The Boston Bar Association (BBA) today announced that 14 lawyers -- all
of whom are within ten years of graduating from law school -- have been admitted
to the BBA's 2012-2013 Public Interest Leadership Program (PILP). Designed to
identify and develop the next generation of lawyer leaders, this highly
selective program drew applicants from an exceptionally talented and diverse
group of young professionals committed to serving the public interest.
PILP kicks off in May 2012. Restructured after its 8th year, the program
now requires a time commitment of 150 hours over 14 months. In addition to
facilitating public service activities benefitting the community, the PILP
class will execute programs drawing on the talent and resources of PILP
alums from the past 8 years.
The 14 attorneys who make up the 2012-2013 Public Interest Leadership
Class are:
Jacqueline Silva Anchondo - Greater Boston Legal
Services
Jacqueline Anchondo is currently a Skadden Fellow at
Greater Boston Legal Services, where she collaborates with Cambridge Health
Alliance to offer weekly onsite immigration consults and full representation for
patients who are victims of domestic violence, trafficking, and other
crimes. Jacqueline is a graduate of Stanford Law School where she was a
Public Interest Fellow, the elected Student Liaison to the Public Interest
Faculty Committee, and co-Editor-in-Chief of the Stanford Journal of
International Law. During her 2L summer, Jacqueline worked at Greater
Boston Legal Services' Immigration Unit, and during her 1L summer she was a
clinical fellow at the Domestic Violence Clinic of WilmerHale Legal Services
Center. Prior to attending Stanford, Jacqueline completed her BA at
Cornell University and studied as a Fulbright Scholar in Mexico investigating
immigration and women's rights issues.
Benton B. Bodamer - Weil, Gotshal and Manges
LLP
Benton Bodamer is a
senior corporate associate with Weil, Gotshal and Manges LLP. He regularly
represents public and private companies and financial sponsors in complex
domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, minority investments,
divestitures, and restructurings. Before
joining Weil, Ben was a Moritz Scholar at The Ohio State University Moritz
College of Law, graduating with honors in 2006. Prior to his legal career, he
studied archaeology at Harvard University and the University of Cambridge. A
former college hurdler, he currently sits on the Executive Advisory Board of the
Friends of Harvard Track.
Julia E. Devanthéry - HomeStart, Inc.
Julia
Devanthéry is the Manager of Legal Advocacy at HomeStart, Inc. where she
represents low-income tenants on the verge of homelessness. She joined HomeStart
in 2010 after completing a post-graduate clinical legal fellowship at
Northeastern University School of Law's Domestic Violence Institute. She
graduated from Northeastern School of Law in 2009 and Brown University in
2004. She is the Vice President of the Board of Directors of RESPOND,
Inc., a domestic violence shelter and community services provider.
Jennifer R. García - Metropolitan Area Planning Council
(MAPC)
Jennifer García has provides legal counsel to MAPC where she
is responsible for ensuring that the agency is compliant with relevant federal
and state law in the areas of employment, ethics, open meeting, public record
and procurement law. Jennifer is a graduate of Columbia University and the
University of North Carolina School of Law. She is a graduate of the
Commonwealth Seminar and the Initiative for Diversity in Civic Leadership
(IDCL), and is a current National Hispana Leadership Institute (NHLI) ALL IN
fellow. Jennifer serves on the board of the Massachusetts Alliance on Teen
Pregnancy.
Omar F. Gonzalez-Pagan - Massachusetts Attorney General's
Office
Omar Gonzalez-Pagan is an Assistant Attorney General within
the Office of Attorney General Martha Coakley. Through part of 2011, he
also worked as a Special Assistant District Attorney in the Boston Municipal
Court Division of the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office. He serves
on the boards of the Massachusetts LGBTQ Bar Association and the Boston Lawyers
Chapter of the American Constitution Society. Omar is a graduate of Cornell
University and the University of Pennsylvania Law School.
Eric A. Haskell - Foley Hoag LLP
Eric Haskell is
litigator at Foley Hoag LLP who specializes in commercial disputes and class
action defense. Eric earned his juris doctor from Columbia Law School in
2005. Before joining Foley Hoag, Eric served as a law clerk to the
Honorable Peter T. Zarella of the Connecticut Supreme Court. While at
Foley Hoag, Eric has participated extensively in the firm’s signature pro bono
program, the Domestic Violence Prevention Project, representing numerous victims
in domestic violence, immigration, and other proceedings. Eric serves as
Chairman of the Hingham Republican Town Committee and as a lector at
Resurrection parish.
Emily F. Hodge - Choate Hall & Stewart
LLP
Emily Hodge is an associate in the litigation department with
Choate where she focuses on representation of individuals and corporations in
government and internal investigations as well as complex civil litigation.
