Brandeis' support of public service allowed recent grad to shine

For Katherine Hall, Brandeis Law did more than encourage public service — it truly supported it through paid fellowships.

Starting the summer after her first year of law school, Hall has been active in immigrant and refugee organizations, providing legal services and advocating for immigrant and refugee rights through Catholic Charities of Louisville and the Maxwell Street Legal Clinic in Lexington, Ky.

But while Hall is passionate about this work, it's largely unpaid.

That's where the support from Brandeis has been essential.

Brandeis Law was one of the first law schools in the country to make community service a requirement of graduation, with students being mandated to complete at least 30 hours of law-related public service as part of the Samuel L. Greenebaum Public Service Program.

Hall has been the recipient of several fellowships, including the Greenebaum Public Service Fellowship, which allowed her to spend a summer interning at the National Immigration Law Center in Washington, D.C.

"I wouldn't have been able to do that without the support of the school and the Greenebaum fellowship," Hall said.

Hall is also an inaugural fellow of the Brandeis Human Rights Advocacy Program, a new program that in its first year conducted an assessment of the services available to immigrants and refugees in the Louisville area and collected them in one reference guide.

Because the services needed by immigrants and refugees often cover several areas — such as legal, medical, education and housing — it made sense for service providers to have a listing of all services their clients could need in one place.

"The program has been an amazing experience and a great way to connect with service providers and the community itself," Hall said. "It really has been a great way to keep perspective while in law school."

"It was probably the defining experience of my time at Brandeis.”