Mariel Mussack L’20

Mariel is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she studied Comparative Literature and Global Studies, and graduated with Highest Honors. As an undergraduate student, Mariel spent most of her time advocating for immigrant workers. After college, Mariel moved to Philadelphia to work as a paralegal at Community Legal Services (CLS), where she assisted low-income tenants facing eviction and termination of subsidized housing benefits. 

At Penn Law, Mariel served as co-director of the Penn Law Immigrant Rights Project, through which she organized a variety of pro bono projects and clinics to serve immigrants in the Philadelphia area. She has also served on the boards of If/When/How: Lawyering for Reproductive Justice and the National Lawyers’ Guild. Mariel is currently the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Law and Social Change. 

Mariel spent her 1L summer at the Women’s Law Project, where she worked on a variety of matters relating to equal pay and sexual harassment at schools and at work, as well as pregnancy and breastfeeding accommodations. She then pursued a year-long externship in the employment unit at CLS, where she assisted immigrant clients with wage theft matters. Mariel spent her 2L summer at Justice at Work, where she represented immigrant women facing workplace exploitation. Mariel also externed with the ACLU of Pennsylvania’s Immigrant Rights Project during her 3L year. 

After graduation, Mariel will return to Justice at Work through a Skadden Foundation Fellowship. Her fellowship project will address the various legal needs of workers recruited to Pennsylvania through temporary labor migration programs. Mariel hopes to spend her career ensuring immigrants can access the justice system in a meaningful way.