Elizabeth Lincoln ’18 Receives 2018-2020 Equal Justice Works Fellowship

Each year, Equal Justice Works selects a class of passionate, public interest lawyers who have designed innovative projects in conjunction with nonprofit legal services organizations to respond to unmet legal needs in their communities. Equal Justice Works Fellows have represented thousands of adults, children, and families in need throughout communities across the country. This year, 67 new lawyers or law school graduates were selected for the two-year Fellowship, including recent UC Law SF graduate, Elizabeth Lincoln ’18.

Elizabeth will be hosted by the Fresno satellite office of Kids in Need of Defense (KIND), where she will provide direct representation to unaccompanied immigrant and refugee children in the Central Valley of California, coordinate social services, and work with school districts to conduct Know Your Rights outreach.

“It’s an honor to have this opportunity with KIND. There is no other legal service provider in the Central Valley solely dedicated to non-profit representation of unaccompanied children and there is a great need,” says Elizabeth.

Elizabeth’s work with KIND will continue a relationship that started before she attended law school, as a Program Assistant in KIND’s Washington, D.C. office in 2014-15. This was during the so-called ‘surge’ when an unprecedented number of unaccompanied children came to the United States to flee violence and harm. “I was very inspired by the attorneys at KIND, and I can’t wait to return as a legal fellow in the Central Valley.”

Equal Justice Works Fellowships are sponsored by law firms, corporations, individuals, bar associations and foundations. Elizabeth is co-sponsored by Microsoft Corporation and The Sidley Austin Foundation.

About Kids in Need of Defense (KIND):

KIND was founded by the Microsoft Corporation and UNHCR Special Envoy Angelina Jolie, and is the leading national organization that works to ensure that no refugee or immigrant child faces immigration court alone. KIND does this in partnership with nearly 550 law firms, corporate legal departments, law schools, and bar associations. KIND has served nearly 17,000 children since 2009, and trained almost 28,000 private sector attorneys to provide children with high quality representation in their deportation proceedings. KIND promotes the protection of children in countries of origin and transit and works to address the root causes of child migration from Central America. KIND also helps children who are returning to Central America do so safely and provide reintegration support. In addition, KIND advocates to change law, policy, and practice to improve the protection of unaccompanied children in the United States by educating policymakers, the media, and the broader public about the violence that is driving children out of Central America and their right to fairly access the U.S. immigration system.

KIND’s San Francisco office currently works with over 110 pro bono attorneys in San Francisco and the Central Valley to represent over 200 unaccompanied children. KIND’s staff, including Managing Attorney Katie Annand ’08 and Pro Bono Coordinating Attorney, Katherine Krassilnikoff, provide small group trainings and individual mentorship to pro bono attorneys. In addition to Elizabeth, KIND hosts two other Equal Justice Works Fellows, 2017 Fellow Stephanie Bonilla at KIND Boston and 2018 Fellow Maria Rodriguez at KIND Atlanta.

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