Third-year law student Elise Baroni has been named a 2022 Rural Summer Legal Corps Fellow of Equal Justice Works. Selected from 333 applicants, Baroni is one of 40 law students who will take part in the program this year.
Baroni will be hosted by Legal Aid of Arkansas, where she will join “Beyond Opioids—Breaking Legal Barriers for Families in Recovery,” a collaborative project between Arkansas Legal Aid Programs that supports those affected by the opioid crisis and other substance use disorders at the host organization. She will be based in Newport, Arkansas.
“I am truly thrilled to have the opportunity to be a Rural Summer Legal Corps Fellow because I am able to continue to explore public service work and connect with future lawyers across the country who have a similar interest,” Baroni said. “I’m also glad this program exists and funds important projects in rural communities with little or no legal help, and I’m honored to be a part of it.”
The rural summer legal body is a partnership between the Legal Services Corporation and Equal Justice Works that supports dedicated law students who want to spend their summer solving pressing legal issues facing rural communities. Program participants, known as student fellows, spend eight to 10 weeks during the summer exploring their passion for the public interest while gaining valuable legal skills and experience at civil legal aid organizations funded by the Legal Services Corporation. After completing 300 hours of service under the program, participants earn a stipend of $5,000.
“The opioid epidemic has ravaged communities across the United States,” said Brooke Meckler, director of law school engagement and advocacy at Equal Justice Works. “We are grateful that Elise is joining our Rural Summer Legal Corps, where she will have the opportunity to support Arkansans and their families struggling with opioid use disorder and other substance use disorders. .”
Baroni is president of the Criminal Law Society, a member of the Women’s Law Student Association, and editor of the Notes and Commentaries of the Journal of Food Law and Policy.
She was the Rose Law Firm 200th Anniversary Public Service Fellow in 2021 and worked with the Shelby County Public Defender’s Office.
“We are thrilled that Elise is devoting her summer to the legal needs of rural Arkansans,” said Annie Smith, associate professor of law and director of the Faculty of Public Service and voluntarily law school program. “Elise launched her public service career as one of our Public Service Summer Fellows working in the Shelby County Public Defender’s Office last summer. It is wonderful that Equal Justice Works has recognized her commitment, experience and skills and selected her for its highly competitive scholarship program this summer.”
About Equal Justice Works: Founded by law students in 1986, Equal Justice Works is a nonprofit organization that offers lawyers the opportunity to turn their passion for equal justice into a lifelong commitment to public service. As the nation’s largest facilitator of public interest law opportunities, Equal Justice Works brings together an extensive network of law students, attorneys, nonprofit legal aid organizations, and supporters to promote public service and inspire a lifelong commitment to equal justice.
About the School of Law: The law school offers a competitive JD as well as an advanced LL.M. curriculum, which are taught by nationally recognized faculty. The school offers unique opportunities for students to participate in pro bono work, internships, live client clinics, competitions, and food and agriculture initiatives. The school strives to identify, discuss and challenge issues of race, color, ethnicity and the impacts they have on students, faculty and staff members with the aim of create a diverse, inclusive and equitable community. From admitting the six pioneers who were the first African-American students to attend law school in the South without a court order to graduating governors, judges, prosecutors and professors who became President of the United States and Secretary of State, Law The school has a rich history and culture. Follow us on @uarklaw.
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