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Stipend is Added Bonus, Not a Requirement for Driven Vanderbilt Law Students Following Their Public Interest Callings [by Erica Winter] Vanderbilt University Law School’s Public Interest Stipend did not enable Rachel Jordan to work with the ACLU of Tennessee this summer - she would have worked there no matter what, she says. The stipend, however, which will give her $5,000 for spending her entire summer doing public interest work, is allowing her to forgo a part-time job so she can do more volunteer work in the community, in addition to her full time schedule with the ACLU.
Jordan, who is a lesbian, interviewed at a
her to work at the clinic.
Initially, Oliphant thought that his work for the summer with the Southern Environmen-
general practice law firm in Alabama and was concerned about the atmosphere there. Not
In Venice, Loew studied in a Vanderbilt
tal Law Center, Ashville, N.C., would not fall
only did she have concerns about whether
program, taking courses in law & develop-
under the stipend guidelines of providing
or not she could be out in the workplace, but
ment in emerging nations, comparative legal
legal services to the underserved, he says.
also, the firm “seemed very deadline driven,
systems, and international arbitration. Now,
But then he did some research and saw “no
very pressured,” she says.
in Nashville, she is doing policy work, drafting
reason why environmental work should not
a Request for an Opinion letter to the At-
be included,” he says. He speculates that his
When she interviewed at the ACLU, on the
torney General. While she cannot discuss the
application was not approved because there
other hand, she felt accepted for who she is
specific issue, she says that making a case
may have been a large number of applicants
at the very start. Also, she sensed that the
for this binding decision is “pretty exciting.”
the second time, and there was not enough funding for all.
group was “going towards a purpose rather than a deadline” and so chose the unpaid job
In the coming weeks, Loew will start working
over the paying one for this summer.
on cases with the organization, which works
Meanwhile, he went ahead with his summer
with immigrants on a range of issues, includ-
plans, making ends meet with a separate
At the ACLU, Jordan is doing research on
ing child custody cases, domestic violence
fellowship from Vanderbilt, a small stipend
constitutional issues raised by people in the
cases, and aiding trafficking victims. Loew
from the nonprofit itself, and by subletting his
state, mostly on issues of prisoners’ rights.
will research some of the “less common,
Nashville home. “With all of that combined,
more unique cases” that her supervising at-
I’m pretty much breaking even,” says Oliph-
Instead of that part-time job, Jordan has been
torney sees, she says.
volunteering. She spent the earlier part of the
ant, who left a career creating databases for financial services companies in New York
summer as co-chair of the organizing effort
Loew, who is on the board of the Legal Aid
to come to law school and pursue his “two
for Nashville’s Gay Pride celebration parade.
Society at Vanderbilt Law, did not apply for
dream jobs” - working either with Earth Jus-
Now that Pride is over, she is using her
the stipend at first, even though she was very
tice, or the ACLU.
background in accounting to help the Rape &
involved in raising money for the fund, which
Sexual Abuse Center in Nashville, organizing
is administered by the Society. After the new
Through his summer work, Oliphant says,
their budget and making spreadsheets.
law school Dean, Edward Rubin, announced
“I’m fulfilling a lot of my dreams.” With the
he would double the money raised at the
Southern Environmental Law Center, he is
“I would have been able to do it all without
charity auction for the stipend fund (bringing
assisting attorneys who bring lawsuits on be-
the stipend,” Jordan says, “but I wouldn’t
the total to over $30,000), more stipends were
half of other environmental groups, primarily
have enjoyed it as much.”
made available, and Loew threw her hat into
against the government for not enforcing ex-
the ring.
isting environmental provisions. For example,
Lauren Loew started off the summer in
his office is primarily focused on forestry is-
Venice, and is wrapping it up with the Immi-
Philip Oliphant also applied for the stipend
sues, and brings cases against the U.S. Park
grant Legal Clinic at the Tennessee Coalition
after the announcement that more were
Service. Oliphant researches forestry, land
Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, in
available. Although he was not selected to
use, and water quality issues.
Nashville. Loew, who will enter her second
receive the stipend, he went ahead with his
year at Vanderbilt Law in the fall, received a
plans to do public interest work nonetheless.
half stipend of $2,500 from the fund to enable
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Oliphant, who will be a third year in the fall, will continue with his dream jobs during the
continued on back
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academic year as he works with the ACLU office in Nashville doing constitutional law research. Even if there are no openings at these two groups when he graduates, Oliphant is sure he wants to work in public interest law after graduation. Giving up the higher pay of law firm work is fine with him; to do this work, he says, “it’s all worth it.”
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