Gov. appoints two attorneys to staff

Governor Gretchen Whitmer has announced the appointment of two attorneys to her staff. 

AJ Marineau as has joined the legal team as associate legal counsel. He previously served as a law clerk to Chief Justice Elizabeth Clement at the Michigan Supreme Court. Marineau earned his juris doctor from the University of Michigan Law School and a bachelor of arts from Indiana University. Prior to law school, Marineau served for seven years in the U.S. Army as an infantry officer, including deployments to Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and Kuwait.

Aditya Vedapudi also has joined the staff as associate legal counsel. Formerly an associate with Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamiton, Vedapudi clerked for Judge Joshua Deahl on the D.C. Court of Appeals. He received his juris doctor from U-M Law School and holds a bachelor of business administration from the Ross School of Business at U-M. 

Law students selected for Public Interest Law Fellowships

Eight Wayne State University Law School students will gain hands-on experience and support a range of organizations this summer through the 2026 Public Interest Law Fellowships and the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office Stipend.

The 2026 Public Interest Law Fellowship recipients and their placements are:

• Nakia Wallace, rising 3L, Michigan State Appellate Defender Office (Lansing) — Jan and Bob Ackerman Public Interest Law Fellow

• Rachel Fagan, rising 3L, Federal Community Defender Office (Detroit) — Penny Beardslee Public Interest Law Fellow

• Chashah Johnson, rising 3L, ACLU of Michigan (Detroit) — Romano Stancroff Public Interest Law Fellow

• Madeline Wall, rising 3L, Legal Services of South-Central Michigan (Ypsilanti)

• Ebbie Appel, rising 2L, State Appellate Defender Office (Detroit)

• Nicholas Nafso, rising 2L, Mecklenburg County Public Defender’s Office (Charlotte, N.C.)

• Emily Soehren, rising 3L, Neighborhood Defender Service (Detroit)

• Alec Davis, rising 2L, Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office (Detroit).

Seven fellowships were awarded through the standard PILF process. In total, $46,200 in funding was distributed to support public interest legal work.

Each Public Interest Law Fellowship recipient will volunteer 40 hours a week for ten weeks, collectively providing thousands of hours of service to organizations serving the public and underrepresented communities.

Wayne Law established the Public Interest Law Fellowships in 2009.

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