In the spirit of building the next generation of Louisiana Access to Justice leaders, Adams and Reese is proud to welcome Loyola University New Orleans College of Law Student Annie Lemoine as its inaugural Louisiana State Bar Association Access to Justice (ATJ) Developing Leadership Intern. Lemoine, a second-year law student, was selected out of numerous, excellent Loyola Law applicants to participate in the first-year program, a first of its kind in the country created by the Louisiana Access to Justice Commission of the Louisiana State Bar Association (LSBA). For the duration of the five-week-long internship, Lemoine will work directly with judges and legal service providers to gain knowledge pertaining to the unmet civil legal needs of Louisiana’s indigent population.
Adams and Reese is one of four prominent New Orleans law firms sponsoring the Summer 2016 ATJ Developing Leadership Intern Program. Held over a five-week period from May 23 to June 24, 2016, the program offers a rising 2L law student from each of Louisiana’s four law schools the opportunity to learn about Louisiana’s civil justice community first-hand. Each week, the interns will focus on the various civil legal needs of low-income people, the ways in which organizations within the justice community address those needs, and how ATJ services increase the quality of life of those served. Each of the four sponsoring law firms, which include Adams and Reese, Baker Donelson, Jones Walker and Phelps Dunbar, contributed $2,500 to the Louisiana Access to Justice Commission to support the program.
“We are excited to welcome Annie Lemoine to Adams and Reese as our firm’s first ATJ Developing Leadership Intern and as a member of the first class of the LSBA’s Access to Justice Interns,” said Mark Surprenant, Adams and Reese Pro Bono Paladin, a Partner on the firm’s Litigation Practice Team, and a member of the LSBA Access to Justice Commission. “We look forward to working closely with Annie and helping her gain valuable hands-on experience in a variety of access to justice initiatives, from interviewing clients to attending court hearings and depositions to meeting with ATJ leaders in the community.”
Surprenant added: “Annie is already a talented and dedicated civil servant as a licensed Louisiana social worker with experience working closely with various local public interest organizations. As she pursues her law degree at Loyola, we are fortunate to have the opportunity to help her develop into a future leading Access to Justice attorney.”
Lemoine previously attended Tulane University where she earned a Master of Social Work in 2012. Prior to entering Loyola Law, she worked as a Crisis Evaluator for Jefferson Parish Mobile Crisis Services and a Program Co-Developer and Grant Writer for Metairie-based Women and Animals Gaining Shelter (WAGS). While pursuing her Master’s Degree at Tulane, Lemoine interned with Orleans Parish Day Reporting Center and served as a social work volunteer at Tulane’s Ozanam Inn TUSOM Student-Run Free Health Clinic. Prior to entering graduate school, she worked as a case manager for Crescent House Healing and Empowerment Center. Lemoine earned her B.A. in Women’s Studies cum laude from the University of New Orleans in 2009 during which she interned at NOLA Investigates, a criminal investigations firm.
“I’m honored to be a member of the first class of the LSBA Access to Justice summer internship,” Lemoine said. “Through this unique one-of-a-kind opportunity with Adams and Reese, I hope to gain insight into the process of program development within the justice community. I’m also excited to begin cultivating my professional identity as an attorney and an Access to Justice leader.”
Among their activities, ATJ Developing Leadership interns will have the opportunity to meet with Chief Justice Bernette J. Johnson of the Louisiana Supreme Court as well as state and federal appellate and trial court judges who have been actively involved in developing and supporting pro bono efforts throughout Louisiana.
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