Michaela Lovejoy, JD ’20, is a recipient of the 2020 Equal Justice Works Fellowship, one of the most prestigious and competitive post-graduate legal fellowships in the country.
For more than two decades, Equal Justice Works has awarded fellowships to lawyers eager to launch their public interest law careers. Each year, the organization selects a class of around 70 new fellows nationwide who have designed two-year projects in partnership with legal services organizations to help build sustainable solutions in the communities where they serve. These projects address areas such as veterans’ benefits, access to education, community economic development, voting rights, and more. The fellowships are funded by the support of law firms, corporations, foundations, and individuals.
Ms. Lovejoy is one of 78 new public interest lawyers chosen from 432 applications this year. Her fellowship is sponsored by Crowell & Moring LLP. For her project, she will be hosted at Bread for the City, where she will provide full representation to immigrant survivors of power-based violence and human trafficking seeking T-Visas, U-Visas, VAWA relief, and Special Juvenile Immigrant Status. She also will assist survivors seeking safety from violence in obtaining civil protection orders and other family law remedies.
"I feel immensely grateful to GW Law for opening doors to educational and experiential opportunities that allowed me to explore my passion for vindicating the rights of survivors of power-based violence who are often ignored by our legal system because of their race, immigration status, criminal history, or socioeconomic status,” said Ms. Lovejoy. “None of this would have been possible if it hadn't been for the mentorship of dedicated faculty and GW Law alumni who helped me in turning my vision into a viable project every step of the way.”
“Michaela’s commitment to helping justice-involved trafficking survivors heal from their trauma and re-enter society is incredibly inspiring,” said Mia Sussman, Director of Fellowships at Equal Justice Works. “We are proud to support her work and look forward to seeing the impact that her Equal Justice Fellowship will have over the next two years, and the ripple effects her work will have for many years to come.”
While at GW Law, Ms. Lovejoy served as a student attorney in the Prisoner & Reentry Clinic and as a research assistant to Professor Jessica K. Steinberg, who directs the clinic. She also was a law clerk for the Public Defender Service of DC, the Special Litigation Section of the Department of Justice Civil Rights Decision, and Judge Yvette Kane in the US District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
Following her fellowship, Ms. Lovejoy hopes to work as a staff attorney in the same practice area or to pursue a clinical teaching fellowship position so she can one day become a clinical professor.