Penn Law students receive Skadden Fellowships

Two Penn Law students, Albert Pak L’18 and Jayme Wiebold L’18, have been awarded Skadden Fellowships to pursue work in the public interest. These highly competitive postgraduate fellowships fund two years of work providing legal services to the poor, the elderly, the homeless, the disabled, and those deprived of their civil or human rights.

“We are grateful to the Skadden Foundation for a program that launches so many public interest careers,” said Arlene Rivera Finkelstein, Associate Dean for Public Interest Programs and Executive Director of the Toll Public Interest Center. “These fellowships are extremely competitive, and we are so proud of Jayme and Albert for their well-deserved success in the fellowship process. In their time at Penn Law, these students have already shown themselves to be deeply committed advocates. Their work as Skadden Fellows will be an exciting continuation of that commitment.”

As a fellow, Pak will work with Michigan Community Resources, where he will provide transactional legal services to low-income entrepreneurs and small businesses in Detroit neighborhoods to support economic revitalization.

For her fellowship, Wiebold will join Iowa Legal Aid to represent low-income Iowans experiencing legal problems as a result of vehicle ownership. She will focus on serving clients who are particularly vulnerable to predatory lenders or who have been sold cars that need significant repairs.

The Skadden Fellowships were created in 1988, and — with the addition of the newest class — 820 law school graduates have been named fellows.

Penn Law is committed to supporting students as they launch careers in the public interest. In addition to helping students apply for awards like Skadden Fellowships, the Law School also offers its own postgraduate fellowships to financially support graduates who pursue work at public interest organizations, government agencies, and NGOs.