Projects selected include proposals from:
Andrea Ashburn, who will work at New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG) to obtain relief for consumers and tenants and to create industry-wide change by expanding impact litigation efforts, including new litigation in the housing context.
Michelle Dahl, who will work at the National Police Accountability Project (NPAP) to create a comprehensive resource hub and network to empower public defenders in developing civil rights litigation to address constitutional violations they see in their communities. The resources will be generated through work as co-counsel to civil rights litigators and in partnerships with public defenders across the country.
Poonam Daryani, who will work at Pregnancy Justice to litigate and advocate on behalf of pregnant and postpartum people in Oklahoma and Texas who are civilly or criminally penalized for using prescribed substances during pregnancy.
Leah Fessler, who will work at Roderick and Solange MacArthur Justice Center, Missouri to enjoin Missouri Department of Corrections’ Medication for Opioid Use Disorder policies and generate damages for impacted communities, including incarcerated individuals with opioid use disorder who are denied their medically necessary, life-saving medications.
Olivia Fritz, who will work at the Illinois office of the Roderick and Solange MacArthur Justice Center to return due process rights to low-income people on parole by building litigation to ensure the appointment of counsel for individuals at their parole revocation hearings.
Vibha Kannan, who will work at Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.) to aid immigrants locked in exploitative contracts with for-profit bond companies and challenge abusive practices through legislative advocacy and consumer impact litigation under New York’s newly-enacted ban on electronic monitoring and unreasonable fees, the first if its kind in the country.
Alyssa (Lee) Kennedy, who will work at Legal Action Center to combat discrimination against individuals with substance use disorders (SUDs) in healthcare settings in New York City by employing a two-step strategy: (1) prevention through education and legal advocacy and (2) redress via litigation.
Ezra Ritchin, who will work at Freedom Community Center to propose a self-sustaining model of legal work for criminal and restorative justice movements in St. Louis and across the country through individual damages suits on behalf of survivors of violence, legal support for organizers, and targeted over-detention litigation.
Jason Taper, who will work at Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.) to initiate novel class action claims against data brokers for engaging in mass surveillance without consumers’ consent, in order to prove the viability and replicability of counter-surveillance litigation holding corporations accountable, and to directly counter the expansion of for-profit spying through damages and injunctive relief.
Justice Catalyst is also proud to partner with the Committee to Support Antitrust Laws, or COSAL, to launch the inaugural Jonathan W. Cuneo COSAL/Justice Catalyst Fellowship. The goal of the fellowship is to enable new lawyers to pursue antitrust litigation as a crucial tool for accountability within the U.S. legal system, with a particular focus on facilitating the advancement of underrepresented individuals within the antitrust field, emphasizing inclusivity, fairness, and equal opportunity. The 2024-2025 Jonathan W. Cuneo COSAL/Justice Catalyst fellowship project will be carried out by:
DaJonna Richardson, who will work at Cuneo Gilbert & LaDuca LLP to undertake antitrust litigation and related matters with an emphasis on enforcing antitrust laws in order to help create a level playing field for small businesses and consumers, leading to increased competition, innovation, and fair prices. This, in turn, has the potential to help reduce economic inequality and promote a more equitable distribution of wealth and opportunities for all.
A full list of fellows will be available at https://www.justicecatalyst.org/fellowships/fellows. If you are a law student or recent graduate interested in a 2024-2025 fellowship, or an organization interested in hosting a fellowship project, please visit https://www.justicecatalyst.org/fellowships or contact fellowships@justicecatalyst.org
Justice Catalyst activates path-breaking approaches to social justice lawyering and affirmative litigation that have real-world impact and improve the lives of low-wage workers, the poor, and the marginalized. More information at https://www.justicecatalyst.org/fellowships