Three recent Temple Law graduates and one rising 2L have been recognized by the Philadelphia Bar Association for their commitment to pro bono and public interest work. Aaron Bindman LAW ‘17, Zach Marshall LAW ’17, and Juliana Petro LAW ‘17 were awarded the Eve Biskind Klothen Award, given to three students from each of the Philadelphia-area law schools to honor their pro bono and public interest achievements, while Tausha Saunders LAW ’19 was awarded the Judge Higginbotham Fellowship by the Bar Association for her work at the ACLU of PA this summer.
Director of Public Interest Programs Lisa Hurlbutt remarked that each of the honors was richly deserved. “One of the best parts of my job is watching our students’ legal talents grow to match their passion for service,” she said. “Aaron, Zach, and Juliana are brilliant advocates with a deep commitment to public interest work. We could not be more proud of what they’ve already accomplished.”
The Bar Association introduced each of the three graduates to its membership with some information about their law school service and accomplishments.
Aaron Bindman: Throughout his three years in law school, Aaron committed as much time as he could to working in public interest fields. He held key roles in two Temple student groups focused on pro bono service: the School Discipline Advocacy Service and the National Lawyers Guild Expungement Project. During the summers, he interned with Philadelphia Legal Assistance and Legal Aid of North Carolina. Aaron also participated in six different clinical courses that emphasized different public interest fields, including two semesters with the Temple Legal Aid Office, two with the Philadelphia Municipal Court, and one with the Defender Association of Philadelphia. Additionally, Aaron was a member of Temple Law Review and graduated cum laude.
Zachary Marshall: Zach spent his law school career advocating primarily for elders and those with disabilities. He volunteered for his first two years at Disability Rights Network of Pennsylvania, advocating for clients facing barriers in employment, education, and public accommodation. His second summer, he investigated education-based discrimination complaints at the U.S. Department of Education – Office for Civil Rights. In his third year, he served as the first law student volunteer with the newly-formed First Judicial District Elder Justice & Civil Resource Center. He also has clinical experience in Philadelphia’s Municipal Housing Court and Temple’s Elderly Law Project. Most recently, he logged 540 hours with the Temple Legal Aid Office, as part of the New York Pro Bono Scholars Program, assisting clients with disabilities with Social Security, estate planning, unlawful eviction, and public utility shut-off issues.
Juliana Petro: Through internships and volunteer work, Juliana focused her public interest work during law school primarily in the area of health care access and policy, as well as assisting clients with disabilities and medical issues. She spent summers at Temple Legal Aid Office and Pennsylvania Health Law Project (where she also interned during the academic year). She contributed numerous pro bono hours to the Medical Legal Community Partnership at Philadelphia Legal Assistance. She also earned academic credit working with the National Nurse-Led Care Consortium (affiliated with the Public Health Management Corporation, and in collaboration with Temple University’s Center for Public Health Law Research) and with the Justice Lab clinical at Temple’s Sheller Center for Social Justice.
Rising 2L Tausha Saunders, who is serving her Judge Leon Higginbotham Fellowship as a legal intern at the ACLU of Pennsylvania, has brought a wealth of advocacy-related experience with her to Temple Law. After serving as a legal assistant for two law school clinics at her undergraduate school and a Florida law firm, she volunteered as a guardian ad litem in the Miami Dade county court system. At Temple, she is an officer in the Political and Civil Rights Society and the Black Law Students Association, a member of the Moot Court Competition Team, and active with both the School Discipline Advocacy Service and the NLG Expungement Clinic.
“Like many Temple Law students, Tausha has been living her commitment to public interest service since long before she came to law school,” said Hurlbutt. “With her extraordinary intelligence, talent, and passion, I can’t wait to see what she does next.”
Pictured above, left to right: Zachary Marshall LAW ’17, Tausha Saunders LAW ’19, Juliana Petro LAW ’17. Not pictured: Aaron Bindman LAW ’17