NATION'S TOP LAW SCHOOL GRADUATES HELP COMMUNITIES THROUGH FELLOWSHIPS

WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 26, 2006) – Nonprofit organizations across the country are about to be provided with legal talents and services from 50 of the nation's top law students and new lawyers, as Equal Justice Works announces its fellowships class of 2006. These outstanding law graduates, chosen through a rigorous national application process, will spend two years providing legal help to underserved communities.

For example, Lea Weems, a graduate of Harvard Law School, will work on consumer and home owner rights at Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago in Chicago, Illinois. Many low-income families are having difficulty making mortgage payments and the number of foreclosures is increasing among this population. Unfortunately, scam artists are taking advantage of homeowners facing foreclosure by promising loan money and tricking the homeowner into signing confusing paperwork that ultimately transfers equity and ownership of the house to the lender. Once the transfer is made, the new owners raise the loan payments and quickly force the previous owner out on to the street. This scam is known as "equity stripping."

Ms. Weems became interested in protecting home owners from "equity stripping" scams when she volunteered with Harvard's Legal Services Center during her second year of law school. Her passion and commitment to this issue comes from her experience representing clients in a wide range of housing cases, including two home owners facing eviction because of one of these scams. That work exposed Ms. Weems to the dire consequences of the loss of one's home and how the effective representation of home owners could prevent that devastating loss.

"To build and sustain successful communities, I feel a responsibility to use my legal skills to defend the low-income residents of Chicago from equity stripping," Ms. Weems said. "It is time that scam artists paid for their deception and predatory activities."

Ms. Weems is part of the Equal Justice Works Fellowships Class of 2006, a diverse group representing 34 law schools. The fellows will work in 16 states and Washington, D.C. providing legal services in areas such as civil rights, community and economic development, consumer rights, education, health care, housing and workers' rights. The program provides salary and benefits and the fellows are eligible to apply for a loan repayment assistance program (LRAP) that helps them manage law school debts while working for the public good.

Sponsors, public interest law agencies and nonprofit organizations partner with Equal Justice Works to help new attorneys work for the benefit of their communities.

"These exceptional lawyers and the innovative strategies they develop help to strengthen our communities and create a positive effect on the justice system," said David Stern, Chief Executive Officer of Equal Justice Works. "We are privileged to introduce this talented, dedicated group."

Since the inception of the Equal Justice Works Fellowships program in 1993, more than 150 law firms and corporations have funded 600 fellows, who have spent 1.3 million collective hours serving individuals in need. Equal Justice Works, with the support of the Open Society Institute, a foundation started by George Soros, has raised more than $40 million to fund services to hundreds of nonprofit organizations in 47 states.

Equal Justice Works, a nonprofit, nonpartisan 501(c)(3) organization, was founded in 1986 by law students dedicated to working for equal justice on behalf of underserved communities and people. Today, Equal Justice Works is the national leader in creating summer and postgraduate public interest opportunities for law students and lawyers as well as in urging more public interest programming at law schools. For more information about Equal Justice Works, visit www.equaljusticeworks.org.

Equal Justice Works Fellowships Class of 2006