Congratulations to the Class of 2025 Rural Summer Legal Corps Student Fellows!

Rural communities across the country often experience significant gaps in access to justice due to low bandwidth at local legal aid organizations and increased travel time to reach the nearest legal aid providers. That is why Equal Justice Works and Legal Services Corporation launched the Rural Summer Legal Corps (RSLC) in 2016, which mobilizes law students for a summer of service increasing access and capacity for local legal aid providers—all while gaining invaluable experience in their field. Student Fellows in this program provide legal assistance to rural communities in areas such as economic and employment law, housing matters, public benefits services, family matters, and health benefits. 

The previous class of Rural Summer Legal Corps Student Fellows served 2,892 clients over 15,900 hours of service. They spent 7,044 hours on direct legal services and assisted on 1,393 legal cases in addition to the 2,679 individuals they served through indirect legal services, such as resources and trainings. Student Fellows in the 2024 class built 171 new community partnerships with local organizations and groups and hosted 209 legal outreach events.  

“Before this Fellowship, I had no experience navigating many of the concrete, day-to-day tasks in the life of a public interest lawyer,” said one anonymous Student Fellow from the 2024 class. “I had no idea how to communicate with court clerks, interview clients, or help lead a legal clinic. This fellowship allowed me to gain the ability to do all of these things, and to do them well, while also making a difference in the lives of clients.” 

“The most important thing I got from my RSLC experience was learning how to employ trauma-informed lawyering to client and community partner interactions through all of our work,” said Levi Bevis, a 2024 RSLC Student Fellow. “Law school does not really provide many opportunities in which to practice those skills and learn extensively about trauma-informed lawyering, so this was an exceptional opportunity to practice skills and learn about a topic that is now a fixture in my legal work. I greatly appreciate the opportunity to engage with trauma-informed lawyering and use the strategies we learned at our training to provide high-quality, thoughtful legal services to communities in need.”

Read more about the Student Fellows participating in the next class of the Rural Summer Legal Corps below:

Housing:  

• Natalie Brunson, Montana Legal Services Association, Tulane University Law School 
• Kate Carlson, Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services, Inc., University of Minnesota Law School 
• Rapture Goldsmith, California Rural Legal Assistance, Inc., American University Washington College of Law 
• Hannah Kresse, Legal Aid of Southeast and Central Ohio, University of Colorado Law School 
• Kevin Melgarejo, Legal Services of Long Island, American University Washington College of Law 
• Luke Mukundan, Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and The Cumberlands, Tulane University Law School 
• Anna Quade, Judicare Legal Aid, University of Wisconsin Law School 
• Caroline Thomas, Legal Aid Society of Eastern Virginia, Charleston School of Law 

Employment and Labor Law:  

• Itzel Alvarez, Colorado Legal Aid, University of Cincinnati College of Law 
• Fiorella Contreras, Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid, Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law 
• Heide Gutierrez, Legal Services of Oregon, Lewis and Clark Law School 
• Melissa Itzkowitz, Michigan Advocacy Program, University of Michigan Law School 
• Kathleen Sandoval, Colorado Legal Services, South Texas College of Law Houston 
• Samuel Santos, Legal Action of Wisconsin, University of Wisconsin 
• Kellan Robinson, Legal Aid Society of Greater Cincinnati, Howard University School of Law  
• Mackenzie Quinn, Legal Assistance of Western New York, State University of New York at Buffalo School of Law 
• Leo McGuinness, East River Legal Services, City University of New York School of Law 

Tribal Law: 

• Jerwen Begay, DNA-Peoples Legal Services, Inc., Claure W. Pettit College of Law 
• Haley Kolus, DNA-Peoples Legal Services, Inc., American University Washington College of Law 
• William Mayhew, Legal Aid of Wyoming Inc., University of Denver Sturm College of Law 
• Giselle Monette, Michigan Indian Legal Services, University of Wisconsin Law School 
• Sarah Osborn, Oklahoma Indian Legal Services, Oklahoma City University School of Law 
• Alison Verdesca, Pine Tree Legal Assistance, Boston College Law School 

General: 

• Paris Andrews, Louisiana Legal Services, Southern University Law Center 
• Bren Chassion, Community Legal Aid, Inc., Western New England University School of Law
• Russell Harrison, Kansas Legal Services, Inc., Washburn University School of Law 
• Laklyn LeMaster, Appalachian Research and Defense Fund of Kentucky, University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law 
• Grace Long, Utah Legal Services, University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law 
• Abigail Matherne, Legal Services of Greater Miami, University of Miami School of Law 
• Esmeralda Negrete, Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas, Southern University Law Center 
• Grace Pender, Iowa Legal Aid, Georgetown University Law Center 
• Hana Qasrawi, Legal Services Vermont, Duke University School of Law 
• Emma Ries, Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York, Albany Law School of Union University 
• Kyra Skuse, Alaska Legal Services Corporation, State University of New York at Buffalo School of Law 
• Tim Streit, Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York, American University Washington College of Law 
• Mairéad Swyney, Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County, University of Wisconsin Law School 
• Katheryn Walk, Inland Counties Legal Services, Inc., Southwestern Law School 

Family and Criminal Justice:  

• Miriam Acree, Land of Lincoln Legal Aid, Southern Illinois University Simmons School of Law  
• Broderick Cuthill, Legal Services of Northwest Minnesota Corporation, Mitchell Hamline University School of Law  
• Christian Meany, Legal Services of North Florida, Inc. University of Oklahoma College of Law  
• Mackenzie White, Legal Services of Eastern Missouri, University of Missouri School of Law  
• Justin Johnson, Justice North, Mitchell Hamline University School of Law  

Public Benefits and Economic Matters: 

• Aaron Espinoza-Cisneros, Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid, University of Oregon School of Law  
• Ciara Johnson, North Mississippi Rural Legal Services, Fordham University School of Law  
• Chloe King, Legal Aid of West Virginia, University of Dayton School of Law 

Disaster and Crisis Law: 

• Kelly O’Hara, Legal Aid of North Carolina, Inc., University of Massachusetts School of Law 
• Julia Ricci, Legal Services of North Florida, Inc., Charleston School of Law 
• Victoria VanHout, Legal Aid of North Carolina, Inc., Charleston School of Law 
• William Stansell, Legal Aid of the Bluegrass, University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law  

Interested in joining the next class of Student Fellows providing legal aid to rural communities? Click here to join our mailing list for the Rural Summer Legal Corps and other opportunities for law students!