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NINE UGA LAW STUDENTS RECEIVE PUBLIC SERVICE FELLOWSHIPS

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Monday, May 24, 1999

WRITER: Kathy R. Pharr, 706/542-5172, pharr@jd.lawsch.uga.edu

CONTACT: Tom Eaton, 706/542-5177

NINE UGA LAW STUDENTS RECEIVE PUBLIC SERVICE FELLOWSHIPS

ATHENS, Ga. -- A record nine (9) summer fellowships were awarded to University of Georgia School of Law students to fund their employment in public interest law positions over the next six to eight weeks. The money was chiefly generated by the Equal Justice Foundation, a law student organization, which raised funds through a benefit auction, pledge drive and several other projects throughout the academic year.

The annual EJF awards, which are highly competitive, provide grants to law students who engage in public interest legal work in positions which otherwise would not be funded - serving such diverse clients as the state, children, battered women, minorities, environmental interest groups, death row inmates, land trusts and the mentally ill.

Recipients of 1999 Summer EJF Fellowships and their placements are: Gina Alsdorf, a rising second-year student who received the Borchard Foundation Elder Law Fellowship - Georgia Legal Services; Jenny O'Brien, a rising third-year student who received the Edward D. and Carol J. Spurgeon Public Interest Fellowship - Catholic Social Services; Jenny Culler, a rising second-year student - Western Environmental Law Center; Nicole Day, a rising third-year student - U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia; Michele Harris, a rising second-year student - Athens Justice Project; Monisha Jenkins, a rising second-year student - the law offices of Ken Dious, John Clarke and The Legal Defense Fund, Inc.; Christine Moran-Seaman, a rising third-year student - Environmental Protection Agency; Jason Samuels, a rising second-year student - Justice for All; and Stephanie Short, a rising third-year student - the Children's Law Center.

"EJF fellowships enable law students to gain valuable experience while at the same time providing service to underserved groups," said Hosch Professor Tom Eaton, EJF advisor. "The fellowships reinforce the important message that part of a lawyer's professional responsibilities is to give something back to the community."

Applicants for the fellowships secured sponsoring agencies, then submitted detailed proposals explaining their summer work assignments. An EJF student committee interviewed those who applied and awarded the fellowships on the basis of the quality of the legal experience and the public service dimension of the work.

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