by Jonella Frank

More than 60 students and faculty members at the University of Oklahoma College of Law were recognized for their pro bono legal work at a reception on April 20 in the Sneed Lounge of Coats Hall. The event was hosted by Students for Access to Justice (SATJ) to recognize the individuals who have donated more than 25 hours of law-related service since May 2009.

SATJ was started in 2004 to utilize law students to meet the legal needs of the community and promote a culture of public service within the College of Law. Members of the Class of 2010 have volunteered more than 5,500 hours during their law school careers. Students in the second-year class have amassed almost 2,700 hours of volunteer service. Approximately 24,000 hours of service have been donated since SATJ was founded in 2004.

Awards were presented to the outstanding volunteer from each class. Recipients were Allyson Kucera (1L) with more than 40 hours working in the Protective Order Assistance Program, Parker Folse (2L) with more than 350 hours serving in the office of the Oklahoma County District Attorney and Jeremy Brewer (3L) with more than 1,000 hours working with the Oklahoma Bar Association. Special recognition was also given to Professor Judith Maute, the founding faculty director of SATJ.

Future volunteer service was also recognized at the evening reception. Four students who will hold volunteer public service positions this summer were awarded fellowships. To qualify for the fellowships, the students must each complete at least 200 hours of unpaid public service during the summer.

Nicollete Brandt who will be working with Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma was awarded $1,000 as the recipient of the Marjorie P. Maute Memorial Pro Bono/Public Service Fellowship. This fellowship was established by Professor Maute in memory of her mother.

Three students each received a Coats Fellowship for Summer Public Service in the amount of $1,000. The recipients and their summer employment are Matt Zellner, the office of the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma, Jeff Riles, the Equality Federation in San Francisco and Cody Moorse, the office of the District Attorney of Collin County, Texas.

To support future Coats Fellowships, SATJ is sponsoring the Donate a Day Fundraiser. College of Law faculty, staff and students with paid positions are asked to donate one day of their salary to help fund the fellowships. New SATJ student coordinators were announced at the conclusion of the reception. They will be Kayna Stavast-Piper, Mike Mosca and Allyson Kucera.