Class of 2015 Public Interest Fellows
Our Public Interest Fellows program provides special support to those third-year students who have a history of public service, provide leadership within the law school, and are committed to beginning their careers as lawyers in the public service. The Fellows Program exists to create a community of support for the cohort of students seeking post-graduate public interest jobs during their third-year or post-clerkship and assist them in that endeavor. Levin Center staff provide ongoing tailored career development support to the Fellows, including trainings, panels, and workshops to prepare students for public interest legal careers; and opportunities for intensive mentorship and guidance from staff, alumni and other leading practitioners.
Fellows each drafted brief bios that were posted on-line during their year of service outlining their interests, activities, and experiences. These highlight our Fellows’ experiences and help 1Ls and incoming students see the breadth of opportunities available to public interest students.
The Public Interest Fellows from the Class of 2015 wrote these brief bios during the spring and summer before their 3L year.
Where Are They Now?
Jessica Dragonetti, JD '15
"After a couple of years of clerking in Tennessee, for Judge Julia Gibbons of the Sixth Circuit and Judge Alistair Newbern of the Middle District of Tennessee, I started working in public defense in Tennessee's capital. I began my career with Nashville Defenders thanks to an SLS fellowship, and I spent five years there representing adults and youth. I now work as an Assistant Federal Public Defender on the other side of Nashville's downtown."
Jonathan Erwin-Frank, JD ’15
Jonathan is currently a fellow/attorney at Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto. He represents tenants in eviction cases and other matters, and advocates for safe and affordable housing in the Bay Area. Prior to joining Community Legal Services, Jonathan served as a law clerk to Judge Richard Boulware of the District of Nevada in Las Vegas and advocated for reduced incarceration at the Brennan Center for Justice in New York City.
Elizabeth Foydel, JD ’15
Elizabeth is currently the Deputy Policy Director of the International Refugee Assistance Project in New York. She works on access to safe pathways and improvement to processing for refugees and other vulnerable displaced persons, both domestically and abroad. This includes traditional refugee resettlement as well as private sponsorship, humanitarian visas and parole, and Special Immigrant Visas for individuals who worked for the U.S.in their home countries of Iraq or Afghanistan. She and her team work to find systemic solutions to problems identified in IRAP’s legal aid caseload and to support the organization’s communications and impact litigation. Prior to joining the IRAP staff, Elizabeth spent her first postgrad year as a fellow at the Open Society Foundations in New York, where she worked on a variety of projects on human rights, rule of law, justice, and organizational management.
Kip Hustace, JD ’15
“I am currently a Visiting Assistant Professor at ASU Law, where I teach Professional Responsibility and an education law seminar. This summer/autumn, however, I will start a new job: I'll become an Assistant Professor at Seattle University School of Law, teaching Torts and Federal Indian Law. In my research, I study how legal procedures shape (and are reshaped by) movements pursuing democracy and self-determination, especially in Indian Country and the borderlands/la frontera. Some of my research is informed by my prior work with the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, where I litigated education and voting rights cases.”
Sarah Jabero, JD ’15
“I have been a prosecutor since June 2016, and I’m currently a Deputy District Attorney prosecuting felony domestic violence in Santa Clara County. I handle a vertically assigned caseload of about 60 cases from arraignment to sentencing, of offenses ranging from domestic violence causing corporal injury to attempted homicide.”
Neel Lalchandani, JD ’15
“I am an associate at Brown Goldstein & Levy, a 20-lawyer public interest law firm based in Baltimore with an office in DC. My practice consists of civil rights litigation and criminal defense work in federal and state court; so far, I worked on teams representing a client in a § 1983 wrongful conviction case against Baltimore Police Detectives who suppressed exculpatory evidence; a group of restaurant workers in an employment collective action; and individuals charged with various federal offenses. I love working on a diverse array of cases with brilliant colleagues at a relatively small, unique private public interest firm. Prior to joining BGL, I clerked for the Honorable Roger L. Gregory, Chief Judge of the Fourth Circuit, and for the Honorable David O. Carter of the Central District of California.”
Michelle Lamy, JD ’15
Michelle Lamy is an Associate in Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein’s San Francisco office. At Lieff Cabraser, Michelle specializes in class and collective actions on behalf of plaintiffs in employment and antitrust cases. Michelle has worked on several significant class action lawsuits, including complaints brought by female professionals alleging gender discrimination by top Wall Street and Silicon Valley firms, wage and hour lawsuits against nationally prominent corporations, and antitrust litigation alleging price-fixing in the market for generic pharmaceuticals. Prior to joining Lieff Cabraser, Michelle was a Law Clerk to the Honorable Thelton E. Henderson of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.
Nikki Marquez, JD ’15
Nikki Marquez is a Law Fellow/Attorney at the Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC), where she develops immigration law resources and advocates for immigrants rights. First, she helps write and update manuals and practice advisories for immigration law practitioners. Second, she creates community resources, engages in Know Your Rights trainings, and assists local advocates and community members pursue stronger sanctuary policies. And last, she works on ILRC’s California city, county, and state policy advocacy work related to immigration detention and enforcement.
Kara McBride, JD ’15
Kara McBride is an Associate Attorney at Lieff Cabraser Heimann and Bernstein in New York, NY, where she represents plaintiffs in nationwide class action and qui tam litigation. Prior to joining LCHB, Kara clerked for the Hon. I. Leo Glasser on the Eastern District of New York, and was a Ford Foundation Public Interest Fellow at Human Rights First, where her work focused on domestic asylum policies and practices.
Amanda Prasuhn, JD ’15
Amanda spent a few years practicing public interest environmental law in the Bay Area, litigating under CEQA, NEPA, and the Endangered Species Act to protect at-risk species, landscapes, and waterways. During that time, she worked as a legal fellow at the Center for Biological Diversity and as a staff attorney at ATA Law Group. Afterward, she pivoted to law school administration, where she now serves as the Director of Public Interest Financial Support at Berkeley Law. Overseeing Berkeley Law’s LRAP and Public Interest Scholars programs, Amanda helps make public interest work feasible for students and graduates. She also works in the student loan advocacy and education space, pushing for a student loan landscape more friendly to all borrowers.
Stephany Reaves Couper, JD ’15
“After clerking for one year, I’m a staff attorney in the Trial Division at the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia, representing children and adults charged with felonies in the D.C. Superior Court.”
Stacy Villalobos, JD ’15
Stacy is currently a law clerk in the Central District of California. Prior to that, Stacy was a Skadden Fellow at Legal Aid at Work (formerly the Legal Aid Society -Employment Law Center), where she provided direct representation to low-wage immigrant women workers. Stacy also engaged in policy advocacy, litigation, and community education to defend and promote the rights of immigrant workers.