We are pleased to announce that Clara Shanabrook, a graduate from Wellesley College, is the winner of the 2024 ChapmanAlbin Law School Scholarship Essay Contest. Ms. Shanabrook will be awarded $1,000 to be used towards tuition and/or expenses at her law school of choice.
For this year’s essay, scholarship applicants were asked: “You just finished your autobiography about your legal career. Submit the first page of your autobiography (how you got to where you are now in your legal career) and your last page (where you want to eventually end up one day).”
Read Clara’s winning essay below.
Page 1:
Across four different refugee camps and after four years engaged in field work, I have never met a lawyer in camp who is not also a resident there. I have seen refugees work months of overnight shifts at the chicken processing plant to never receive payment for their labor and have witnessed families wait additional years in camp because they didn’t know how to formally register their asylum claims. I hope to pursue a law degree focused on immigration and international human rights law, preparing to advocate for refugees and advise and defend victims of displacement and human rights violations.
Strongly committed to public service and providing progressive Immigration and International Law programs, Yale Law School is the ideal place for me to begin my legal career. Classes including Foreign Relations and International Law in Practice and Human Rights Workshop: Current Issues and Events will prepare me to advocate for refugees and to advise and defend victims of displacement and human rights violations. This education can be combined with hands-on experience by participating in the Lowenstein International Human Rights Clinic.
My time among displaced communities is the bedrock of my resolution to become a lawyer and apply the law as a tool to aid displaced peoples. My legal education will make me a more competent advocate, and until then, I will bring the intentionality learned from my relationships in Greece to my work as a student and colleague.
Final Page:
Armed with skills from a federal clerkship, I’ve focused the majority of my career on impact litigation. Working with organizations like Tahirih Justice Center, the American Civil Liberties Union, or National Immigrant Justice Center, has allowed me to impact immigration law at a macro-level, supporting cases like Biden v. Texas or Innovation Law Lab v. Wolf which challenged the Trump administration’s “Migrant Protection Protocols.” As an impact litigator, I’ve had the capacity to alter the field of immigration and asylum law and hold institutions responsible for upholding international laws.
This lifelong work has been challenging, affirming, and rewarding, ultimately leading to my current work at intergovernmental agency UNHCR, contributing to global peace efforts and the promotion of the rule of law to address root causes of displacement and developing strategies that promote the global sharing of responsibility for refugees.
Congratulations Clara! If you are an incoming or current law student, be on the lookout for our next scholarship opportunity.
Step 1.
Talk to an Experienced Attorney Today
Call and speak to one of our attorneys* for a no-cost consultation to discuss your situation, answer your questions, and help you determine the next steps. This call usually takes about 15 minutes, but we are happy to talk to you as long as you would like!
Step 2.
Quick Review of Your Paperwork
If we think you might have a case, we will need to review a few basic documents. If we determine you have a case, then you will have the option to hire us as your attorneys to pursue it.
Step 3.
Signed Attorney/Client Agreement
If you decide to hire us to pursue your case, we will have you sign an attorney-client agreement so we can begin the process of trying to recover your losses.*
*In the vast majority of cases, our agreement is contingent – meaning you won’t owe us any money unless we recover money for you.
