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EXPERIENCE THE POWER OF PUBLIC SERVICE
Penn Carey Law’s unwavering commitment to service is reflected through the Toll Public Interest Center’s (TPIC) extensive pro bono, public interest, and government initiatives. All students perform at least 70 hours of pro bono legal service before they graduate, and close to 90 percent exceed that requirement. TPIC ensures that students receive strong training, excellent supervision, and meaningful opportunities to make a positive impact locally, nationally, and globally. It’s a win-win: Students gain hands-on experience as early as their first semester of law school while helping non-profits and government agencies serve underrepresented causes and communities. From public interest overnight retreats to alumni dinners in Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia, TPIC facilitates strong community connections at Penn Carey Law and across the U.S. thanks to a vibrant alumni network. TPIC partners with OCS, faculty, and alumni to offer unparalleled support for students committed to pursuing careers in the public interest. Generous funding for summer internships, postgraduate fellowships, and loan repayment helps students and graduates realize their goals. Through the Leo Model Foundation Government Service & Public Affairs Initiative, TPIC delivers wideranging programs that connect students to legislators, government attorneys, and policy makers. Thanks to a monumental gift from the Robert and Jane Toll Foundation, Penn Carey Law offers greatly expanded tuition scholarship opportunities for public interest students and provides a wide array of justice and equity programs and service-oriented leadership training for all law students. Whatever your path or passion, TPIC prepares you to experience the power of public service throughout your career.
Nearly 30,000 HOURS OF PRO BONO SERVICE
completed by Penn Carey Law students in the 2020-2021 academic year
Nearly 90% OF THE CLASS OF 2020
exceeded the 70-hour pro bono requirement
650,000+ HOURS OF PRO BONO WORK
contributed to the community by Penn Carey Law students since 1989
23 PRO BONO PROJECTS
focusing on issues ranging from environment to immigration
SHERROD SMITH L’22
Joint degree in partnership with Penn Carey Law and Princeton University’s School for Public and International Affairs
“My pro bono engagement at Penn Carey Law has been primarily focused on the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (VITA). Through VITA, I work with individuals and families to assist with their income tax preparation and filing, including identifying tax credits and subsidies they are qualified to receive, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), Child Tax Credit (CTC), or Lifetime Learning Credit (LLC). I feel fortunate to be able to apply the analytical skills that I’ve learned as a law student in realworld settings while also having the opportunity to learn from individuals who seek income tax assistance and the community organizations we partner with to facilitate these pro bono opportunities.”
CATHERINE KEARNEY C’12, L’22
“As a member of the Youth Advocacy Project (YAP), I work on a team of social work and law students to write mitigation reports for youth charged as adults in an effort to get them moved back to the juvenile justice system. The challenges faced by our clients and their families remind me why I came to law school. The YAP community has been an incredible source of guidance for my future career and emotional support as I navigate law school.”
PRO BONO PROJECTS
SUPPORTING STUDENT ADVOCACY
ANIMAL & ENVIRONMENTAL ADVOCACY
Animal Law Project (ALP) Environmental Law Project (ELP)
CIVIL & POLITICAL RIGHTS
Civil Rights Law Project (CRLP) Democracy Law Project (DLP) If/When/How: Lawyering for Reproductive Justice Trans Empowerment & Advocacy Project (TEA)
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Compassionate Release Collaborative (CRC) Criminal Record Expungement Project (C-REP) Penn Carey Law Innocence Project Pardon Project Prison Legal Education Project Youth Advocacy Project (YAP)
21 pro bono projects mobilize student advocates for a range of causes and communities in need. TPIC’s eight-person team advises and supports more than 100 student leaders and hundreds of student volunteers as they support the work of local, national, and global community partners with direct client service, in-court advocacy, community education, and research and writing projects. TPIC deploys Mobile TEAMS (Trained Educators and Advocates Mobilized for Service) to address urgent legal needs in Philadelphia, in rural Pennsylvania, and – during spring and winter breaks – throughout the United States and the world. Drawing on creativity, flexibility, and a spirit of collaboration, TPIC has adapted its pro bono model to ensure Penn Carey Law students are able to perform high quality, safe pro bono service during the COVID-19 pandemic.
