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Equal Justice Works Fellow joins ILCM
Posted on Nov 03 2016
This fall, ILCM received an Equal Justice Works Fellow to better provide holistic services in outstate Minnesota through close collaboration with rural hospitals and clinics. Kerry McGuire is proud to join ILCM and to build legal/medical partnerships in outstate Minnesota.
The Equal Justice Works (EJW) Fellowship empowers recent law school graduates to pursue worthy social justice projects across the country. Kerry’s fellowship is generously sponsored by 3M and Fish & Richardson. She chose to team up with ILCM because of her interest in immigration as a law student and her previous case management work with Latino immigrants in Chicago.
For her two-year fellowship, Kerry gives immigration legal advice in English or Spanish to patients at outstate clinics and hospitals. Few nonprofit service providers exist in greater Minnesota, and even fewer that speak Spanish or have expertise in the legal field. Kerry’s project fills that significant gap in services.
Meeting with a lawyer can be intimidating for new members of the community. Hospitals and clinics are good outreach locations where trust is already established and periodic visits do happen. Medical staff can refer clients directly to Kerry, who will consult with them one-on-one to help them with their immigration legal need.
Kerry is excited to establish regular weekly visits in rural medical facilities. Her hope is to solicit pro bono volunteers to provide legal advice either in person or through video calls to help additional clients.
In the future, Kerry hopes to become an advocate for immigration reform. We are happy to provide her with this experience as she works to achieve her goal.