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Outstanding Public Interest Lawyers in Action II

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Outstanding Public Interest Lawyers in Action II Outstanding Public Interest Lawyers in Action II: A Day in the Life of Wasserstein Fellows Lisa D. Williams, Esq. Associate Director Micah Nemiroff Staff Assistant Bernard Koteen Office of Public Interest Advising Harvard Law School Wasserstein Hall, Suite 4039 Cambridge, MA 02138 Phone: 617-495-3108 Fax: 617-496-4944 WASSERSTEIN GUIDE GOVERNMENT – FEDERAL TABLE OF CONTENTS 19 Alden Abbott 2002-2003 Wasserstein Fellow INTRODUCTION Assistant Director for Policy and Evaluation, Bureau of Competition, CAPITOL Hill Federal Trade Commission 6 Philip S. Barnett 21 Gerald Alexander 2011-2012 Wasserstein Fellow 2008-2009 Wasserstein Fellow Democratic Staff Director, Assistant General Counsel, Committee on Energy and Office of Litigation, Commerce, U.S. House of U.S. Department of Housing and Representatives Urban Development CRIMINAL PROSECUTION/DEFENSE 22 Darryl Gorman 2006-2007 Wasserstein Fellow 9 Carol Brook Deputy Attorney General, 2005-2006 Wasserstein Fellow Rulemaking and Legislative Affairs Deputy Director, Federal Defender Office of the Attorney General Program for the Northern District of Illinois 22 Lisa Taylor 2011-2012 Wasserstein Fellow 13 James Hingeley Trial Attorney, U.S. Department of 2008-2009 Wasserstein Fellow Justice, Civil Rights Division, Public Defender, Albemarle County Disability Rights Section and Charlottesville and City of Lynchburg GOVERNMENT – LOCAL 14 Asit Panwala 24 Astrid Andre 2006-2007 Wasserstein Fellow 2006-2007 Wasserstein Fellow Assistant District Attorney Counsel, New York City Economic San Francisco County District Development Corporation Attorney’s Office 25 Michael Best 16 Jordan Schreiber 2009-2010 Wasserstein Fellow 2006-2007 Wasserstein Fellow General Counsel, New York City Deputy Public Defender Department of Education Contra Costa County, Office of the Public Defender LEGAL SERVICES 17 Jack Smith 26 Davida Finger 2011-2012 Wasserstein Fellow 2008-2009 Wasserstein Fellow Chief, U.S. Department of Justice, Staff Attorney Criminal Division, Public Integrity Katrina Clinic, Loyola Law School Section Outstanding Public Interest Lawyers in Action II Page 2 39 Steven Choi 27 Levon Henry 2009-2010 Wasserstein Fellow 2008-2009 Wasserstein Fellow Executive Director, Empowering the Executive Director Korean American Community DNA-People’s Legal Services, Inc. (YKASEC) 28 Bill Lienhard 41 James D. Esseks 2007-2008 Wasserstein Fellow 2008-2009 Wasserstein Fellow Project Director Litigation Director, ACLU, Lesbian, Mental Health Project, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender & AIDS Urban Justice Center Project 30 Nina Perales 42 Hayley Gorenberg 2009-2010 Wasserstein Fellow 2010-2011 Wasserstein Fellow Southwest Regional Counsel Deputy Director, Lambda Legal Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) 43 Blan Holman 2009-2010 Wasserstein Fellow NONPROFIT Senior Attorney, Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) 30 Paul Achitoff 2006-2007 Wasserstein Fellow 45 Michael Kirkpatrick Managing Attorney 2007-2008 Wasserstein Fellow Earthjustice, Hawaii Staff Lawyer, Public Citizen Litigation Group 32 Jody Adler 2011-2012 Wasserstein Fellow 45 Craig Levine Director, Law Project, Chicago 2006-2007 Wasserstein Fellow Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights Senior Counsel & Policy Director, New Jersey Institute for Social 33 John Affeldt Justice 2011-2012 Wasserstein Fellow Managing Attorney 47 Michael LeVine Public Advocates Inc. 2011-2012 Wasserstein Fellow Pacific Senior Counsel, Oceana 36 Neelum Arya 2011-2012 Wasserstein Fellow 48 Andrea Marsh Research & Policy Director, 2005-2006 Wasserstein Fellow Campaign for Youth Justice Director, Texas Fair Defense Project 38 Eric Brettschneider 50 William R. Montross, Jr. 2005-2006 Wasserstein Fellow 2007-2008 Wasserstein Fellow Executive Director Director – Capital Litigation Agenda for Children Tomorrow Southern Center for Human Rights (ACT) Outstanding Public Interest Lawyers in Action II Page 3 52 Jonathan Rapping 2009-2010 Wasserstein Fellow 66 Nicole Austin Hillery CEO/Founder 2006-2007 Wasserstein Fellow The Southern Public Defender Attorney Training Center (SPDTC) Mehri & Skalet, PLLC 53 Mario Russell PUBLIC INTERNATIONAL 2007-2008 Wasserstein Fellow Senior Attorney and Immigration 68 Betsy Apple Policy, Catholic Charities 2011-2012 Wasserstein Fellow Community Services Legal Director & General Counsel, AIDS-Free World, New York, NY 54 Reginald Shuford 2009-2010 Wasserstein Fellow 70 Mark Fittipaldi Senior Staff Attorney/Attorneys of 2008-2009 Wasserstein Fellow Color Recruitment & Retention Attorney Advisor, Officer, ACLU Racial Justice Office of the General Counsel Program United States Agency for International Development (USAID) 55 