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I now feel far more prepared to practice law and I believe that the ACTL internship has set me on the right path towards success. It was a great experience and I learned a lot. The ACTL in- ternship program has opened a lot of doors for me, as I will be interning in Judge Brian Jack- son’s (ACTL Judicial Fellow) chambers during the fall 2022 semester. Without the internship program it would have been unlikely that I would have been afforded such a wonderful op- portunity. Thank you, ACTL, for making the program such a success.”
The 2021 SULC summer intern, Michael Amenyah, had a similar experience and ex- pressed similar gratitude. “I cannot be more thankful for my time working as an ACTL In- tern at SLLS. . . . I was tasked with working closely with clients ensuring that their needs were met. As such, I did more than just perform intake interviews of clients and then pass it off to the managing attorney, I actually was tasked with helping clients from start to finish. . . . It was a very stressful time I must admit, I was nervous because handling the case of a person who’s facing eviction, or is in danger of losing their child, is a task that has serious implications on the life of the client and you want to make sure you get the best outcome possible. Howev- er, thanks to the help and guidance of attorneys at SLLS, I was able to actually help all the cli- ents I was assigned. The feeling of performing research for a client whose life is literally depen- dent on you is a surreal feeling, but now I can confidently say that I can handle a case on my own. It’s one thing to learn in school the various steps of a lawsuit but to actually put things into practice and get first-hand experience I cannot stress how important that is for young lawyers.
The internship also provided me with the opportunity to attend court with the attorneys from SLLS and I learned so much from just watch- ing. The ability to sit in the courtroom and actually see an eviction proceeding was very interesting, but also it’s a very emotional and high pressure experience. . . . This internship gave me the confidence boost I needed, because I now know that I can be a trial attorney . . . . I also want to extend my deepest gratitude for the ACTL introducing me to Judge Jackson last summer. Meeting with him is the reason I decided to pursue a clerkship upon my graduation from law school in 2022. I am now working as a law clerk for Louisiana District Court Judge Derrick Kee in Lake Charles, Louisiana.”
“The ACTL Foundation Internship is critical to helping SLLS close justice gaps while also essential to cultivating the next generation of access to justice leaders,” says Laura Tuggle, Executive Director of SLLS. “The 2022 Justice Gap report released by the Legal Services Corporation found that programs like SLLS are not able to provide sufficient legal help for almost 75% of the problems facing low-income people. That is why the College investment in justice and new leaders is so important. It provides meaningful, on the ground learning oppor- tunities that make a tremendous difference in the lives of historically underserved populations, advances diversity aid through the partner- ship with SULC, and develops the skill set of talented law students now instilled with a deeper commitment to legal aid and pro bono service. We are thankful for the ACTL’s vision and leadership for this innovative and much needed Internship.”
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Judge Brian Jackson of the Middle District of Louisiana, a Judicial Fellow and SULC graduate, serves an invalu- able role in regard to the SLLS and IPNO internships. Judge Jackson, who worked with Fellow Kim Boyle, SULC Chancellor Pierre, and SULC Profes- sor Kenya Smith in creating the goals and requirements of the internship, ob- serves that “the opportunity to shadow a federal judge in chambers and in the courtroom as an ACTL intern pro-
vides law students with a rare opportunity to learn about the judicial process and to get a practical perspective of the trial practice. I am pleased to be a part of this unique program and I hope it inspires these talented law students to choose litigation as an area of practice.”