Brandeis’ inaugural Human Rights Fellowship program now seeking applicants

The University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law’s Human Rights Fellowship program is available for incoming students and will build off of the Louisville Bar Foundation’s Greenbaum Human Rights Fellowship that was created for the 2014-15 year.

Brandeis’ program is geared toward students who are interested in human rights advocacy to address human rights needs in the Louisville community. The initial focus is on the city’s immigrant/refugee population.

In the fall, the admissions-based grant will offer a handful of competitive fellowships for incoming students to work on projects during their first three years in law school. Students will be able to explore human rights law through hands-on experiences and will develop research, project management and interpersonal skills while offering an opportunity to work with diverse and often vulnerable populations.

Their work will be supervised by Professors Enid Trucios-Haynes and Jamie Abrams.

Abrams said the initial work on the grant has so far included an extensive needs assessment effort identifying ways in which the law school could be active in the community on human rights issues. Together with the faculty supervisors, the LBFG Human Rights Fellows – Janet Lewis, Katherine Hall and Ben Potash – have examined what services are being provided to the immigrant population in the City of Louisville and are identifying challenges and opportunities.

Progress thus far

The initial focus has been on immigration needs because it is an area in which students have an interest, said Trucios-Haynes.

"I have been teaching this subject for the past 20 or so years and I have seen an increase in interest from students because of the greater public awareness of immigration policy issues. But it’s also an area of the law that includes the unique intersection of constitutional law, criminal law, international law and a statutory code that is complex," she said.

Other law schools in major coastal cities have built these types of initiatives using fellowship-type programs. Abrams was familiar with one issued through her alma mater, American University. With the professors’ combined interest in immigration law, the idea to get a similar program going here was an exciting culmination to a transitional grant provided by the Louisville Bar Foundation to grow a more sustainable program.

Thus far, the project’s participants have compiled information about organizations in the community working for immigrants, from health care services to education. Abrams said this needs assessment effort is extensive and necessary to streamline the services and ensure their effectiveness. As part of this process, the student fellows are interviewing every organization in the community that works with the immigrant population and are also interviewing the immigrant population to learn if they know about the organizations and if their needs are being met.

With this comprehensive information, they are developing a report on any needs or opportunities to serve this population.

They are also brainstorming ways that the law school could help fill any gaps in service. For example the school hosted an event focused on the humanitarian crisis of women and children at the border. Students and faculty members also spoke at a Day of Dignity event, organized by the Muhammad Ali Institute for Peace and Justice, to distribute the organizations’ resource guides and educate the local community about their existence.

Human Rights fellows entering law school in the fall will be committed to implementing the recommendations published in the report. They will work with alumni on cases, create outreach presentations and also come up with legislative proposals.

Objectives

Abrams and Trucios-Haynes are both aiming for the Human Rights Fellowship to have a sustained presence at Brandeis School of Law and to continue and accelerate work with the rest of the community on human rights issues.

"We have many undocumented children in Kentucky. And I think our biggest hurdle is educating people that they’re here, not just in Texas or California," Abrams said. "Many people have no idea about the depth of our international community here, specifically in Louisville."

Trucios-Haynes added that the fellowship is appealing to incoming students because it is innovative and has never been done before at the school.

"I hope to build something that is lasting and will provide assistance to our local community, both service providers and the immigrant/refugee/noncitizen community," she said.

Once a dent has been made in the research and execution of the immigration project, the Brandeis Human Rights Fellowship’s focus could shift to other topics, such as women in detention centers, educational access or wage issues. The objective, however, will remain the same.

"Our dream is for this work to be collaborative between our students, faculty, alumni and community. There is a lot of work being done right now, but it’s being done mostly as piecemeal," Abrams said. "There is a significant community need for these types of services and we will be more effective if we meet these needs holistically."

Application information

Student leaders who are interested will receive academic stipends renewable annually for the full three years course of law study. These stipends will be awarded at levels of $2,500 in the first academic year, and $5,000 in the second and third academic year after completing the service hours in the prior year successfully. Students commit to contribute a fixed hours commitment each semester to the work of the fellowship identifying human rights needs in our community and activating the legal community toward real sustained solutions.

To be considered, applicants must first be admitted to the entering Class of 2015.  Upon admission to the School of Law, students may then submit their resume plus a one-page interest statement to Camilo Ortiz in admissions.

The interest statement should identify what human rights issues you see in your own home community and how you think a community of lawyers could better work together to resolve those issues. Applications are due by May 1 prior to the fall semester of interest for priority consideration.