Nearly $100,000 in Irving R. Kaufman Public Service Fellowships was awarded to 33 recent graduates who "embody the spirit of public interest lawyering."

Fellows will work in many capacities: developing new job and housing opportunities for low-income families, starting legal and social service programs for juvenile offenders, and assisting women who are HIV-positive, among others.

Established in 1990, the Kaufman fellowship program honors the late Judge Irving R. Kaufman of the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals for his distinguished public service career, which included 40 years on the federal bench. Judge Kaufman wrote more than 2,500 opinions, with many serving as landmarks in First Amendment, desegregation, and antitrust law.

The program receives support from a $1 million gift from the Annenberg Foundation, chaired by the Hon. Walter H. Annenberg, ambassador to Great Britain from 1968 to 1974 and former president and chairman of Triangle Publications.

The Kaufman Fellowship Program is administered by the School's Office of Public Interest Adviser (OPIA). Established in 1990, OPIA assists students who are interested in careers with government and public interest organizations.

NEW KAUFMAN FELLOWS

Eighteen recent graduates received Kaufman Fellowships for 1996-97.

Sameer Ashar, JD '96, will work with the Lawyer's Committee for Civil Rights on the development of new job and housing opportunities for low-income families in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Jayne Bigelson, JD '96, is pursuing domestic violence prevention work to improve the lives of women and children in New York City.

David Chiu, JD '95, works on the staff of both the U.S. Senate Constitution Subcommittee and U.S. Senate Budget Committee.

Hilary Cohen, JD '95, will work as a staff attorney with the Public Defender Association of Philadelphia.

Kendra Dockery, JD '96, is looking for civil rights, children's rights, or legal services work in North Carolina.

Peter Eliasberg, JD '94, has been awarded a two-year fellowship to work at the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California.

David Gordon, JD '96, will be working in the Office of General Counsel of the U.S. Trade Representative.

Leah Guggenheimer, JD '95, will be starting a legal and social service program, Project Take Two, for juvenile offenders about to be released from incarceration in New York City.

Catherine Hinton, JD '95, will be looking for civil rights or criminal defense public interest work in the Boston area after ending a district court clerkship.

Judith Lurie, JD '96, will be working with indigent farmworkers with the Northwest Justice Project in Wenatchee, Wash.

Ngai Pindell, JD '96, will be working on community economic development issues with the Empowerment Zone in Baltimore.

Michael Johnson, JD '96, will be joining the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Justice Department.

Ansley Samson, JD '96, will be a fellow working on environmental issues with the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund in Tallahassee, Fla.

Heather Schildge, JD '96, will be working for the U.S. Treasury Department in Washington, D.C.

Jenny Semmel, JD '96, is looking for public defender work in Washington, California, or New York City.

Julie Su, JD '94, will be working with the Asian Pacific American Legal Center in Los Angeles on behalf of indigent Thai and Latino workers, and continuing to represent Thai garment workers who were held in involuntary servitude.

Sarah Walter, JD '96, is seeking public defender work in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area.

… Elizabeth Westfall, JD '96, is seeking women's rights work in Washington, D.C.

Renewal grants were awarded to 15 of last year's Kaufman Fellowship recipients.