As you step off the elevator into the offices of the Equal Justice Society, the first thing you see is the conference room with its long oval table surrounded by high-backed comfy chairs. The second thing you see is the smiling face of Ginger Johnson, our receptionist and administrative assistant. While there is no mat with the word, “Welcome” you certainly feel that way as soon as you speak to anyone on staff here, from President Eva Paterson to the student interns.

I am one of those student interns -- a second year student at the University of San Francisco School of Law and I have spent the last semester working at EJS. I have enjoyed the experience so much that I asked to continue here throughout the summer. So this article is sort of check-in about where I am and where I go from here.

At EJS, I get to feel a part of something larger than myself. Even as a lowly law student intern, I have felt valued by leaders in the civil rights arena. I have worked on strategies to dismantle the intent doctrine, monitored judicial nominees, deconstructed the Military Commissions Act’s inroads on habeas corpus, and researched the level of awareness of unconscious bias in the medical and education communities.

This work has gone beyond traditional legal research and writing that is taught in the first year legal curriculum. It is work aimed at change. I am not performing direct legal services as some of my peers are, but no one I know has enjoyed their internship as much as I have enjoyed mine. I get to think outside of the traditional, arguably antiquated, legal box and explore options beyond the courtroom. While I still believe in a legal strategy to affect change, I recognize that is not enough. Any strategy must include media, legislative policy, and working with social scientists to educate judges, legislators, and individuals about the need for race conscious law- and decision-making.

One of my goals this summer is to connect our USF student chapter of EJS more closely with the national office. By educating up-and-coming lawyers on these issues we can begin to change the system from the inside out. Additionally, I am working with a committee on campus dedicated to increasing diversity in our faculty and student body. This work is closely tied to my work at EJS because we need a more representative legal community in order to serve the needs of a diverse America.

Beyond my summer, I hope that whatever work I do will coincide with and advance the same principles that EJS embodies.

— Danielle Tizol

Looking back on my internship, I’m so grateful to have found a home with EJS for the last few months. I entered law school with a background in public policy advocacy, and the most rewarding part of this internship has been the opportunity to return to that arena while applying what I’ve learned in law school.

It’s easy to lose one’s way in law school, simply trying to survive from one term to the next. But EJS has reminded me that the law is alive and that legal advocacy can initiate social change in myriad ways. My assignments this semester ranged from talking with individuals seeking assistance to conducting quick policy-oriented research to tackling more sustained legal analysis. These projects pushed me to think outside the box and to remember the individuals at the heart of what we do.

My most challenging project of the semester has involved EJS’s work on dismantling the intent doctrine. For those unfamiliar with this legal doctrine, Washington v. Davis marked a tremendous setback for individuals claiming that facially neutral policies or acts constituted racial discrimination; in addition to showing a racially disparate impact, individuals must also prove that the policy or act was motivated by a discriminatory intent. Issued in 1976, the intent doctrine has been around longer than I’ve been alive, and over the decades, has generated considerable controversy and scholarship.

Under the direction of Nicholas Espíritu, EJS’s Constance Baker Motley Fellow, I was given the tremendous opportunity to think about ways to work around the intent doctrine. I’m hopeful that the final work product—which incorporates case law on unconscious racial bias, a discussion of Charles Lawrence’s seminal work in this area, and strategies to account for such bias in judicial decision making—will prove useful to progressive lawyers, judges, and advocates.

The experience with the greatest emotional impact on me, however, came in the form of a telephone discussion with a woman seeking legal assistance. Over the course of our conversation, it became clear that her son had suffered real harm and discrimination at the hands of our educational and criminal justice system. She had struggled for years to obtain redress, and although EJS lacked the capacity to provide representation, that phone call provided a powerful testament to the importance of EJS’s work. Her family’s pain was palpable—a reminder that real people are affected by the policies, the laws, and the government we have in place. We cannot abide by a system that delivers different forms of “justice” according to one’s skin color or status.

All in all, it has been a blessing to work with the talented, compassionate and dedicated group of individuals at EJS. I’m thankful for the opportunity to work on issues that matter, as well as for the guidance and wholehearted encouragement I’ve received. To see the EJS team in action is to be inspired by its tremendous potential to effect change.

As I close out this semester, I am left with so many possibilities to consider for the future. There is a progressive movement afoot, drawing on individuals from all sectors and providing multiple avenues for involvement. In the words of EJS’s fearless leader, Eva Paterson: “Life is good.”

— Jenny Lam