Third-year student Anna Barrett, who received the largest annual public interest grant offered by UGA Law – the Bool Simkins Fellowship – spent the summer gaining legal experience at the Southern Center for Human Rights.

For third-year student Anna H. Barrett, who came to law school to pursue a career in public interest law – specifically public defense work – financial support was essential to gain legal experience in the field during the summer months of law school.

At UGA Law, summer fellowships are a priority for those seeking legal work in nonprofits, federal and state government, judicial clerkships, legal services and policy/impact organizations. Over the past five years, the school has awarded more than $1.5 million to students in these unpaid positions, thanks to contributions provided by alumni and friends.

Roughly 85 students used their fellowships this past summer to pursue legal work throughout the state of Georgia and the country, including California, Idaho, Texas and Pennsylvania. Fifty students worked in public interest and government placements (with 10 serving in rural counties of Georgia), while 33 worked in judicial chambers.

As for Barrett, who received the largest annual public interest grant offered by UGA Law – the Bool Simkins Fellowship – she spent the summer gaining legal experience at the Southern Center for Human Rights in Atlanta. She said she was pleased to have the opportunity “to represent an incarcerated person in proceedings before the Alabama parole board, visit and interview clients, and, of course, do plenty of legal writing and research.”