Amer Zahr uses passions for law and comedy to promote Arab rights

To Amer Zahr, the worlds of law and comedy aren’t that different. “Law school teaches you to think in a way and advocate in a way where you are brief and to the point,” Zahr says. “Comedy is the same thing.”

Dec 1, 2023 12:40 AM CST

Helping others is at the center of Holly Dolejsi’s practice

Holly Dolejsi has made pro bono—and, in particular, helping transgender and nonbinary individuals change their names—a central part of her practice.

Nov 30, 2023 9:04 AM CST

Keramet Reiter helps build in-prison education programs in California

Keramet Reiter has spent countless hours inside prisons, working with individuals who are incarcerated and studying the impact of prison and punishment policies on them, their communities and the legal system. As part of her work, Reiter has focused on expanding access to in-prison education programs.

Nov 9, 2023 10:02 AM CST

Youth Movement: Sarah Medina Camiscoli works for and with young leaders in New York City

For Sarah Medina Camiscoli, profound questions of how and why educational and legal systems exclude and harm young people arose from her own experience as a public school student in New Jersey. “For me, I think there’s sort of a deep inner child longing to make sense of, ‘Why wasn’t I given certain opportunities in school?’” says Medina Camiscoli, an assistant professor at Rutgers Law School who teaches education law and critical youth legal studies. “And why was I able to get access to a very resourced school district, though, where some other people in my community and my family weren’t necessarily given the same opportunity?”

Oct 1, 2023 1:50 AM CDT

Passion for Justice: Northwestern law prof fights for juvenile rights armed with research

Julie Biehl, an ABA member since 2006, is known as a straight shooter, whose presence fills a room. “She’s a tiny woman, maybe 5’1”, but she is so fiery and so full of passion and just cares,” says Garien Gatewood, deputy mayor for community safety for the city of Chicago.

Sep 6, 2023 10:09 AM CDT

Community Veteran Justice Project founder helps vets navigate legal needs

Jodi Galvin retired in 2010, after spending more than 20 years as a prosecutor with the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office. For more than a decade prior to that, she had been an investigator in the criminal and mental health sections of the Orange County Public Defender’s Office. When thinking about what to do next, Galvin realized she could use her experience to help veterans, a population that mattered a great deal to her.

Aug 1, 2023 12:50 AM CDT

Joe Bell fights to open cold case records of a 1946 mass lynching

At a 2008 American Bar Association event in Washington, D.C., Joseph Bell Jr., an attorney with a keen interest in discrimination cases, first met author Anthony Pitch, a historian and authority on President Abraham Lincoln. A friendship developed.

Jun 20, 2023 2:20 PM CDT

Tsion Gurmu calls on personal experience to support Black immigrants

Tsion Gurmu traces her interest in law back to the Buford Highway community in Atlanta, where she grew up among a large number of asylum-seekers from Africa who struggled to navigate the immigration system.

Jun 1, 2023 12:40 AM CDT

Judge Ernestine Gray created a model court that put New Orleans children and families first

“You are impacting lives in a critical way,” says Judge Ernestine Gray about working in juvenile court. “And if you are talking about children who are growing up, it’s going to help determine where they are in the future. I don’t want to look back and say, ‘If I had done X for this child, maybe they could’ve done great things.’ So in the moment where you are, do the good work.”

Apr 1, 2023 1:20 AM CDT

Aubrey Coleman is helping bring communities access to high-speed internet and other infrastructure

In January 2021, Aubrey Coleman became a program manager at Microsoft and began working with internet service providers to bring affordable broadband to people living in unserved rural areas across the country. He also partners with community organizations to educate residents on how to obtain federal subsidies to reduce the price of internet access; how to safely navigate the internet; and how to access computers or tablets at lower prices.

Feb 1, 2023 12:50 AM CST

After ALS diagnosis, Brian Wallach fights for a cure: ‘This is our closing argument for our lives’

Brian Wallach was preparing for a case in 2017 when he felt a weakness in his left hand. At 36 years old, the assistant U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois ignored it. He had been on the track and field team at Yale, after all, and he was healthy. Why worry?

Jan 31, 2023 10:42 AM CST

Meet 12 ABA members who inspired us in 2022

In this year’s Members Who Inspire series, the ABA Journal featured 12 extraordinary ABA members who go to great lengths to embolden their clients, colleagues and members of the communities around them. Their work includes helping immigrants with tax issues, advocating for individuals living with HIV/AIDS and addressing racial injustice and inequality.

Dec 14, 2022 8:38 AM CST

Vietnam vet carries combat skills and a desire to serve others into the courtroom

Randall Kinnard says he learned a lot about pressure, stress and loss during the Vietnam War. But he says he also realized he could transfer those tough lessons to the courtroom. “I elected to focus my practice on injured people and wanting to use those skills I had to help them achieve some fairness back into their life.”

Dec 1, 2022 12:50 AM CST

Deborah Ferguson fights to protect ballot initiative process and other rights in Idaho

“I read a quote recently that said we should think hard about what we owe each other as citizens and human beings,” Deborah Ferguson says. “I believe that.”

Nov 22, 2022 3:37 PM CST

Lauren Champaign has big goals for BigLaw

In summer 2020, Lauren Champaign and two colleagues proposed to Foley a three-part action plan for addressing racial injustice and inequality. “We took it very seriously and talked about how it felt to be in this moment as African American lawyers and what we wanted to see changed,” Champaign says. “Sometimes people think about organizational change, and that’s something, but with our three-part action plan, we were like, ‘No, we are intelligent, corporate attorneys doing really creative things. Here is a massive problem that has gone on for centuries. We can do more than just internal work.’”

Oct 1, 2022 12:40 AM CDT