Public Interest Law Foundation Pro Bono Awards Luncheon
The Public Interest Law Foundation held its annual luncheon on April 13, awarding 26 summer grants, two Sydney and Audrey Irmas Fellowships, the Karen A. Lash grant, and several other grants and awards.
PILF also recognized Outstanding Graduate Tracey Jensen ’95, Outstanding Student Jennifer Smith ’04, Adam Freeman Scott Memorial Grant recipient Jen Flory ’05 and Trope & Trope/Harriet Buhai Family Law Summer Fellow Shana Bawek ’05.
New to the program was the Paul Davis Memorial Award, which memorializes the late ’98 grad who died unexpectedly in January. Davis led a successful law career in the private sector while giving back to the community. While PILF has always recognized an outstanding graduate in public interest, this award will recognize an outstanding grad in a more traditional firm job who also shows outstanding leadership in pro bono work. The recipient of this year’s award, Seth Levy ’01, has pushed his firm, Pillsbury Winthrop, to participate in more pro bono work and has contributed countless hours at the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center.
Erin Morgan ’03 and Matthew Strugar ’04 were selected as the Sydney and Audrey Irmas Fellows. Morgan, who received the Outstanding Student Award from PILF upon graduation, will continue her work at the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles and her project to expand the organization’s human trafficking section. Strugar, who received the Miller-Johnson Equal Justice Prize, will continue his work serving the Arab and South Asian communities at the Center for Constitutional Rights in New York.
Additionally, joint PILF-APALSA, PILF-Environmental Law and PILF-GLLU awards were given to grantees who show dedication in those particular fields. The Sidley Austin Brown & Wood Fellows, the Post-Conviction Justice Project supervisors and the recipients of the Pro Bono Awards were presented for the 2003-04 academic year.
Pro Bono Awards
Outstanding Graduate Award
Recipient
Tracey Jensen '95
Paul Davis Memorial Award
Seth Levy '01
Outstanding Student Award
Jennifer Smith '04
Sydney & Audrey Irmas
Fellows
Erin Morgan '03
Matthew Strugar '04
Howrey Helps/Public Law Center Extern
Alison Garner '06
Trope & Trope/Harriet
Buhai Family Law Summer Fellow
Shana Bawek '05
Bergstrom Child Welfare
Law Fellowship
Kimberly Baker'05
Adam Freeman Scott Memorial
Grant
Jen Flory '05
Karen A. Lash Grant Recipient
Ann Ramirez '04
2004-2005 USC Post Conviction
Justice Project Supervisors
John Boylston '06
Alan Brownstein '06
Maria Gangemi '06
Oscar Medellin '06
Christina Rousell '06
Eric Schultheis '06
Sidley Austin Brown &
Wood Fellows
Public Interest Law Fellows
Kristen Roberts '05
Jason Satterfield '06
Domestic Violence Clinical
Fellows
Jeanine Percival '06
Deborah Ghodsian '06
Immigration Law Clinical
Fellows
Marisol Haro '05
Marie Johnson '06
APALSA/PILF Joint Grant
Recipient
Sandy Wang '06
Environmental Law Society/PILF
Joint Grant Recipient
Sharla Manley '05
GLLU/PILF Joint Grant
Recipient
Benjamin Conway '06
2004 PILF Summer Grant
Recipients
Emily Austin '06
California Women's
Law Center
Benjamin Conway '06 California
Women's Law Center
Alex DeGood '06
California Women's Law Center
Andrea Duncan '06
Alliance for Children's Rights
Tracy Fehr '05
LA County Public Defender
Marisa Gallegos '05
LA County Public Defender
Megan Gallow '05
LA County Public Defender
Carrie Harp '06
Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles
Benjamin Holstein '06 ACLU of Southern
California
Susan Jeong '05
Children's Law Center of Los Angeles
Ati Khatri '06
Citizen Advocacy Center, IL
Jonathan Klein'06
Western Law Center for Disability Rights
Steven Lauridsen '06 Western
Law Center for Disability Rights
Douglas Lief '05
Orange County District Attorney's Office, Felony
Panel
Sharla Manley '05
Earthjustice, Hawaii
Julia Mosel '06
Harriett Buhai
Center for Family Law
Kumar Rao '06
Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem
Kristen Roberts '05
Children's Law Center of Los Angeles
Jason Satterfield '06 Western
Law Center for Disability Rights
Kaveh Shakeri '06
Legal Aid Society of Orange County/Community Legal
Services
Matt Sirolly '05
Mexican American Legal Defense
and Education Fund (MALDEF)
Arnulfo Urias '05
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Cecelia Valentine '06 Public
Advocates, Inc., SF
Sandy Wang '06
Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles
Rachel Weinstein '06 U.S. Department
of Justice - Civil Rights Division
Melvin Yee '05
UCLA Labor Center
