Blog

Lily Hamilton, Sophie Macklem-Johnson and Christine Rains outside the York County Jail in York, PA.

It’s intern week at Benach Collopy!  During this week, we spotlight the work that our interns have done over the summer.  We show some of their personalities, their goals and the hard work that they put in for us and our clients.

This summer we have had three interns and a fellow (hashtag idea!).  When looking for earnest young talent, Benach Collopy draws on one of our most productive wells- Iowa.  As you know, Dree is from Iowa and she is among the most earnest and talented lawyers we know.  So when we look for more like her, we go to Iowa and, more specifically, we go to Grinnell College.  Grinnell is a liberal arts college known for academic rigor and a commitment to social responsibility.  Dree is a graduate of Grinnell and Benach Collopy worked with Grinnell to provide credit to our interns, all Grinnell College students.

Having the interns in our office this summer has been a breath of fresh.  They are “millenials,” so often derided as part of an entitled generation.  The first generation to come of age in the smart phone era, they are lampooned all too often as having short attention spans.  Nothing can be further from the truth.  We have found our millenials to be committed activists for social justice, with a deep understanding of and passion for politics, culture, equality, and civil rights.  Committed to immigrant and LGBTQ rights, our interns are developing skills that we know they will put to good use in their lives.  We are going very briefly introduce them here and then let them take over the blog for the rest of the week.

Lily Hamilton (left) is about to begin her junior year at Grinnell College and is actually from Grinnell, Iowa.  She is on the Grinnell women’s tennis team and is studying political science and French.

Sophie Macklem-Johnson (center) is entering her senior year at Grinnell College.  From Minnesota’s twin cities, Sophie is studying history, Spanish and Latin American studies.

Jane Vukmer

Christine Rains (right) is from the Chicago area and will be a senior at Grinnell this fall and is a economics and Spanish major.

In addition to the Grinnell interns, we have the Benach Collopy & Whitman Walker Fellow for Trans Asylum, Jane Vukmer.  Jane is a law student at the University of New Hampshire  Over the past two months, Jane has overseen the preparation of a dozen applications for asylum by trans women referred to Benach Collopy from Whitman Walker.  She played in instrumental role in getting removal proceedings terminated for a trans woman the government sought to deport.

Every day this week, a different intern (or fellow) will post a blog and share something of themselves.  We know you will like them as much as we do.