Equal Justice America

05/28/2026

As Equal Justice America Fellows begin their summer placements across the country, we are also preparing for our annual summer receptions in New York, Washington DC, Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.

These gatherings bring together fellows, alumni, mentors, legal aid attorneys, and supporters from across the EJA community.

The receptions are a reminder that EJA fellowships are not just summer placements. They are also the beginning of long-term professional relationships and a national network committed to expanding access to justice.

For current fellows, these events are an opportunity to meet attorneys and alumni who once stood exactly where they are now.

For alumni and mentors, they are a chance to reconnect, support the next generation, and strengthen a community that now includes more than 6,800 EJA Fellows nationwide.

We are excited to see this year’s cohort begin their work and look forward to gathering together across the country this summer.

05/22/2026

Ten years ago, EJA Fellow Matthew Young spent his summer working in public interest law while attending Harvard Law School.

Today, Dr. Matt Young is a physician, attorney, and partner at Ross Feller Casey LLP in Philadelphia, where he represents patients and families harmed by medical negligence.

Matt’s path reflects something we see often in the EJA community: fellowship experiences help shape not only legal skills, but long-term commitments to advocacy, accountability, and service.

After losing his father to medical malpractice, Matt chose to combine his medical and legal training to help patients navigating some of the most difficult moments of their lives. Today, his work focuses on holding healthcare systems accountable and advocating for families affected by catastrophic injury and wrongful death.

We are also especially grateful that Matt is giving back to the next generation of Fellows by serving as an EJA mentor this summer.

EJA alumni go on to serve in legal aid organizations, government, civil rights advocacy, policy, and private practice. What connects them is a shared belief that the law should be used to help people facing systems they cannot navigate alone.

That long-term pipeline of advocates is part of what EJA works to build every summer.

(Picture courtesy of Ross Feller Casey)

05/21/2026

This week, Equal Justice America welcomed a new cohort of Summer Fellows during our 2026 onboarding sessions.

Soon, these fellows will begin work in legal aid and civil rights organizations across the country, supporting clients facing challenges related to housing stability, immigration, domestic violence, veterans’ advocacy, disability rights, access to benefits, workers’ rights, and more.

During onboarding, we talked about something important: this work is not theoretical.

The clients fellows will serve this summer are navigating real crises and real barriers to justice. Legal aid organizations across the country are stretched beyond capacity, and adding even one fellow meaningfully expands their ability to serve people who might otherwise face the legal system alone.

We also talked about community.

This summer’s fellows are joining a national network of alumni, mentors, legal aid attorneys, and supporters who have been part of EJA's commitment to expanding access to justice, for going on 33 years.

We are excited to welcome this new cohort and grateful to the organizations, mentors, alumni, and supporters helping make this work possible.

05/13/2026

Each year, Equal Justice America Fellows step into legal aid organizations across the country and begin work that has immediate, real-world consequences.

Last summer, EJA Fellow Jude Ahmed of American University Washington College of Law worked with Legal Aid DC, supporting clients facing housing instability, employment barriers, and police misconduct.

As a rising second-year law student, Jude conducted intake interviews, helped prepare cases, and even appeared before a judge.

Reflecting on the experience, Jude wrote that it reinforced an important lesson: “systemic change happens client by client.”

That insight captures what EJA Fellowships are all about.

By supporting law students and early-career attorneys in legal aid organizations nationwide, Equal Justice America expands legal services capacity today while helping build the next generation of public interest lawyers.

That work matters, one client and one future lawyer at a time.

05/06/2026

Each year, Equal Justice America Fellows step into legal aid organizations across the country and begin work that often shapes the direction of their careers.

EJA Fellow Diana Arroyo spent her fellowship at Legal Aid Chicago, working with low-income clients and seeing firsthand how access to legal representation can affect people’s lives.

Experiences like that are often what clarify a path.

Working directly with clients, understanding the complexity of their situations, and seeing how legal advocacy can make a difference, even in difficult circumstances, is what leads many Fellows to continue in public interest law.

That is the long-term impact of this work.

