Posted April 20th, 2016.
April 20, 2016, Santa Monica, CA — The California-based Foundation for Advocacy Inclusion and Resources (FAIR) today announced that Amelia Alvarez, the 2015-2016 Sanford Heisler Kimpel Public Interest Diversity Fellow, will serve the second term of the Fellowship year at Alexander, Krakow + Glick, a member of the California Employment Lawyer’s Association (CELA) and a firm devoted to representing employees in claims of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation on the basis of age, race, gender, sex, sexual orientation and identity, disability, leaves of absence, whistle-blower, equal pay, and wage and hour.
Alvarez completed her first term at the Legal Aid Society-Employment Law Center in March. LAS-ELC partners with FAIR and a leading national public interest law firm, Sanford Heisler Kimpel LLP, to sponsor the Fellowship.
“Alexander, Krakow + Glick is gaining a true warrior for workers’ rights,” said Felicia Medina, Managing Partner of Sanford Heisler Kimpel’s San Francisco office. “Amelia’s time at LAS-ELC has positioned her as a formidable advocate for workers.”
Prior to beginning the Fellowship in fall 2015, Alvarez, a 2015 graduate of the University of California Irvine Law School, was active in several UC Irvine clinics and completed over 300 hours of pro bono service, including service at the Immigrant Rights Clinic, Department of Fair Employment and Housing Clinic, and International Human Rights Clinic. She also completed an externship with the Honorable S. James Otero in the U.S. District Court, Central District of California in August 2014.
“I am deeply grateful for the invaluable experience I gained at LAS-ELC,” Alvarez said. “After completing the first-half of my fellowship, I am even more dedicated to defending workers’ rights. I look forward to spending the next several months at Alexander Krakow + Glick preparing for a career committed to securing justice for employees.”
As an undergraduate at Dartmouth College, Alvarez interned at the Berkeley Women’s Daytime Drop-In Center, working with homeless women and children. Alvarez’s prior community service also includes tutoring children near the Vernon neighborhood.
FAIR is providing Alvarez’s salary and benefits during the first term of the Fellowship period, at the Legal Aid Society-Employment Law Center, with a grant from Sanford Heisler Kimpel.
“FAIR is proud to be creating opportunities for diverse law students and new lawyers to practice civil rights, employment law, and Amelia’s commitment to social justice and experience at Legal Aid Society-Employment Law Center will serve her well as she begins her career representing workers,” said Bryan Schwartz, President of FAIR.
“We were honored and delighted that Amelia spent six months working in our office as the second Sanford Heisler Kimpel Public Interest Diversity Fellow. It took no time for Amelia to become a part of our staff. And she quickly grew into her position — assisting our clients with skill, care and compassion,” said Joan Graff, LAS-ELC President. “We also value the partnership we have with FAIR, and Sanford Heisler Kimpel, the firm that funds this innovative Fellowship. What makes it unique is that it offers recent law graduates the experience of practicing employment law in both a private and nonprofit setting, giving them the opportunity to work with a range of clients in two different settings.”
For more information about the Sanford Heisler Kimpel Public Interest Diversity Fellowship and the 2016 selection cycle, contact [email protected].
About LAS-ELC
LAS-ELC, founded in 1916, protects the rights and economic self-sufficiency of working poor people by providing a wide range of free legal services and by engaging in policy advocacy, public education and technical assistance on behalf of low-income workers and their communities. LAS-ELC addresses the full spectrum of employment-related issues for its clients, such as unpaid wages; denial of family and medical leave; denial of disability accommodations; and discrimination on the basis of race, national origin, immigration status, language, gender, sexual orientation or disability.
About FAIR
FAIR is a California non-profit created by CELA leaders in 2010 to increase diversity in the plaintiffs’ employment Bar and to raise public consciousness about workers’ rights.
About Sanford Heisler Kimpel, LLP
Sanford Heisler Kimpel, LLP is a public interest class-action litigation law firm with offices in New York, Washington, DC, and San Francisco. Our attorneys have graduated from the nation’s top law schools, clerked for judges throughout the United States, and amassed extensive experience litigating cases that have earned over one billion dollars for our clients.
The Firm specializes in civil rights and general public interest cases, representing plaintiffs with employment discrimination, labor and wage violations, predatory lending, whistleblower, consumer fraud, and other claims. Along with a focus on class actions, SHK also represents individuals and has achieved particular success in the representation of executives in employment disputes. For more information call 646-791-4848 or [email protected]
For more information about the award, contact Sanford Heisler Kimpel at 646-791-4848.
About Alexandra, Krakow + Glick LLP
Alexander, Krakow + Glick is a plaintiff’s side employment and civil rights litigation firm in Santa Monica. The firm represents individuals and classes in state and federal courts, asserting discrimination, harassment, and retaliation on the basis of age, race, gender, sex, sexual orientation and identity, disability, leaves of absence, whistle-blower, equal pay, and wage & hour, among others. The firm of nine attorneys is as diverse as the clients we represent, with a track record of successfully trying cases to jury verdict, and on appeal, against high profile public and private entities throughout California.
For more information, media contact Jamie Moss, newsPRos, 646-791-4848, [email protected]