Meet the New Fellows: Elizabeth Putfark

Name: Elizabeth Putfark Year: 1L Hometown: Pawleys Island, SC Alma Mater: University of South Carolina (BA and MA) Legal interests: Environmental Law/Climate Law What did you do before law school? I had three main jobs in the years before law school, for the most part simultaneously. I worked as a freelance journalist for equestrian publications.…

Solitary Gardens

At the Shaping Justice conference, attorney Kim Keenan stressed the importance of interacting with diverse community voices in the pursuit of social justice, commenting that public interest attorneys are not merely “static intellect.” In fact, some of the most radical solutions to inequity and disadvantage do not come from lawyers at all. This remark got me…

Restorative Justice in the Classroom

As we learn and discuss the different theories of justice, I think back to my times in the classroom as a Middle School Science Teacher. As a school, we were bound to the Code of Conduct established by our school district. Over time, I became frustrated by having scholars excluded from school through suspensions and…

Change Through Cooperation: Advocacy in a Polarized Society

During our recent class on immigration impact work, while Leslye Orloff was talking about the need to appeal to and compromise with people on the other side of the aisle while advocating for the Violence Against Women Act, I thought of my experiences in a class I took on immigration policy during undergrad. For this…

Looking for the Helpers – How LPS Fellows have Stepped Up During the COVID-19 Crisis

Right now – in the midst of this global pandemic – I’ve never been more proud to be a member of the LPS community. That’s because my fellow fellows have stepped up and used their legal education to fight for better outcomes for people affected by COVID-19. They’ve inspired me to think creatively about how…

LPS Fellows at Alternative Spring Break

While PILA's Alternative Spring Break program was cut short for many due to COVID-19, our fellows still managed to have valuable experiences volunteering their time with participating organizations. Two of our fellows share their experiences. Caroline Elwig: One of the first things I did after arriving at the ACLU Capital Punishment Project in Durham, NC…

Advice for Federal Government Legal Interns

I have never had an internship outside of the government. At the same time, I submit that interning with the government is a highly diverse and rewarding experience. During my 1L summer, I interned within the Department of Defense (“DOD”) where I helped to investigate war crimes. During my 2L summer, I split my time…

Summer in Our Nation’s Steamy Capital: Labor Law Edition

Hi readers! When Jolena Zabel ‘21 suggested that I write a quick blog-post about my summer, I didn’t hesitate: There’s no faster way to win my affection than asking me to talk about myself and, more importantly, about my commitment to public service. This summer, I returned to my beloved Washington, D.C. where I had…

What We’re Reading

With summer internships coming to a close (and that extra two weeks of summer that skipping OGI gives us *wink wink*), we're finally finding some time to read books that we've chosen for ourselves! In case you'd like to follow along with us, check out the list of favorite books that our fellows compiled. The…

Courtroom Adversaries, Classroom Friends

Grace Powell and Mariette Peltier are second-year students at the University of Virginia School of Law. Prior to law school, Grace worked as a Community Intake Advocate at the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem for three years—an experience which inspired her to attend law school to become a public defender. During college, Mariette interned for…