Each Fellow in the two-year program will provide civil legal assistance to those in need through various nonprofit organizations, while receiving a salary paid by the Skadden Fellowship Foundation.
Fellows propose their own projects when they apply.
Evenson will join the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area, where she will help address barriers to employment faced by current and former welfare recipients who are entering the labor market. Smyth will be based at The Bronx Defenders in Bronx, New York, handling civil rights and legal aid work for criminal defendants and their families, helping them resolve the many civil needs that arise from criminal proceedings. Wood will be involved with a two-part project at Advocacy Inc. in Austin, Texas. She will represent people with developmental disabilities who are currently in institutions, trying to move them into community placements. She will also work with children with disabilities, helping them to get needed medical care through the Texas Children's Health Insurance Program.