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The Abramson Foundation recently recognized the commitment and hard work of the 2005 Public Service Fellows. The award reception was held at Georgetown University Law Center with distinguished speaker Barbara Arnwine, Executive Director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. This year the Frederick B. Abramson Foundation recognized nine outstanding individuals with Fellowships. Annie Balck is working at the Children’s Law Center; Emily Benfer is working at the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless; Jameela Donaldson is working at The Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia; Alycia Guichard is working at the Street Law Clinic at Georgetown Law Center; Christopher Laskowski is working at the D.C. Appleseed Center; Adriana Mourad is working at Neighborhood Legal Services Program; Galina Sergen is working at the Judge Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law; and Yael Zakai is working at the Children’s Law Center.
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| Eric Angel, Legal Aid Society of D.C.; Barbara Arnwine, Lawyers’ Committee; Dean Shelley
Broderick, UDC School of Law |
Jameela Donaldson, 2005 Fellow and Carlos Garcia, Abramson Board Member
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| Irv Nathan, President of the Board of Directors |
Vivian Hamilton, Chair of the Fellowship Committee, Irv Nathan, President |
Vivian Hamilton, chair of the Abramson Foundation Fellowship Committee and law professor, notes that “the average salary for public interest lawyers is $32,000, whereas the average loan burden for law students upon graduation is $80,000. The Fellowships, which award between $5,000 and $10,000, recognize the dedication of and sacrifices made by these promising attorneys, and help defray the cost of choosing a position in public interest law.” Barbara Arnwine of the Lawyers’ Committee noted “public interest lawyers are needed just as much today as during the civil rights movement because there are so many individuals and families who do not have a voice in our society and need an advocate to speak for them and their civil rights under law.”
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