2024 Scales of Justice Highlights

On October 15, 2024, Equal Justice Works gathered hundreds of members of the legal community for the annual Scales of Justice Event. This year’s event gathered our community of Fellows, Alumni, and supporters in Washington, D.C., to support our mission and to honor Susan Alexander, the Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer of Biogen. We also honored one of our very own accomplished alumni, Ahilan Arulanantham, Professor from Practice and Co-Director of the Center for Immigration Law and Policy at the UCLA School of Law, with the Distinguished Alumni Award. 

Thanks to generous event sponsors and donors, we raised $3.2 million to support our efforts to support Equal Justice Works in mobilizing a community of lawyers committed to public service and equal justice!  

Frank Jimenez, Group Vice President and General Counsel of GE Healthcare and Vice Chair of the Equal Justice Works Board of Directors, opened the show for the evening along with Board Chair Kate Fritz, Partner in the Litigation and Intellectual Property Groups of Fenwick & West LLP. They applauded our community for their support in making this year’s event possible and introduced the 2024 Text-to-Give Fellow Malcolm Lloyd. Malcolm shared the inspiration behind his project at the ACLU of Louisiana advocating for youth harmed by discriminatory practices and policies in New Orleans. 

“I am incredibly grateful to be able to do this work thanks to the support of all of you in this room – current and past fellows, advocates, and supporters who’ve dedicated so much to help those in desperate need of equal treatment under the law,” Malcolm said. “This Fellowship enables me to confront the school-to-prison pipeline by bringing civil rights cases on behalf of low-income children… brutalized by school resource officers, police, and prison guards across all of Louisiana.”  

In response, attendees texted in donations totaling more than $75,000 to fund a 2025 Equal Justice Works Fellow who, like Malcolm, will pursue their passion to help individuals and communities in need. 

Verna Williams, CEO of Equal Justice Works, then took to the stage to share her reflections about the growth of the organization and what’s to come: “This community, the multiple partners it takes to make a fellowship real – that’s the secret sauce behind the impact of Equal Justice Works. In almost 40 years, Equal Justice Works has expanded in ways our founders likely couldn’t have dreamed. And of course, we’re not done yet. We’re enhancing our Fellowship programs, targeting new schools, providing new opportunities for Fellows to learn and network, and developing projects to promote economic empowerment in communities of color.” 

The evening’s program also featured 2020 Fellow Valencia Richardson, who spoke about her Fellowship at the Campaign Legal Center and her continued work challenging discriminatory voting practices. Watch Valencia’s video below to learn more: 

After dinner, 2012 Fellow Carmen Iguina Gonzalez presented Ahilan T. Arulanantham with the Distinguished Alumni Award in recognition of his extensive career advocating for immigrants’ rights and working to educate the next generation of public interest leaders.  

“I am deeply honored to receive this award from Equal Justice Works. What this organization has done to advance social justice by seeding generations of public interest lawyers has been remarkable,” Ahilan shared. “I benefited immensely from the training and opportunities EJW gave me—both directly, through its own programs at fellows’ conferences, and through the education I received from my host organization—the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project, where I had the chance to learn from some of the best litigators in the country. That time really launched my career as an immigrants’ rights lawyer.” 

The evening concluded with our 2024 Scales of Justice Honoree, Susan H. Alexander, who was introduced by Caroline Dorsa, Chair of the Board of Directors at Biogen. Throughout her career, Susan has played a pivotal role in advancing the cause of public interest law. She is a longstanding member of both the Equal Justice Works Scales of Justice Steering Committee and is a charter member of the Board of Counselors, and her support of Biogen’s Fellows is an example of her dedication to fostering a new generation of passionate public service leaders.  

Susan shared what inspires her to do this work, her hopes for the future, and the role our Fellows play in reaching the vision of equal justice for all.  

“If we are to again endure, to move forward, and to prosper, in today’s polarized and frightened world, our commitment to equal justice and the Rule of Law must be unwavering,” Susan said. “Justice must be available and delivered equally to all, without exception. This is at the very heart of the mission and commitment of Equal Justice Works. In these times, the work done by Equal Justice Works and its amazing Fellows, which so profoundly benefits us all, is more critical and more urgent than ever.”  

Huge thanks to everyone who made this program possible: Champion of Justice sponsors Biogen; Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP; and Greenberg Traurig, LLP, as well as our other event sponsors, the 2024 Steering Committee, our staff, and all who attended and supported the Scales of Justice!