Diane H. Fears, director of career services and the Student Voluntary Pro Bono Program at Wayne State University Law School, has been named to the 16-member Equal Justice Works National Advisory Committee.
Fears worked diligently with Wayne Law 2013 alumna Kimberly Adams to help her gain an Equal Justice Works Fellowship for a program helping veterans gain legal and support services.
"I worked closely with Kim from the time she began considering applying for fellowships and continue to lend support today as she winds down her Equal Justice Works Fellowship," Fears said. "I counseled and advised Kim through the process of developing her proposal, identifying and landing a host organization, creating her application and interviewing for the fellowship."
Adams' program, Boots on the Ground, is just one example of the way Equal Justice Works helps lawyers help the community. Adams' hard-won fellowship demonstrates the way Fears, a 1989 Wayne Law alumna, helps law students assist the community.
Fears is enthused about working more closely with Equal Justice Works. The organization's mission is "to create a just society by mobilizing the next generation of lawyers committed to equal justice." That fits right in with Fears' own personal mission. She developed Wayne Law's Student Voluntary Pro Bono Program in 2010 and has served as its director ever since.
"The program has exceeded my expectations," Fears said. "Since the inception, more than 60 students and now graduates have successfully fulfilled the Warrior Pro Bono Pledge by rendering a minimum of 50 hours of pro bono legal services. I think we've reached a point where the pro bono spirit is a part of the Wayne Law culture. As we approach the five-year anniversary, I'd like to grow and expand the program. For example, I've considered adding a community service component to the program that would recognize students for community service projects that don't involve the provision of legal services. Further, I'd like to work more closely with Wayne Law student organizations to help them develop and execute pro bono and community service projects."
As a member of the Equal Justice Works National Advisory Committee, she'll help the organization develop goals and initiatives to advance its mission and expand public interest opportunities for law students and lawyers across the country.
"In addition to serving in an advisory capacity, I'll serve as an ambassador to the 200 Equal Justice Works member schools and the legal services community," Fears said. "Both aspects of service will allow me to better advocate on behalf of Wayne Law students and graduates, as well as others, dedicated to public interest work."
She's been involved with Equal Justice Works since 2007 and promotes its programs and resources to students and graduates.
"It's very gratifying to link a student or alum with resources that will allow him or her to pursue the calling of working in the public interest," Fears said.
Wayne Law's Legal Advocacy for People with Cancer Clinic grew out of an Equal Justice Works Fellowship awarded to Adjunct Assistant Professor and clinic Director Kathryn Smolinski when she was student at the Wayne Law. The medical-legal partnership between Wayne Law and Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Center offers students legal skills training while providing an invaluable service to low-income cancer patients receiving treatment at the center.
"Kathy and I have worked together closely to encourage other students to apply for Equal Justice Works Fellowships and to support fellowship candidates," Fears said.
Applications for the 2016 Equal Justice Works Fellowship and several other major fellowships are due in September and October, and registration for the Equal Justice Works Conference and Career Fair - the largest public interest career fair in the nation - opens in August.
"I encourage students with a desire to pursue a public interest career to visit the Equal Justice Works website (www.equaljusticeworks.org) and to schedule an appointment with me to develop and pursue a viable strategy," Fears said.
Published: Mon, Jul 27, 2015
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