Britney Young, Class of 2024
At age 14, Louisiana native Britney Young developed an interest in criminal justice and reform. In a high school class assignment, where she could have written on any topic, she tackled the complex subject of mass incarceration.
“I wrote about America’s incarceration statistics and methods when compared to other countries, and I also mentioned the school-to-prison pipeline,” Young explained.
From that essay, she learned about criminal justice reform around the world and her fascination grew.
“It definitely piqued my interest in criminal law and, eventually, law school,” said Young, now in her third year at LSU Law.
Her career goal has always been to practice public defense in New Orleans, even before she began her summer internship with the Orleans Public Defender’s Office. The opportunity to learn from attorneys who she hopes to work with side-by-side in the future has been monumental for her.
“I’ve been observing my supervising attorneys in court, helping with trial prep, conducting legal research, looking at body cam footage, visiting clients in jail,” Young said adding that she is working on a brief with one of her supervising attorneys.
“Basically, I do anything that will help my attorneys in their cases.”
She is grateful for her Public Interest Law Society fellowship and says supporting public interest opportunities for students is a mutually beneficial partnership.
“When we invest in public interest students, we are also investing in the communities that they will practice in,” said Young, who hopes to help incarcerated women in New Orleans. “This fellowship is a wonderful way to help students financially and give them the chance to discover who they want to be.”
