GW Law student Aaliyah Pichon has always known she wants to make a difference with her career, but she hasn’t always been sure how to go about it.
During her undergraduate studies at Hampton University, Pichon explored many potential career options in politics, public health, and education. It was through that exploration that she realized how the law affects every area of public life.
Now Pichon is a 2L at GW Law, with the goal of becoming a civil rights attorney. She is also one of 50 Marshall-Motley Scholars, an NAACP Legal Defense Fund scholarship program that supports the legal education students interested in pursuing civil rights law in the South. Originally from New Orleans, Pichon said she was interested in pursuing the program because of her family’s experience navigating the socioeconomic and racial barriers that were amplified in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Pichon says that experience is her “why” for pursuing civil rights law. And that “why” has kept her focused throughout law school.
This summer Pichon put her career interests into action, working for Mississippi Center for Justice as a summer legal intern. We sat down with Pichon to talk about her unique experiences as a Marshall-Motley Scholar and working at Mississippi Center for Justice, and how GW Law is providing her with the skills to succeed in her career goals.
Why did you want to go to law school?
I always kind of knew I wanted to be a lawyer. Growing up, I was one of those outspoken kids so everyone said "you should be a lawyer when you grow up." But when I got to college my interest was all over the place. I was doing health stuff, voting stuff, my hands were in a lot of different areas, and I realized the law touches everything. Everything that you do, you need a lawyer. I also realized my common interest across these very different areas was racial equity and social justice.There are laws or policies that are affecting how and what you can do. So I was drawn to the law in that way as well as just an opportunity to have impact in different areas.
Why did you choose GW Law?
I chose GW because it's in DC. I talked to [GW Law Dean Dayna Bowen Matthew] when I was considering schools and I was really sold on the DC-infused education and the opportunity to gain hands-on experience year-round and not just in the summer. Some of the best civil rights organizations in the country have offices here. Even just being able to grab lunch or coffee with attorneys when they're in town or people who are working in Congress, those types of things, I think, are experiences that GW is uniquely positioned to provide to its students.
What is the Marshall-Motley Scholars program?
The Marshall-Motley Scholars Program is the NAACP Legal Defense Fund’s commitment to cultivating the next generation of civil rights attorneys who will pursue racial justice on behalf of Black communities in the South. The goal is to train 50 civil rights attorneys and plant them in the south to do 10 years of civil rights work after completing law school. It's an amazing opportunity. I first heard about it when I was an undergrad at Hampton University my senior year. I actually didn't end up applying for about two years after I heard about it. Initially, it sounds daunting to commit to 10 years of practice before you're even in law school, but just through personal experiences and professional experiences it became pretty clear that civil rights is what I wanted to do.
What was the application process for the program?
For me, the application process was digging all the way back to being 5 years old, and my family transitioning out of Hurricane Katrina. I'm from New Orleans, and the stark racial and socioeconomic challenges that came with going through that experience highlighted how racial justice and socioeconomic justice has shown up and impacted my life. In the application, I was able to recount the steps that I've taken since that time to try and have a positive impact on society in that regard. After the initial applications, the finalists were flown out to Atlanta to do interviews in person which was really amazing because I was in a room with Constance Baker Motley's son. That was really special to be in rooms with people who have done amazing things in the fight for racial and social justice.
How does the Marshall-Motley Program support your time at the law school?
The program removes a lot of barriers that people who are interested in civil rights face. One of the biggest is financial barriers. Law school is pretty expensive. I've heard from a lot of attorneys who started out in civil rights that they had to abandon their passions for a more lucrative practice area. Marshall-Motley does pay for our schooling as a part of the commitment that we're making to practice. It's nice to know that that type of barrier is something I'm not going to have to worry about or face whenever I'm practicing civil rights.
They're very supportive with general mental health resources, academic resources, and trainings. In those trainings we learn how to stay involved in this fight that we're all working collectively towards. We also do summer retreats where we all get together and as a big community. Community building is especially important in civil rights, so that's a big deal.
I think the program is really helpful, especially being a student. Law school demands so much of your time. It's easy to get lost in your work and feel removed from what your end goal is at the end of law school so having the program has been really nice to feel connected to civil rights and my “why” for being here even amidst all the law school stuff.
What do you hope to do after graduating?
I'm leaning towards doing criminal justice reform work. I worked at the Public Defenders Service for the District of Columbia for a year before law school and was just able to really see start to finish how interactions with the criminal legal system can drastically change someone's life. It's not just when they get their sentence or when they go to jail. There's so many interactions before and after that that impact people's lives very heavily. So I think that's an area of law I want to focus on either in the courtroom litigating or on the policy side.
What GW Law classes or programs have informed your law school experience?
Right now I'm in the Section 1983 Civil Rights Litigation with Professor Thomas Frampton. What we're learning has a lot to do with what I did this summer at Mississippi Center for Justice, which is in Jackson, Mississippi. I was on their impact litigation team. It's nice to learn in the classroom what I was surrounded by all summer, and getting that approach of scholarly instruction but also seeing how it related to real world practice and filling in some of those blanks or gaps that I left the summer with. To be able to come back to GW and to have that experience reinforced in the classroom has been really nice.
What advice do you have for other law students?
Really spend time on your “why” and what you want to do. Especially being in DC, there are so many headquarters here and you have so many choices. Sometimes having too many choices can feel a little overwhelming. For me, when I was picking an internship, I really thought about what specific skills, coming out of 1L, I wanted to strengthen and trying to pick based on that instead of just the names of the places. I also thought about what meaningful opportunities I would get to work with the attorneys. I really wanted to work on my research and writing. In all of my interviews I said, “I want to research and I want to write.”
Be up front about what you want to get out of this experience. This is just as much your journey as it is whoever you're helping. Also just know what's right for you. I worked in an office with two other attorneys all summer but I got to work so closely and learn from them whereas I think if I was in a bigger office I would have been able to do great work but not have that one-on-one time that I really value. It was an amazing summer and I definitely think it was the perfect place for me. So that's my advice, know your “why” and let that guide you in your decisions.