Foundation Welcomes
37th Class
We're thrilled to introduce our 2025 Skadden Fellows. Hailing from 18 law schools across the country, these 28 individuals will begin their public interest careers by addressing a broad range of civil legal issues affecting people living in poverty throughout the United States.
2025
ACLU of Michigan
Marty Berger
Provide direct representation in high-volume tort lawsuits and common law conversion claims on behalf of unhoused residents of Grand Rapids, Michigan, whose property was illegally impounded or destroyed during police sweeps. Conduct Know Your Rights trainings and educate the public about ordinances that allow officers to seize unhoused people’s belongings.
In Grand Rapids, Michigan, police officers are ravaging encampments and destroying the few belongings that unhoused residents rely on for their survival: medicine, clothes, bedding, identification documents, and more. My project will collaborate with our unhoused neighbors and community partners to flood the city with tort litigation and force it to reckon with the fear and indignity that its police enforcement campaign has inflicted.
2025
James B Moran Center for Youth Advocacy, Evanston, IL
Emma Soglin
Expand the scope of a community-based legal clinic to provide advocacy on immigration, housing and other civil matters to support the permanency and stability of recently arrived immigrant families in Evanston and Skokie, Illinois.
It is an incredible honor to be able to respond to the plea for holistic immigration legal services in my hometown. I look forward to addressing urgent needs through direct representation and collaborating with stakeholders on sustainable, community-centered solutions that ensure new arrival children and their families receive the critical support they deserve.
2025
NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Washington, DC
Asja Towns
Engage in multidisciplinary advocacy, including policy, public education, litigation, communications and organizing, to safeguard and lawfully expand targeted programs so that low-income students of color can access higher education and employment opportunities.
Low-income students of color often experience systemic inequities in K-12 education and beyond that, through no fault of their own, persist and hinder their opportunities at every stage of their academic and professional journeys. I aim to bridge this gap by defending programs that dismantle barriers and create pathways to connect these talented students with the opportunities they need.
2025
ACLU - Speech Privacy and Technology Project, New York, NY
Byul Yoon
Defend grassroots advocates that are targeted with Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) by providing legal representation, amicus briefs, and Know Your Rights trainings, and promote legislation that protects First Amendment rights for low-income communities of color.
As a community organizer, I know that grassroots advocates already face an uphill battle to make their voices heard, and I have seen powerful entities abuse the legal system to silence people who can’t afford representation. I hope to help close the democracy gap by defending the First Amendment rights of low-income activists and organizations, so frontline leaders can build bold movements for racial and economic justice.