Drake University Law School is proud to add a portrait of the Honorable Janet Johnson, LW’72, to the Sutton Gallery of Distinguished Alumni. Johnson was selected as the first female judge on the Iowa Court of Appeals (1978-83) before becoming dean of Pace University Law School (1983-1989) and professor (1983-2011). Prior to becoming a judge...
Category: Law School Spotlights
2L Caleb Piersma Spends Summer as Legal Intern for U.S. Court of Appeals
Caleb Piersma, 2L, is an intern for the Hon. L. Steven Grasz of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in Omaha, Nebraska. The internship is designed to give law students an insight into what it looks like to clerk for a judge on the appellate level. As an intern, Caleb has...
Drake Law second-year student Brandy Bonecher gains valuable experience as an intern with the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants
Drake Law second-year student Brandy Bonecher is a legal intern with the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) in Des Moines. USCRI is a nonprofit that provides services for refugees, immigrants, and human trafficking survivors. The Des Moines field office provides support to refugees resettling in Des Moines with services such as housing placement,...
Nicole Miller Gains Valuable Experience As Legal Intern with Meredith Corporation
2L Nicole Miller is spending her summer interning at Meredith Corporation, where she works as a legal intern. Nicole assists corporate legal staff on projects based in intellectual property and promotions law. Nicole answered a few questions about her experience thus far: How did you discover this internship, and what made you want to apply? ...
Christian Monyei Uses Summer Clinic Opportunity to Gain Valuable Practical Experience
Christian Monyei Jr. is a rising 3L from Lanham, Maryland. This summer, Christian is a student attorney with the Drake Law Criminal Defense Clinic, giving him the opportunity to gain valuable hands-on experience while providing critical legal services to real clients. Summer clinics allow students greater flexibility and balance in scheduling course work with opportunities...
Rising 3L Taylor Sellers selected for highly competitive summer internship with U.S. Department of Justice
Rising 3L Taylor Sellers is spending her summer as an intern with the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Professional Responsibility Advisory Office (PRAO) in Washington, D.C. The PRAO is charged with providing prompt advice to federal attorneys across the nation with respect to professional responsibility issues. The office ensures that federal attorneys consistently uphold the ethical standards of the profession. We...
Drake Law second-year student Shane Salwasser earns prestigious Equal Justice Works 2021 Rural Summer Legal Corps Fellowship
Shane Salwasser, 2L, was recently named an Equal Justice Works 2021 Rural Summer Legal Corps Student Fellow. The Rural Summer Legal Corps, a partnership between Equal Justice Works and the Legal Services Corporation, is a summer internship designed to help address the access-to-justice crisis for people living in rural areas. Shane was one of 35...
An internship through Drake’s Legislative Practice Center offers 3L Jancy Nielson the opportunity to promote policy changes that benefit underrepresented groups
Drake 3L Jancy Nielson is passionate about working to support and protect the rights of individuals who feel voiceless and invisible in the systems they navigate. Her dedication to such issues drove her decision to pursue a legal education that would provide not only a solid foundation in the law, but also opportunities to gain...
Meet Drake Law First-Year Student Elsie Villega
Elsie Villega is a first-year student from Brooklyn, New York. She attended The City College of New York as an undergraduate, majoring in English and Economics. Prior to coming to law school, Elsie was an educator and a stenographer/court reporter. Elsie is one of a small group of students who are completing their first year...
Students in Drake Law’s Entrepreneurial and Transactional Clinic help bring a vital business back to life in a rural Iowa town
When the Heartland Market chain closed its locations in Calhoun County in late 2019, the people of Manson, Iowa, found themselves without a grocery store. The nearest alternative was 30 minutes away in Fort Dodge. Facing this newly created “food desert” a group of residents formed the Manson Grocery Store Committee to identify ways to...