DETROIT (June 2, 2010) - Wayne State University Law School is pleased to announce the 2010 Public Interest Law Fellowship (PILF) recipients.  Adam Clements, Bradley Dembs, Anupama Gokarn, Andrew Hoff, Phyllis Jeden, Jeffrey Kerby, Elizabeth Kruman, Natalia Santanna, Aisa Villarosa and Chelsea Zuzindlak will be gaining practical legal experience through $4,800 fellowships that will allow them to work for a variety of agencies and clinics in Michigan and Washington, D.C.

The fellowships were created by the Law School in 2009 to give students additional opportunities to gain practical experience before graduation, ease financial stresses and offer needed assistance to organizations providing legal services to underserved constituencies. Fellowship recipients will hold public interest jobs during summer 2010. A committee of Wayne Law faculty and alumni selected the recipients.

"On behalf of Wayne Law, I would like to congratulate our 2010 Public Interest Law Fellowship recipients," said Wayne Law Dean Robert M. Ackerman. "These fellowships provide an excellent opportunity for these students to gain practical experience in public interest law. They will also supply help for worthy organizations and assist folks in need of legal help at a time of economic difficulty."

Dean Ackerman added, "We are thrilled to be able to offer these fellowships for a second year, and hope to be in a position to continue funding the program in future years as well."

The fellowship recipients and the organizations for which they will work include:

• Adam Clements - City of Highland Park
• Bradley Dembs - Counsel and Advocacy Law Line, Lakeshore Legal Aid
• Anupama Gokarn - Free Legal Aid Clinic
• Andrew Hoff - Michigan Poverty Law Program
• Phyllis Jeden - American Civil Liberties Union
• Jeffrey Kerby - State Appellate Defender's Office
• Elizabeth Kruman - U.S. Department of Justice, Environment and Natural Resources Division, Washington, D.C.
• Natalia Santanna - Legal Services of South Central Michigan
• Aisa Villarosa - Michigan Children's Law Center
• Chelsea Zuzindlak - Asian American Justice Center, Washington, D.C.

"This fellowship makes it financially possible to take a public interest internship that would otherwise be unpaid," Elizabeth Kruman said. "Through my internship with the Department of Justice, I hope to gain a sense of the kind of public interest legal work I will pursue as a career after graduating. Without the PILF, it would be more difficult to explore such opportunities."

Added Aisa Villarosa, "My internship at the Detroit office of the Michigan Children's Law Center and the PILF will bring me closer to realizing my goal of providing legal services to underrepresented populations in Detroit."

For more information, please visit http://www.law.wayne.edu/finaid/pilf.php.

Wayne State University is a premier urban research university offering more than 350 academic programs through 13 schools and colleges to nearly 32,000 students.

For more information on Wayne State University Law School, visit law.wayne.edu.