Equal Justice America fellowships are not just about supporting a summer experience. They are about creating the conditions for more lawyers to enter, and stay in, careers that expand access to justice.

04/27/2026

A recent episode of Talk Justice features John Rosenberg, a Holocaust survivor, civil rights lawyer, and longtime leader of the Appalachian Research and Defense Fund of Kentucky (AppalReD).

Rosenberg’s path, from surviving N**i Germany to building a career in legal services in the United States, is a powerful reminder of what sustained commitment to justice can look like over time.

For nearly three decades, his work supported coal miners and families across Eastern Kentucky, helping ensure that people who might otherwise have been left out of the legal system had access to representation.

Stories like this highlight something important.

Access to justice does not happen on its own. It depends on people who choose to do this work, and who stay in it.

At Equal Justice America, that is where we focus.

Through fellowships supporting law students and early-career attorneys, EJA helps build the pipeline of public interest lawyers who will carry this work forward, in legal aid organizations, in communities, and over the course of entire careers.

🎧 Listen to the episode here:

Podcast Episode · Talk Justice An LSC Podcast · April 14 · 51m

04/20/2026

Each year, Equal Justice America Fellows work in legal aid organizations across the country, supporting individuals navigating complex legal challenges.

EJA Fellow Ayesha Ahsan (Boston College Law School) worked with the Washington Lawyers’ Committee, contributing to efforts to advance civil rights and expand access to justice in the DC area.

Placements like this put Fellows in environments where legal advocacy intersects directly with systemic issues, from housing and employment to civil rights protections.

For many Fellows, this is their first experience seeing how legal work can operate both at the individual level and within broader systems.

That exposure matters.

It shapes how future lawyers understand their role, and whether they choose to build careers in public interest law.

Through placements like this, Equal Justice America helps ensure that more law students have the opportunity to step into meaningful work early, and to see clearly how the law can be used to expand access to justice.

04/08/2026

Over the past few weeks, we’ve been reconnecting with Equal Justice America alumni and hearing where their paths have taken them.

One conversation that stayed with us was with alumna Hilary Deignan, who started in housing and disability work, saw firsthand how policy shapes outcomes, and went to law school at the Northeastern University School of Law.

She served as an EJA fellow at Greater Boston Legal Services, and went on to build a career in health policy. Now, at UMass Chan Medical School, she does cutting edge work, advising states on improving their Medicaid programs and teaching as well.

What stood out wasn’t just the path, but how clearly the fellowship experience shaped it, with hands-on responsibility early, exposure to real systems-level impact, and the space to figure out where to focus.

This is what we mean when we talk about building a pipeline of public interest lawyers.

It’s not just about a summer placement. It’s about what that experience unlocks over time.

As we continue to support fellows and reconnect with alumni, it’s a good reminder that the long-term impact of this work is often much bigger than the initial placement.

03/30/2026

Each year, Equal Justice America supports hundreds of law students and early-career attorneys working in civil legal aid organizations across the country.

What is less visible is the process behind that work.

Selecting fellows is not just about credentials. It is about identifying people who are prepared to step into real responsibility, often very quickly, in areas like housing, immigration, access to benefits, and family stability.

For many of these fellows, this will be their first experience working directly with clients whose lives may be significantly affected by the outcome of a case.

That is both an opportunity and a responsibility.

Building a pipeline of public interest lawyers starts well before anyone arrives at a legal aid organization. It begins with selecting, preparing, and supporting people who are ready to do this work in a thoughtful and sustained way.

For those who have worked in legal aid or supervised students, what have you found makes someone ready for this kind of work?

(Pictured Dede Benissan, EJA Fellow Summer 2024, Harvard Law School)

03/24/2026

One of the biggest challenges in access to justice isn’t just funding, it’s people.

Across the country, legal aid organizations are doing incredible work, but there simply aren’t enough lawyers entering and staying in public interest roles to meet the need.

At Equal Justice America, we focus on that pipeline, supporting law students and early-career attorneys so they can pursue and build careers in this work.

It’s a simple idea, but it matters over time.

If you’ve been part of this world, what helped shape your path?