St. Thomas Law Student Kicks off Summer of Service with Rural Summer Legal Corps

On June 1st,  the 2017 Rural Summer Legal Corps officially kicked off at a joint training in Washington DC. The event was hosted by Equal Justice Works and the Legal Services Corporation. Rising St. Thomas Law 2L, Melissa Ramos will be serving at Legal Services of North Florida, Inc.

To prepare for the 2017 program, Equal Justice Works and Legal Services Corporation actively recruited law students to fill 30 positions nationwide. Selected participants begin the summer with intensive training from poverty law experts on housing, domestic violence, public benefits, migrant farmworkers, Native American, and family law. After the training, the law students return directly to their host site to continue their 8-10 week placement.

Melissa joins 29 other public interest law students in addressing pressing legal issues facing rural communities Specifically, Melissa will advocate for and guide these individuals who are hindered within their communities because of past criminal convictions.

These students will travel to Martinsburg, West Virginia to gain firsthand experience and training on the unique challenges and benefits of working with legal clients in a rural setting.

We salute Melissa and the organizers at Equal Justice Works and the Summer Legal Corps for creating this unique opportunity for our legal students.