Emily chairs the Choate's collaboration with the Lawyers Clearinghouse, is
active with the Citizen Schools program, and serves on the Board of Friends of
CASA, Inc. Emily is a member of the firm's Hiring Committee. Outside of the
office Emily also sits on the United Way Emerging Leaders General Committee, and
spends time volunteering as a member of Boston Cares.
Daniel M. Routh - Ropes & Gray LLP
Daniel Routh
is an associate in the Litigation Department with Ropes & Gray where he
focuses on business litigation. Daniel has significant involvement in firm pro
bono activities, representing clients in guardianship and asylum matters and
serving as Firm Co-Captain for the 2011 and 2012 Walk to the Hill events, as
well as the 2011 and 2012 GBLS Associates Fund Drives. Prior to starting at
Ropes & Gray, Daniel worked as a New Alternatives Fellow at Cambridge &
Somerville Legal Services, where he represented low-income clients in housing
and benefits matters. Daniel is a graduate of Harvard Law School and University
of Maryland.
Staci Rubin - Alternatives for Community and Environment, Inc.
(ACE)
As Staff Attorney at Alternatives for Community and
Environment, Inc. (ACE), Staci Rubin provides legal services to community groups
and coalitions working for environmental justice. Her career includes experience
in environmental law, administrative law, energy law, civil rights law, public
health, environmental health, epidemiology, and restorative justice. Staci
obtained a Juris Doctor from Northeastern University School of Law, a Master of
Environmental Law and Policy from Vermont Law School and Master of Public Health
from Tufts University School of Medicine where she studied the occupational
hazards of benzene exposure and cancer outcomes as well as the legal challenges
inherent in toxic tort litigation.
Christopher T. Saccardi - Law Office of Christopher T.
Saccardi
Chris Saccardi is a solo practitioner at the Law Office of
Christopher T. Saccardi where he focuses on landlord-tenant law in Boston and
the surrounding communities. An active volunteer with the BBA’s Volunteer Lawyer
Project, Chris was awarded VLP's 2011 Denis Maguire Pro Bono Award for
exceptional service in accepting and handling pro bono cases at Boston Housing
Court. Prior to starting his own practice, Chris was a litigation associate at
Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge in Boston. He is a graduate of Dartmouth
College and Northeastern University School of Law.
Brendan St. Amant - Donnelly, Conroy & Gelhaar,
LLP
Brendan St. Amant is an associate at Donnelly, Conroy &
Gelhaar, LLP, where he focuses his practice on business litigation, employment
law, and white-collar criminal defense. He is a Trustee for the East
Cambridge Scholarship Fund and was recently appointed to serve on the Cambridge
Human Rights Commission. Prior to attending law school, Brendan was a high
school teacher in Pittsburgh and served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Niger from
2002-2004. Brendan is a graduate of both Harvard Law School and the
Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
Anjali Waikar - Krokidas & Bluestein LLP
Anjali
Waikar is an associate at Krokidas & Bluestein LLP, where she represents
non-profit, health care, and social service organizations and charter schools in
a wide range of employment, privacy, litigation, civil rights, and health care
legal issues. Anjali joined the firm after serving as the Equal Justice Works
Fellow at the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts where she worked
on issues relating to post-9/11 racial, religious and ethnic profiling. Prior to
law school, Anjali worked at South Brooklyn Legal Services, where she advocated
on behalf of low-income, HIV-infected people. Anjali is a graduate of Wesleyan
University and Northeastern University School of Law.
Meghan D. H. Walsh - Holland & Knight LLP
Meghan
Walsh is the manager of Holland & Knight's Public & Charitable Service
Department. She was previously a member of the firm's corporate law department
and national Nonprofit and Tax-Exempt Organizations and Education Practice
Groups. Megan completed a fellowship with the nonprofit corporation of
MetroLacrosse, Inc., where she assisted with business and structural issues for
the organization and has served as a volunteer coach for many years. Through the
Holland & Knight Public and Charitable Service Department, she has also been
a volunteer at two public schools in Boston - the Boston Renaissance Charter
School and the Josiah Quincy Lower School. Meghan is a graduate of Boston College
Law School and Amherst College.
Raquel Webster - City of Boston Law
Department
Raquel Webster serves as Assistant Corporation Counsel
with the City of Boston Law Department where she represents the City in state
and federal court and before administrative agencies in all stages of litigation
involving civil rights litigation, police misconduct, employment and tort law.
Raquel spent 7 years as a litigation associate at Bingham McCutchen LLP before
joining the City of Boston Law Department. She is a member of the Board of
Trustees for the Boston Debate League, is a lead teacher/program coordinator for
Discovering Justice and Citizen Schools Legal Apprenticeship Mock Trail Program,
was selected by the Massachusetts Women's Bar Association to participate in the
2011-2012 Women's Leadership Initiative Program, and volunteers her time with
C.A.R.E and Restart Program.