clinics Learning the value of service: Katarina Wong ’19, T’12 Katie Wong spent three semesters in the Civil Justice Clinic, the second as an advanced student and the third as a volunteer. She and her clinic partner, Zachary Ezor ’19, spent a year helping a couple navigate multiple, related legal actions: bringing a lawsuit over unsafe housing, defending them from eviction, opposing the garnishment of wages in an employment suit, and a separate fight for unemployment benefits. The experience produced a deep resolve to serve in Wong, who is now a general litigation associate at Brooks Pierce in Raleigh and has already handled pro bono housing cases in Durham and Raleigh through Legal Aid of North Carolina’s Volunteer Lawyer Program and Duke’s Lawyer on the Line Program.
“The clinic gave me the confidence to be able to take on cases on my own and it certainly established my commitment to work in this space. Understanding
HEADLINE Carrying
experience into practice
Clinic alumni often find their experiences to be relevant and resonant long after they graduate from Duke Law.
46 Duke Law Magazine • Summer 2020
the implications of eviction proceedings and how they impacted our clients’ lives made me realize how important it is to offer these free services. Eviction actions are common in Durham, but it’s hard to find an attorney to defend something with such high stakes for such little remuneration. This work involves basic needs that so many people are at risk of losing on a day-to-day basis.”
