Rubin-Presser Social Justice Fellows - Class of 2019

Chris Lin (LAW '19)

Primary Areas of Interest: Civil liberties and technology, government accountability, democratic and economic reform

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Christopher Lin (LAW ‘19) graduated summa cum laude from the University of Pittsburgh with a B.A. in Political Science and then from Georgetown with a master’s degree in public policy. His graduate thesis examined the relationship between Internet usage and measures of civic engagement. Before law school, he worked in federal and then municipal government while serving on the boards of local neighborhood and political associations. He is currently an elected Philadelphia Democratic Committeeperson in the 8th Ward.

Chris graduated from Temple Law magna cum laude while also interning with the U.S. Senate, Philadelphia City Council, ACLU-PA, Community Legal Services, and Local 19 as a Peggy Browning Fellow. He also served as the President of the Temple Law Democrats and the American Constitution Society. Chris presented on federal privacy law at the 2018 Law and Society Association conference in Toronto and his paper on Pennsylvania’s Equal Rights Amendment and its implications for abortion rights was a finalist in the Constance Baker Motley National Student Writing Competition.

Post-Graduation Plans: American Constitution Society (ACS)

Catherine Twigg (LAW '19)

Primary areas of interest: Civil rights and civil liberties, police misconduct

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Catherine Twigg (LAW ’19) completed her B.A. and M.A. in European Politics and Policy at NYU. Prior to law school, she worked at the European Roma Rights Centre, an international non-profit using strategic litigation to advocate for human rights in Europe. Subsequently, she worked as an investigator of police misconduct in New York City and Washington, DC. Catherine is interested in civil rights and civil liberties, particularly police misconduct.

Post-graduation plans: Civil Rights and Fair Labor Sections, Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General.

Brandon DeShields (LAW '19)

Primary areas of interest: Criminal defense for indigent defendants, racial justice issues, civil rights and civil liberties

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Brandon DeShields (LAW 19) graduated from Columbia University School of General Studies with a B.A. in African American Studies and from the Jewish Theological Seminary a B.A. in Bible Studies. Prior to law school Brandon worked as a visa and passport coordinator, then as a paralegal at the US Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York. In New York, he volunteered with Jews for Racial and Economic Justice’s Jews of Color Caucus in helping with the first national convening of Jews of Color around issues of racial justice and anti-Semitism. During law school, Brandon interned with the ACLU Pennsylvania, the Defender Association of Philadelphia, and the Youth Sentencing & Reentry Project, and served as the President of the Jewish Law Students Association and Co-Chair of the Temple NLG Expungement Project.

Post-graduation plans: Defender Association of Philadelphia.