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
Philadelphia Legal Assistance, Philadelphia, PA
Louis Lin
Address displacement in Philadelphia’s low-income Asian American communities by providing comprehensive direct representation to tenants facing evictions. Build community partnerships to provide outreach and education, engage in systemic advocacy to expand tenant protections and advance language access for AAPI and immigrant residents.
Asian Americans are facing urgent gentrification and displacement pressures in Philadelphia. As the son of Chinese immigrants, I am eager to return to Philadelphia and work with community organizations to advocate for AAPI and immigrant tenants, so they can remain in their homes and access community and cultural resources.
2025
ACLU, National Prison Project Boston, MA
Quinn Phillips
Provide legal representation and advocacy to address rights violations in the juvenile justice system that disproportionately affect girls in foster care. Litigate to prevent and seek remedies for unjust prolonged detention brought about by failures of child welfare authorities to provide appropriate reentry placement. Use appellate litigation to expand protections and ensure greater safety for girls who are at a heightened risk of sexual abuse while detained.
I am honored to advocate for children experiencing foster care and the juvenile justice system. Representing and working on behalf of these children provides an opportunity to secure immediate relief for them while pursuing long-term goals like reducing juvenile incarceration, strengthening protections for detained children, promoting accountability within detention facilities, and advancing reforms that prioritize children’s safety and freedom.
2025
The Arc of the United States, Washington, DC
Riley Dankovich
Develop strategic impact litigation, community partnerships and public education to dismantle the educational segregation of students of color with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Ensure that, in addition to receiving special education services, these students experience equal opportunities to receive an education alongside their nondisabled peers and are protected from stigma, discrimination and the school-to-prison pipeline.
How I was treated as a disabled child throughout my education shaped my understanding of my place in the world, and I am now eager to dismantle educational discrimination for other students with disabilities. Students of color with intellectual and developmental disabilities, in particular, are often taught to see themselves as trouble and a burden, and I hope to use all of the tools at my disposal to ensure that our education systems build them up, rather than tear them down.
2025
New York Legal Assistance Group, New York, NY
Darcy Gallego
Empower pro se asylum seekers and expand due process rights by combining group training with individual preparation ahead of hearings in immigration court and providing strategic appellate representation in select cases that raise due process concerns.
Serving pro se asylum seekers means expanding access to justice for those forced to navigate the complex legal system on their own. It is a way for me to honor my own family’s immigration journey while fighting for the rights of those seeking refuge.