The Klau Institute has announced its 2024 Summer Fellows, Notre Dame law students working in public interest organizations that promote civil or human rights, and/or the enforcement of federal rights on behalf of underrepresented minorities. In this, its eighth year, the program has grown to support more students than ever before. The 2024 Summer Fellows are:
Margot Calmar, a second year law student, will serve at Sanford Heisler Sharp, the leading civil rights firm in the nation. Her work this summer will be focused on racial inequality and gender inequality in the legal system, especially in the workforce.
Varun Cidambi, a first year law student, will serve with Notre Dame's Fitzgerald Institute for Real Estate, a center for the study of real estate through its research, teaching, and industry engagement. He will be working on synthesizing and disseminating best practices for affordable housing development on Catholic land-holdings.
Cecilia Honan, a second year law student, will work at the Legal Aid Bureau of Buffalo, Attorneys for Children Unit, which provides legal representation and counsel to children of Erie County who are the subject of child welfare, juvenile justice, and related proceedings in Family Court. Her work will focus on developing an initiative to represent clients placed in residential facilities by the court.
Adam Miller, a second year law student, will work with the ACLU of Alaska. Through civil rights impact litigation he will work to ensure those historically denied their rights are afforded the same protections guaranteed us all, whether persons of color, the Indigenous, those identifying as LGBTQIA2S+, the incarcerated, or otherwise infringed, and act as liaison with community partners, other departments, and clients.
Tristan Mullen, a second year law student, will work with the ACLU of Georgia's Southern Legal Internship Program, which aims to build a pipeline of Black civil rights lawyers in the South. His work will contribute to crucial campaigns in areas that most affect minority and marginalized communities in the South, including voting rights, education, gender justice and LGBTQ+ rights, and criminal legal reform.
Nikki Rafferty, a first year law student, will work with New Hampshire Legal Assistance, providing free civil legal services to those who could not otherwise afford them. She will assist in a wide variety of areas including domestic violence and related family law, housing, and public benefits by interviewing clients, investigating cases, taking depositions, conducting legal research, drafting pleadings, and participating in administrative hearings.
Tyson Weeks, a first year law student, will work at the Fairfax County Public Defender Office, whose mission is to work with and support a portion of the population who is often marginalized and ignored. He will have the opportunity to work with the attorneys as they represent the indigent community in Northern Virginia.
The Klau Institute Summer Fellowship program has previously supported work at the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, the Sargent Shiver Poverty Law Center, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the US Department of Justice, and many others. Fellows receive funding to assist with travel and living expenses, and upon return to campus, share their experiences and lessons with the Notre Dame community.