With the dream of a career as an “appellate litigator working in the public interest sphere,” rising third-year law student Divya Kishore felt her summer fellowship was a key step in her journey toward achieving that goal.
The recipient of the School of Law’s largest summer public interest grant, Kishore said the funding provided the perfect opportunity to pursue her passion without worrying about how she would support herself.
Rising third-year law student Divya Kishore, the recipient of the Bool Simkins Summer Fellowship, worked this past summer in the Appeals Division of the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia.
“I came to law school hoping to pursue a career advocating for indigent defendants who are without the resources to do so themselves. The Bool Simkins Summer Fellowship gave me the freedom to do so, allowing my sole focus to be on gaining skills and knowledge to be a staunch advocate for my clients,” she said.
Kishore worked in the Appeals Division of the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia this past summer. She said she was excited to learn from practitioners who were well-versed in the demands of public defense and who understood that representation goes beyond an initial appearance in court or the entrance of a plea deal. “I was grateful for the opportunity to gain exposure to appellate work and learn the nuances of the criminal system in a new jurisdiction.”
Kishore is one of 84 students who received summer public interest fellowships from the School of Law this past summer. In total, the school awarded approximately $435,000 to support unpaid legal positions in nonprofits, federal and state government, legal services and policy/impact organizations, and judicial clerkships. While the majority of placements were in the state of Georgia, UGA law students also worked in Arkansas, California, Colorado, Kentucky, Massachusetts, New York and Washington, D.C.
Thanks to the generosity of alumni and friends, over the past five years, the law school has awarded more than $1.6 million for summer public interest fellowships.