By Jordan Poll
U-M Law
As a teenager, University of Michigan Law School graduate Angela Ni, ‘17, developed an interest in public advocacy when her father introduced her to the Urban Justice Center in New York.
He encouraged her to seek out firsthand experience and, when she turned 13, Ni spent her summer volunteering with the Street Vendor Project.
“I was not very aware of the social issues at the time. I just wanted to get experience in and exposure to public advocacy,” said Ni, who utilized her fluency in Chinese to communicate with vendors. “But, when I got there, I met so many people who were immigrants like I am. Seeing that their lives are very different from the life that I have was sobering and eye opening. I realized that not everyone gets to have the same privileges that have been conferred upon me.”
Her experience, and the need she saw in the street vending community, is the inspiration behind the work she will be doing as an Equal Justice Works Fellow.
The Equal Justice Works Fellowship is the nation’s largest post-graduate public interest fellowship program.
Each year it receives nearly 500 applications for 60 Fellowships.
The two-year program matches recent graduates who are passionate about public interest work with organizations that are in desperate need of their talents.
Applicants develop project proposals in conjunction with potential host organizations.
Then Equal Justice Works operates as a matchmaker that secures funding for top applications from sponsoring law firms, corporations, and foundations.
Sponsors pay the Fellows’ salaries, often as part of their pro bono programs, and frequently support the Fellows’ work by providing pro bono assistance and other resources to help increase their impact.
Today, seven active Fellows and two incoming Fellows are Michigan Law alumni.
“Fellowships are the best way to get your foot in the door at a public interest organization,” said incoming Fellow Rebecca Eisenbrey, ‘15, who is fresh off a two-year clerkship on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans.
Eisenbrey soon will be relocating to Austin, Texas, for her Equal Justice Works Fellowship, where she will be leading the Equal Justice Center’s Fair Chance Hiring Project.
“The fair chance hiring movement is designed to empower people with criminal records — to remind them that they are still valued members of community and that the community is behind them in their efforts to reintegrate,” she said.
“We are also trying to affect some sort of culture shift so that employers don’t see people with criminal records as outsiders,” Eisenbrey said. “Instead of viewing them as a problematic potential hiring pool, we want employers to view them as valuable potential assets to the company and the community at large.”
Eisenbrey will be providing outreach and education to employers and making sure they understand and comply with Austin’s new Fair Chance Hiring Ordinance.
Eisenbrey, the latest generation in a family of public interest attorneys, also will be doing work to enforce Title VII —specifically with the EEOC guidance on the consideration of arrest and conviction records in employment decisions — and the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which regulates background check reporting companies.
She views her fellowship as an opportunity to connect her two passions — justice for low-wage workers and criminal justice reform — while also supporting an important effort in American society.
Like Eisenbrey, Ni’s fellowship is the next step in a long educational career in public interest.
After her high school experience with the Street Vendor Project, Ni worked as a summer intern with Legal Outreach Inc., a legal education non-profit, and as a public affairs intern for the New York State Unified Court System.
Up until the time she moved to Ann Arbor to begin her education at Michigan Law, she served as a policy and legislation intern for the Office of State Senator Daniel Squadron of the New York State Senate.
Greenberg Traurig LLP will be sponsoring Ni’s return to the Street Vendor Project as an Equal Justice Works Fellow — where she will provide transactional legal assistance, outreach, and training to low?income immigrant street entrepreneurs in New York City.
As an immigrant, with family who are members of the vending community, Ni is excited for the next two years of her career.
Ni foresees the impact of Equal Justice Works Fellowship being twofold, the first being a personal mission she hopes to fulfil.
“A lot of them [vendors] just want to live their lives,” she said. “They are just trying to support their families. I want to make that easier, so they can grow their businesses, support their families, and not have to worry about how to file for taxes or comply with permit restrictions.”
She hopes the second impact will be policy-related.
“There are many street vendors in New York, but there is little awareness towards what they do,” said Ni.
Her efforts will highlight their struggles, so that when it comes time to craft legislation, street vendors will have more of a fighting chance to make positive change for themselves.
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