LSU Law rising 3L Casey Hardaway is one of just 35 law students in the U.S. to be selected for a prestigious 2021 Rural Summer Legal Corps Fellowship
When Casey Hardaway began her studies at LSU Law, she planned on pursuing a career in the transactional field because it would complement her undergraduate degree in Marketing and Corporate Relations. That changed in the Fall 2020 semester when she participated in the Parole and Reentry Clinic.
“I found that public interest is my calling,” says Hardaway, a rising 3L from Sharon, Mississippi, of the experience. “I am passionate about public interest because it is not only a way to give back to communities that lack legal resources, but it is also a way to promote equality and equity, which I find to be the most important tools in cultivating change and growth.”
Hardaway is now planning to work with nonprofits or local government after she graduates next spring. This summer, she is working with clients at Southeast Louisiana Legal Services, which fights for fairness in the justice system and provides free legal services to low-income people across 22 parishes in southeast Louisiana. Hardaway’s work with SLLS is the result of her being selected as one of just 35 law students from across the U.S. for the prestigious 2021 Rural Summer Legal Corps Fellowship.
The Rural Summer Legal Corps is a partnership between the Legal Services Corporation and Equal Justice Works that supports dedicated law students who want to spend their summer addressing pressing legal issues facing rural communities. Student Fellows like Hardaway spend eight to 10 weeks during the summer exploring a career in civil legal aid by providing direct legal services and building capacity at the organizations where they serve. Following the completion of 300 hours of service in the program, Student Fellows earn a $5,000 stipend.
At SLLS, Hardaway will work to expand access to the nonprofit’s services in two rural properties with the highest poverty rates in its service area. She will also work to create a successful model of working with rural libraries, holding monthly legal clinics and Know Your Rights sessions on hot legal topics to increase access to civil legal aid.
“Casey will have the opportunity to explore a career in public interest law, while helping her organization increase access to civil legal aid for underserved communities in parishes throughout southeast Louisiana,” says Aoife Delargy Lowe, vice president of law school engagement and advocacy at Equal Justice Works. “We are grateful to LSU Law for supporting her passion for public service.”
At LSU Law, Hardaway is an active member of the Black Law Students Association and previously served as Secretary of the student organization during the past academic year.
“My time with BLSA has reaffirmed to me the importance of being active in our communities,” says Hardaway. “During the Spring 2021 semester, BLSA was able to co-host an event with the former Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Bernette Johnson, who was also one of two of the first Black women students at the Law Center. Chief Justice Johnson spoke about getting her start in legal aid and the strides she made as a public interest attorney and as a judge. At the end of her event, she tasked us with continuing to make change as law students and upcoming attorneys and I plan to fulfill this duty.”
