Third-year law students Kathryn Quinlan and Brooke Trottier have been selected by Equal Justice Works to participate in its 2021 Rural Summer Legal Corps Fellowship program. They are two of
Kathryn Quinlan
just 35 law students from across the country to be chosen for this competitive program, which allows law students to explore their passion for public interest work and gain valuable legal experience.
“Equal Justice Works is proud to facilitate opportunities for law students to build their skills outside of the classroom,” said Aoife Delargy Lowe, vice president of law school engagement and advocacy at Equal Justice Works. “We are delighted to have Kathryn and Brooke serve in our Rural Summer Legal Corps, where they will gain invaluable exposure to public interest law as they work alongside attorneys to support rural residents of Minnesota.”
Quinlan and Trottier will work on Reach Justice Minnesota, an initiative of seven regional Minnesota legal aid programs, that aims to leverage technology to help lower-income Minnesotans who seek basic information about their legal rights and need legal representation to resolve civil legal issues.
Specifically, they will work with Legal Services of Northwest Minnesota and Legal Aid Service of Northeastern Minnesota to establish “justice buses” for mobile legal aid clinics and expand use of the legal kiosk network across four counties and one reservation in the northern portion of the state.
Brooke Trottier
"I am excited to work on the legal kiosk and the justice bus projects," Trottier said. "This fellowship stood out to me because of these new and innovative methods of reaching rural populations.”
Trottier grew up in a small town in central Minnesota, which she says gives her some familiarity with the communities she will serve, but she is also eager to understand the specific challenges that face residents of northern Minnesota.
Quinlan comes to the fellowship with not only her knowledge as a law student, but a background in technology, and she is looking forward to putting them all together to help people who may not otherwise have access to legal resources and counsel.
“The Reach Justice Minnesota project was a perfect way for me to apply my past experience in technology, as a consultant for a software company, to promote access to justice through tech,” she said.
Learn more about Reach Justice Minnesota at lasnem.org/reach-justice-minnesota.
