we host a valerie zukin memorial fellow
Valerie Zukin was a fierce lawyer, a wise mentor, and a kind friend. The community sadly lost her in September of 2021. The Valerie Zukin Memorial Fellowship has been established in Valerie's honor to advance the development of more immigration lawyers like her.
We are looking for law students who exemplify the key characteristics of Valerie, who was a passionate, kind, and dedicated advocate for the most vulnerable immigrant populations. The Fellowship is a 10-week full-time paid summer placement, where fellows are paid $15,000 for the term of the fellowship. Applicants should be proficient in Spanish and comfortable with remote supervision via Zoom and other video conferencing platforms.
how to apply:
The 2023 application process is now closed. Information about the 2024 application process will be posted in late 2023/early 2024.
learn more:
To learn more about Valerie Zukin, please visit the fellowship fundraising page
“One of my favorite parts of serving as a Valerie Zukin Memorial Fellow was connecting with our client and being able to help him tell his story. Our client, an LGBTQ+ individual seeking protection from Mexico, has been held in immigration detention, fighting for his life and freedom for more than four years.
Just another victim of the well-oiled deportation machine, he would have fallen through the cracks once again had it not been for ILD and this fellowship.
Thanks to the collaborative efforts of the attorneys at ILD, who took on his appeal of the immigration judge’s denial of protection, our client has a fighting chance to finally live his true authentic self, something that he has been deprived of his entire life.
Having such knowledgeable and fierce mentors providing me feedback at every phase of the case was invaluable. From working with me to increase my confidence in my legal writing to sitting in court during direct and cross-examination, where we were ferociously passing notes to each other, we were in it together.
It is infuriating how the system failed our client time and time again. I know that these injustices are not uncommon, and although it’s just one factor that makes removal cases so complex, it really reinforced that removal defense is where I am meant to be. I hope to represent many more clients in removal proceedings. I have some of the notes we shared during our client’s hearing displayed in my office as a reminder that removal defense is at its best when done collectively, fiercely, and creatively.”