by Rachel Tomlinson Dick
The Nebraska Public Interest Law Fund (NPILF) provides a limited number of stipends to University of Nebraska College of Law students who secure unpaid public interest positions with a host organization that serves an unmet legal need.
2L Rachel Tomlinson Dick, a 2020 NPILF recipient, worked with Nebraska Appleseed in Lincoln. Nebraska Appleseed is a nonprofit organization that combines legal work, policy work, and community organizing to combat systemic issues within the State that threaten Nebraskans’ access to justice and opportunity. It does this work within four main program areas: Economic Justice, Immigrants and Communities, Healthcare Access, and Child Welfare. Rachel shares more about her experience below.
What were your main responsibilities this summer? How did you spend your time?
I spent my summer as a law clerk with Collective Impact Lincoln (“CIL”), which is a subset of the Economic Justice program and a collaboration between Nebraska Appleseed, Civic Nebraska, and the South of Downtown organization. The main focus of CIL is affordable housing; thus, I spent the bulk of my time doing research and writing memos on a host of issues relating to housing access and rights
What drew you to this type of work and how did you find this particular opportunity?
The primary reason that I decided to attend law school was to pursue public interest and policy-oriented work. I have been familiar with Nebraska Appleseed for some time, and when I began thinking about summer clerkships following my 1L year, Appleseed was my first choice. I interviewed with them during On-Campus Interviews and was fortunate enough to secure an offer.
What did you most enjoy about the experience?
I feel most strongly about having had the opportunity to engage in work with the potential to help people in tangible and essential ways. The ability to do that kind of work felt particularly important considering the events of this summer: the devastating impacts of COVID-19, the killing of George Floyd, and the mobilization of communities to combat systemic racism.
I also sincerely enjoyed getting to know my fellow law clerks and the incredible staff at Nebraska Appleseed.
What was the biggest challenge you faced?
Due to COVID-19, Nebraska Appleseed’s offices were closed all summer, so my clerkship was entirely remote. Learning the ins and outs of a new position without any in-person interaction was challenging. Still, Nebraska Appleseed did an outstanding job making remote work as painless as possible.
How did your summer experience impact you or your view of public interest work/the legal system?
It truly reaffirmed my choice to come to law school and pursue a career in public interest law. Being able to see first-hand the good that can be done through legal and policy work was powerful. It was also eye-opening to see more clearly the manners in which the law needs to change; so much of our legal framework and public policies severely disadvantage Black and Indigenous communities and other People of Color, as well as indigent populations.
Do you have a favorite anecdote or project from your summer work?
It’s hard to choose; I immensely enjoyed all of my research. One highlight from my summer work was getting to participate in a National Low Income Housing Coalition call on which Elizabeth Warren joined to discuss the necessity of housing security during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Would you recommend this placement to others?
I would highly recommend it. I sincerely cannot say enough good things about Nebraska Appleseed and every single person who works there. They somehow made it feel like a close-knit, collaborative environment, even though everyone was working remotely. I also felt like the mentorship I received during my clerkship was incredibly useful and helped me grow significantly as a legal writer, researcher, and thinker.
What would you say to someone who was considering donating to NPILF?
I would try to communicate just how much good that donation could do, both for the law students receiving it and the communities in which those students will work. NPILF funding not only enables students to take unpaid clerkships in public interest that develop them; the grants also help organizations and entities doing vital work in the community to recruit law clerks to contribute to their impact.
What do you hope to do with your law degree?
I hope to continue doing public interest and policy-oriented work in pursuance of a more just and equitable society.
You can learn more about the Nebraska Public Interest Law Fund (NPILF) and make a donation here.