Jeanne Smoot 2011-2012 Wasserstein Fellow 71 James A. Goldston Director of Public Policy, 2009-2010 Wasserstein Fellow Tahirih Justice Center Founding Executive Director Open Society Justice Initiative 59 Michael Steinberg 2007-2008 Wasserstein Fellow 72 Clifton Johnson Legal Director 2009-2010 Wasserstein Fellow ACLU of Michigan Assistant Legal Adviser Office of the Legal Adviser (L) 60 Kara S. Suffredini Office of Law Enforcement and 2007-2008 Wasserstein Fellow Intelligence, U.S. Department of State Legislative Director, State National Gay and Lesbian Task Force 74 Kaoru Okuizumi 2010-2011 Wasserstein Fellow 63 Janet Varon Policy Coordinator, Department of 2006-2007 Wasserstein Fellow Peacekeeping Operations, United Executive Director, Nations Northwest Health Law Advocates 75 Tony Varona PRIVATE-PUBLIC INTEREST FIRMS 2001-2002 Wasserstein Fellow General Counsel & Legal Director 64 James B. Fishman Human Rights Campaign & HRC 2008-2009 Wasserstein Fellow Foundation Founder Fishman & Neil, LLP Outstanding Public Interest Lawyers in Action II Page 4 These 45 narratives, written by Harvard Law School's Wasserstein Public Interest Fellows from 2001 through 2012, are an invaluable resource to our students and to law students around the country. We have compiled these narratives to help educate students about what to expect in their professional careers and help guide them in making career choices. The Wasserstein Public Interest Fellows Program was created in 1990 in honor of Morris Wasserstein through a generous gift from his family. The program recognizes exemplary lawyers who have distinguished themselves in public interest work and who can assist students who are considering similar career paths. The program brings outstanding public interest attorneys to the Office of Public Interest Advising at Harvard Law School each year to counsel students about careers in public service. “Public interest” has been broadly defined to include law-related work for governmental agencies, legal services, prosecutors, public defenders, private public interest law firms, and nonprofit organizations that provide legal assistance, conduct research or engage in other activities aimed at advancing the common good. The Wasserstein fellows are selected by a committee appointed by the Dean of Harvard Law School because of their extraordinary careers in public interest law. The fellows’ primary commitment is to meet individually with students and advise them about public interest career options with a particular focus on their own field of specialization but will often participate in other events or activities during their time on the Harvard Law School campus such as career panels, speaking events or classroom activities. Students have been inspired and informed by these meetings because they leave with a better understanding of what to expect from a particular type of practice setting and the joys and frustrations of public interest law. The program exposes our students to a diverse group of accomplished public interest lawyers who are enthusiastic about sharing their passions with law students on how to utilize their legal education to promote social justice. Students greatly benefit from these thoughtful insights into the Wasserstein Fellows’ daily activities and it is our goal to expand the universe of students and lawyers who are enriched by these perspectives. Prior to each Wasserstein Fellow's visit, we ask him or her to prepare a narrative describing a "typical day" at their job. They invariably say that there is no "typical day" in the public interest world. These narratives capture the appeal and the essence of public interest work. We have asked the Wasserstein Fellows to allow us to share these narratives with law students and lawyers across the country because it is our hope that by reading about what different types of lawyers do, you will start the process of finding the niche that is right for you. These narratives were submitted at the time of each respective Wasserstein Fellow’s fellowship, and so may not reflect the Fellows current occupation. We are grateful to the Wasserstein Fellows for encouraging the commitment to public service and for allowing us to share these narratives and to the Wasserstein family for making this fellowship possible. Outstanding Public Interest Lawyers in Action II Page 5 CAPITOL HILL Philip S. Barnett JD, Harvard Law School, 1983 2011-12 Wasserstein Fellow Democratic Staff Director, Committee on Energy and Commerce, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC One of the best aspects of working on Capitol Hill is that there are no typical days. The issues you work on change. Your role can change from negotiating bill language one day, to working with interest groups to build public support for your member’s position another day, to reviewing boxes of documents for an investigative hearing
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