Jeanette Schroeder (’17) Awarded Peggy Browning Fellowship
Ten-week summer fellowship will fund her work in the Employment Law Unit at Greater Boston Legal Services.
BU Law student Jeanette Schroeder (’17) has received a Peggy Browning Fellowship, a highly competitive public interest labor law fellowship awarded to top law students interested in workers’ rights. The honor will fund her 10-week internship in the Employment Law unit at Greater Boston Legal Services (GBLS) this summer.
Schroeder, who served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ecuador after graduating from the University of Pittsburgh and then worked as a paralegal at the Legal Aid Society in Santa Ana, California, has long been interested in public interest legal work and is excited to explore the field of employment law through the fellowship.
“I find it particularly troubling that all too often ‘justice’ in this country depends not upon the facts or the law, but on who can afford an expensive private attorney and who is left to defend his case entirely on his own,” says Schroder. “It is important to me that during my career I contribute to the expanding efforts to close the financially driven representation gap in this country.”
In GBLS’s Employment Law unit, she will work primarily on cases involving wage disputes and wrongfully denied unemployment benefits. “The unit also works to educate the public about various unemployment benefits, the requirements to qualify for them, and how to apply,” explains Schroeder. Because the Tax unit at GBLS is housed within the Employment Law unit, she will also be assisting with some cases involving tax law.
Schroeder was first drawn to GBLS while researching local nonprofits before moving to Boston. Her faculty advisor, Professor Laila Hlass, was able to introduce her to several contacts there, who increased her interest in the organization, as did a second-year BU Law student, Jennifer Gardner (’15), who had worked in the Employment Law Unit the previous summer. When Gardner encouraged her to apply for a Peggy Browning Fellowship, Schroeder knew it was very competitive and was “pleasantly surprised” when she was offered the opportunity.
“I’m most looking forward to spending the summer with a small group of students from various law schools who all share common interests and career goals,” she says. “I’m also really excited to assist people who most need help on a daily basis. Studying the law can be a very solitary experience. This summer, I’m glad to be doing something that will have an impact on others.”
Once back at BU Law in the fall, she plans to continue pursuing her interest in public interest law. Schroeder will assist immigrant children and adult detainees facing deportation as a student attorney in the Immigrants’ Rights Clinic. “I’ve already met both professors who lead the clinic and am very eager to learn from them throughout the year,” she says.
The Peggy Browning Fund is a not for-profit organization established in memory of Margaret A. Browning, a prominent union-side attorney who was a member of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) from 1994 until 1997. Peggy Browning Fellowships provide law students with unique, diverse and challenging work experiences fighting for social and economic justice. These experiences encourage and inspire students to pursue careers in public interest labor law.