University of St. Thomas School of Law student Emily Hegna and the Archbishop Ireland Justice Fellows program were honored at the 2026 Minnesota Justice Foundation (MJF) Awards Celebration on Sept. 22. The event recognizes members of Minnesota’s legal community for their pro bono and public interest legal work.
Emily Hegna, 3L – Outstanding Service Award
Hegna received an Outstanding Service Award for her contributions to the School of Law and the broader community. Over the course of her time in law school, she has logged more than 600 volunteer hours and is an active member of the law school’s chapter of the American Constitution Society. Within her externship with Minnesota’s First District Public Defender’s Office, Hegna goes beyond her expected duties to mentor new clerks and help train them to represent clients in court. She is also a leader among her law school peers who takes time to meet with fellow law students interested in public defense, and she encourages her classmates to pursue service-oriented opportunities.
“Across every dimension of her work, Emily has demonstrated extraordinary dedication, skill, and compassion,” said Shawn Webb, who nominated Hegna for the award. “Her contributions to the First District Public Defender’s Office are remarkable in both scope and impact, and her leadership within the law school community reflects a deep commitment to justice and service.”
Webb teaches the law school's Misdemeanor Defense Externship and works as the managing attorney for the First District Public Defender’s Office in Dakota County.
In June, Hegna received a 2026 Outstanding Student Externship Award from the Clinical Legal Education Association (CLEA) for her work in the Misdemeanor Defense, Public Interest and Advanced Misdemeanor Defense externships with the First District Public Defender’s Office and Dakota County’s Competency Court.
Archbishop Ireland Justice Fellows – Collaboration Award
The law school’s Archbishop Ireland Justice Fellows program received MJF's Collaboration Award. This is the first year MJF has presented the award.
Recipients included law school staff members Lisa Montpetit Brabbit, Katie Flood, Monica Gould ‘04 J.D., Gloria Myre ‘07 J.D., Kelley Siemon ‘05 J.D. and Ellie Speedling, along with law school Board of Governors members Maureen Bausch, Judy Hallett and Jack Helms.
The St. Thomas Archbishop Ireland Justice Fellows program, named after the university’s founder, places newly licensed St. Thomas Law graduates in one-year fellowships to work in the justice gap, which is defined as the difference between the civil legal needs of low-income Americans and the resources available to meet those needs.
Since the program was started in 2014 by Montpetit Brabbit, 35 St. Thomas Law alumni have served Minnesotans who could not otherwise afford an attorney through placements with organizations including Central Minnesota Legal Services, Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid, Minnesota Disability Law Center, Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota, Veterans Defense Project and Safe Passage for Children of Minnesota.
The program has generated more than 70,000 hours of legal services for individuals experiencing a legal issue related to housing, child welfare, healthcare, public benefits and beyond.
"We have watched Fellows help a mother secure housing safe for her severely asthmatic child, help parents navigate complex special-education systems, stand beside veterans, immigrants, foster children, people with disabilities and families in moments of life-altering crisis," Montpetit Brabbit said at the ceremony. “And in doing that work, something happens to the Fellows, too. They develop judgment, empathy, compassion and confidence.”
The Ireland Fellows program is structured as a collaborative model that brings together legal talent from the law school, donors who want to improve access to the legal system and non-profit organizations that have limited financial resources.
“The Ireland Justice Fellow program has been crucial in Safe Passage's work in advocating for child safety," said Dr. Lisa Hollensteiner, board chair of Safe Passage. "As a small non-profit, we have limited resources, and the Ireland Fellows have served as our research arm. Most notably, due to their work, we have been able to publish three Child Fatality reports that identify key trends and highlight opportunities for systemic improvement to help protect children and prevent future deaths.”
Supervising Attorney Kathleen Knight of the Immigrant Law Center shared that the fellowship opportunity has allowed her organization not only to take on more cases than they have staff capacity to serve, but also to take on more unique cases that are not covered under specific grant funding, such as temporary protected status cases.
For the School of Law, the Ireland Fellows program provides a pathway for new graduates to get professional experience and potentially direct them into lifelong public-interest law careers. It also aligns with the school’s mission.
“The Ireland Fellows program is one way the law school lives out its mission and serves the common good,” said Montpetit Brabbit. “We are focused on preparing lawyers who can meet tomorrow's challenges, and through these fellowships, our graduates can have a direct impact on the lives of underserved individuals and improve access to our legal system.”
