Supporting Public Interest
Two weeks ago we were pleased to welcome back one of our graduates, Sheila Hayre '02, as the Law School's new Public Interest Advisor. In her new position, Sheila will focus on assisting YLS students and alumni in applying for public interest fellowships. Additionally, she will provide counseling to students interested in public interest careers.
Sheila joins us from New Haven Legal Assistance (NHLA) where she has practiced since 2004. At NHLA Sheila's work in family and immigration law focused on the neediest, particularly women who were victims of spousal abuse, and undocumented immigrants. She was among the first legal services attorneys in Connecticut to pursue visa status adjustments for battered spouses, and she has recently filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of victims of trafficking and employer abuse.
The position of Public Interest Advisor is one of the four improvements to public interest support unveiled by Dean Koh last April. In addition to a dedicated public interest counselor, Dean Koh doubled the number of public interest fellowships available to graduates, announced an increase in funding for summer public interest opportunities, and made major changes to our loan repayment assistance program, COAP (more on this in a future post).
Yale Law School has a history rich in the tradition of public service, from graduates who have worked in the highest levels of government, to other pioneers who established or led public interest organizations. These changes announced last April serve to further strengthen the Law School's already deep commitment to supporting our current students and graduates as they forge their unique paths in public service.