Above: WVU Law 2020 PIA Fellow Summer Emily Stern at Disability Rights of West Virginia.
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia University College of Law students are working throughout the region this summer for legal organizations that help those in need.
The students are Public Interest Advocates Summer Fellows. They work for 10 weeks in paid, full-time positions for organizations that provide legal services to low-income clients, the elderly, children, victims of domestic violence and veterans, among others.
During their fellowships, the students gain experience in child welfare, family law, civil rights, consumer law, disability rights, and land use law. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most of the fellows will begin working remotely in June.
“Each year, PIA Fellows help increase West Virginia’s access to justice by representing clients who could not otherwise afford a lawyer,” said Jennifer Powell, director of the Center for Law and Public Service. “These fellowships also allow students to gain practical, real-world legal experience while they provide important support and staffing to busy public interest law offices.”
PIA Summer Fellowships are sponsored by the non-profit West Virginia Fund for Law in the Public Interest. Fundraising support for WVFLIPI is conducted by the PIA, one of the most active student organizations at WVU Law.
The following WVU Law students are 2020 PIA Summer Fellows:
ACLU of West Virginia
Alex Mascioli - Charleston
Allegheny County Public Defender
Zane Hottinger - Pittsburgh
Appalachian Citizen’s Law Center
Maddie Hinkle - Whitesburg, Kentucky
Catholic Community Charities Immigration Law Project
Daja Elliott - Martinsburg, West Virginia
ChildLaw Services
Audra Grimm - Charleston and Princeton, West Virginia
Above: WVU Law 2020 PIA Fellow Summer Audra Grimm at ChildLaw Services.
Community Legal Aid
Brandon Chinn - Youngstown, Ohio
Disability Rights of West Virginia
Emily Stern - Charleston, West Virginia
Cody Stanley - Charleston, West Virginia
Legal Aid of West Virginia
Kayla Aungst - Clarksburg
Emily Isaacs - Lewisburg
Jonathan Rickett - Huntington
Sophia Runion - Martinsburg
Samantha Schaal - Wheeling
Sandra Walls - Morgantown
Hannah Wright - Parkersburg
Zoey Vilasuso - Charleston
Mountain State Justice
Jenny Cochran - Charleston, West Virginia
Gabby Sarduy-Santiago - Morgantown, West Virginia
Senior Legal Aid
Hunter Butkovic - Morgantown, West Virginia
Virginia Public Defenders Office
Sydney Pack - Staunton
WVU Land Use and Sustainable Development Law Clinic
Samantha Willis
Madison Birchfield
Bailey Emory
Robert Vaughn
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