DOMENIC POWELL L’20
Summer Legal Intern, Sierra Club, Oakland, CA; New York State Attorney General’s Environmental Protection Bureau
“Penn’s student-run pro bono projects are a great way to learn new skills and support causes you believe in. As the Chair of the Environmental Law Project, I got to work with local and national organizations fighting climate change and moving our country toward renewable energy. My pro bono experience helped me get an internship at the New York State Attorney General’s Environmental Protection Bureau during my 3L summer.”
ECONOMIC JUSTICE
Custody & Support Assistance Clinic (CASAC) Employment Advocacy Project (EAP) Financial Literacy Project (FLP) Health Law & Policy Project (HeLPP) Penn Housing Rights Project (PHRP) Penn Carey Law’s Walk-In Legal Assistance (WILA)
EDUCATION
School Discipline Advocacy Service (SDAS) Youth Education Partnership (YEP)
GLOBAL
International Human Rights Advocates (IHRA) International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) Penn Carey Law Immigrant Rights Project (PLIRP)
A TRANSFORMATIVE GIFT
In the fall of 2020, the Robert and Jane Toll Foundation, founded by alumni Robert Toll L’66 and Jane Toll GSE’66, made a $50 million gift to Penn Carey Law School to dramatically expand the Toll Public Interest Scholars and Toll Public Interest Fellows Programs, doubling the number of public interest graduates in the coming decade through a combination of full and partial tuition scholarships. The Toll Foundation’s $50 million gift is the largest gift in history devoted entirely to the training and support of public interest lawyers. TPIC’s Service Corps houses the Toll Scholars and Fellows and provides programming for the broader public interest and law school community to TPIC’s Service Corps specifically houses the Toll Public Interest Scholars and Fellows programs, while the Public Interest Experience (PIE) provides programming for the broader public interest and Law School community.
TOLL PUBLIC INTEREST SCHOLARS
Toll Public Interest Scholars are selected upon admission to Penn Carey Law on the basis of their lived and professional experiences, academic records, potential for leadership, and dedication to pursuing public interest careers following graduation. Toll Scholars receive full-tuition scholarships for all three years of law school.
TOLL PUBLIC INTEREST FELLOWS
Toll Public Interest Fellows are second- and third-year students who desire to hone their leadership capabilities, further develop their legal skills, and challenge themselves to think about complex social, political, and cultural issues from new vantage points. Fellows are selected at the end of their first year on the basis of their lived and professional experiences, involvement in Penn Carey Law’s public interest community, and commitment to pursuing public interest careers following graduation. Toll Fellows receive partial-tuition scholarships for their second and third years of law school.
PIE AMBASSADORS
All Penn Carey Law students who are passionate about public interest — regardless of what kind of legal career they intend to pursue — may apply to join PIE. PIE offers comprehensive programming, tailored by year, aimed at helping public interest-minded students successfully navigate law school and build community.
Penn Carey Law Service Corps
THE PUBLIC INTEREST NETWORK
COLLEAGUES FOR LIFE
Sheerine Alemzadeh L’11 Nina Martinez L’15
Since graduation, SHEERINE ALEMZADEH L’11 has focused on public interest projects that address genderbased violence, particularly in the workplace. After graduating from Penn Carey Law, Alemzadeh received a prestigious Skadden Fellowship, which supported her work at the CHICAGO ALLIANCE AGAINST SEXUAL EXPLOITATION. There, she represented mostly low-income survivors of workplace sexual violence and went on to co-found the COALITION AGAINST WORKPLACE SEXUAL VIOLENCE. To continue the work of empowering low-wage workers who experience sexual violence, Alemzadeh co-founded HEALING TO ACTION, a non-profit that is using an innovative, survivor-centered community organizing model to end gender-based violence by building the leadership and collective power of the communities most impacted. Through it all, Alemzadeh says, the Penn Carey Law network has supported her work in instrumental ways. Whether it’s talking through a program strategy, donating to our fundraiser, or giving me a pep talk when work is really demanding, I’ve gained so much strength from my alumni network,” she said. “I am so grateful for how my friends at Penn Carey Law champion my work and are so supportive of approaching legal systems and injustice in creative and unconventional ways.”
Penn Carey Law’s robust public interest network contains many others who also focus their work on fighting for justice in employment, including NINA MARTINEZ L’15. As a Skadden Fellow at the NEW YORK LEGAL ASSISTANCE GROUP, Martinez developed the Employment Mediation Project, which provided mediation services and advocacy to low-income workers embroiled in employment disputes. Today, Martinez is an associate at leading plaintiff-side employment litigation firm OUTTEN AND GOLDEN LLP, where she focuses her practice on class actions. “The Penn Carey Law network was an incredible source of support as I endeavored to build my career as a public interest attorney,” said Martinez. “Both during law school and after I entered the workforce, TPIC staff provided meaningful guidance, working with me to explore my career aspirations and discuss concrete strategies.”
SUMMER FELLOWSHIPS
The Initiative funds summer legal internships with federal, state, and local government agencies and public policy offices. Locations have included: New Jersey, New York, Hawaii, Connecticut, California, North Carolina, Washington State, and Illinois.
POLICY RESEARCH SEMINARS
These seminars enable students to research and analyze current legal issues from a legislative, regulatory, or public policy perspective. In addition to traditional classroom study, students participate in field visits to conduct research and meet with policymakers and other experts. Recent seminars include “Policing and Policy Reform in 21st Century” by John Hollway and former Philadelphia Police Department Commissioner Charles Ramsey, “Urban Policy” by Wendell Pritchett, “Reforming the Administrative State” by Cary Coglianese, “National Security Law” by Claire Finkelstein, and “Intellectual Property” by David Abrams. Students in these seminars took trips to the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, the Advancement Project, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the Pentagon, and other government agencies and policy offices doing work in connection with the topic of each seminar.
POLICY FELLOWS
Each year, senior government officials and policy practitioners come to the Law School to teach and interact with students. These fellows encourage students to consider public service careers while offering them practical knowledge of how the law intersects with different aspects of government. Recent Policy Fellows include Charles Ramsey, former Commissioner of the Philadelphia Police Department; Richard Cordray, the inaugural Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; Nicole Isaac L’04, who previously worked in the White House, the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of Representatives, and the Constitutional Court of South Africa; and Shira Perlmutter L’83, the Register of Copyrights and Director of the U.S. Copyright Office and the former Chief Policy Officer and Director for International Affairs at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
CAREER SUPPORT
OCS and TPIC are committed to supporting students who seek government employment through programs and career counseling dedicated to the government service job search, including networking opportunities with government service lawyers. In addition, we provide dedicated and intensive government honors application support. Penn Carey Law graduates have recently received positions in the U.S. Department of Justice Honors Program, the Office of the U.S. Solicitor General, prosecutor and public defender offices across the country, U.S. Attorneys’ offices, and the state and local government offices including the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General, the Oregon Department of Justice, and the Philadelphia City Law Department.
EXTERNSHIP TRAVEL
Outside of the pandemic, the Initiative supports student travel to government and public policy offices in Washington, D.C., New York City, and other cities outside of Philadelphia to pursue credit-bearing externships during the academic year. Recent externship placements have included the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the U.S. House Judiciary Committee.
POSTGRADUATE FELLOWSHIPS
These fellowships are designed to prepare students to launch their careers in all levels and areas of government, whether immediately after graduation or later in their careers. Recent fellowship placements have included the Colorado District Attorney’s Office, the National Health Law Program, and the EEOC Office of Special Counsel.
Building on Penn Carey Law’s cross-disciplinary academic program, the LEO MODEL FOUNDATION GOVERNMENT SERVICE & PUBLIC AFFAIRS INITIATIVE prepares students for fulfilling careers in government and public policy. Through the support of the Initiative, students receive legal training and participate in experiential learning that positions them to confront the complex problems faced by lawyers in public service.
GEORGE MEGGALI L’19
Trial Attorney, U.S. Department of Justice, Attorney General’s Honors Program, Washington, DC
“The Leo Model Initiative’s financial and career support for students interested in public service allowed me to pursue my dream internship at my home state’s U.S. Attorney’s Office during my 1L summer. That experience, among others facilitated by the Law School, put me on course to rewarding postgraduate placements at two federal agencies at the beginning of my legal career.”
FRANK BROOMELL L’19
Associate, Covington & Burling LLP, Washington, DC
“The opportunity to extern at the National Security Division of the Department of Justice was one of the best parts of my time at Penn Carey Law. I was able to work with DOJ attorneys on pressing national security issues. As I sought to answer statutory and constitutional questions related to proposed government actions, the assignments I received challenged me to further hone my legal research and writing abilities. I was able to participate as part of the team and learn a little bit about what it’s like to be a government attorney.”
