Julianne D. Fellmeth Public Interest Law Scholarship
The Julie D. Fellmeth Public Interest Law Scholar Program awards a $5,000 scholarship to a 2L, 3L, or 4L law student who has demonstrated a commitment to Public Interest law and social innovation. The Julie D. Fellmeth Scholar will dedicate 150 hours in law school to developing an innovative “big idea” for using the law as a tool for positive social change, working under the supervision of the Consumer Protection Policy Center attorneys. The Scholar will also complete a reflection essay identifying what he or she learned, and the takeaways he or she will bring to their practice of law upon graduation.
Enrollment in California Regulatory Law and the Public Interest is a prerequisite for this scholarship. Scholars have the option to receive academic credit for their work. If for some reason the Scholar is unable to complete the requisite hours, he or she will be responsible for returning the scholarship on a pro-rata basis relative to hours worked.
The Julie D. Fellmeth Public Interest Law Scholar Program has been established to honor Julie D’Angelo Fellmeth, who served as CPIL’s administrative director for 30 years.
We teach by doing, watching, and helping to create law.
Scholars Develop a "Big Idea"
Fellmeth Scholars
2024
Alex Harten (JD Candidate '25)
Alex Harten is a third-year law student who has researched and analyzed the intersection of immigration and human trafficking. Harten's project focuses on how past and anticipated changes in U.S. immigration policy have affected and will continue to impact undocumented human trafficking victims. Harten argues that stricter immigration enforcement policies create a climate of fear that discourages victims from seeking help, exacerbating their vulnerability to traffickers.
Her proposal analyzes policy shifts from 2000 to the present, highlighting how enforcement-heavy approaches have led to the misidentification and criminalization of victims. Her research anticipates that the current administration’s policies will further hinder victim protections and that public opinion on immigration will negatively impact the effectiveness of California’s anti-trafficking measures.
As a Fellmeth Scholar, Harten is working to pass new legislation appointing specialized case managers for trafficking victims and amend Assembly Bill 1740 (Sanchez) to expand notice and training requirements for high-risk industries. Ultimately, her proposal advocates for a victim-centered approach to human trafficking that balances enforcement with humanitarian protections, setting a precedent for more inclusive policies nationwide.
2022
Summer Bosse (JD '23)
Summer Bosse is a third-year law student whose passion for the ocean inspired her to apply for this scholarship. As the recipient of the 2022-2023 Julie D. Fellmeth Public Interest Law Scholarship, Bosse plans on using the advocacy skills she developed in California Regulatory Law and the Public Interest. Specifically, Bosse’s project will focus on public comments, an underutilized public advocacy tool. She has developed an educational program on the opportunities to make public comments on proposed legislation, state agency rulemaking, and San Diego City Ordinances. The program includes a drafting session for students to develop their own public comments to submit to a California Agency. She believes educating the next generation of environmentalists and voters on how they can impact their local governments is key to increasing public participation in important issues. Bosse states that "learning how to be an advocate through the legal system has been the best part of my time at USD SOL thus far and I'm excited to share that with others!"
2021
Alex Ruf (JD'22)
Alex Ruf as a third-year law student, developed a project focusing on public defense and human rights. As the recipient of the 2021-2022 Julie D. Fellmeth Public Interest Law Scholarship, Ruf focused on researching issues related to juvenile incarceration rates in the state of California. She monitored California legislation relating to the imprisonment of juveniles and the effectiveness of such laws on offense rates and barriers to re-entry into society. Alex hopes to bring awareness to the problems involved in imprisoning minors, suggest new alternatives to incarceration, and closely examine how California’s dependency on incarceration affects juveniles, specifically some of the most vulnerable individuals in our society.
2020
Marcus Friedman (JD '21)
Marcus Friedman's project was driven by his very personal ties to the policy changes he proposed. Not only did he survive the Las Vegas shooting on October 1, 2017, but his hometown is Parkland, Florida, where just months after the Las Vegas shooting, another mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglass High School tragically impacted his community.
As the recipient of the 2020-2021 Julie D. Fellmeth Public Interest Law Scholarship, Friedman is transforming these horrific experiences into the catalyst to create positive social change through the legal system. Throughout the 2020-21 academic year, he diligently researched gun violence prevention laws, identifying the ways in which the laws are deficient and can be strengthened, and collaborating with key partners across the country, including the Brady Campaign, March for Our Lives, and Giffords. He has worked with CPPC attorneys and policy advocates to draft a bill, AB 1057 (Petrie-Norris), sponsored by CPPC and signed by the Governor on October 8, 2021, which closes a loophole for emergency Gun Violence Restraining Orders (GVRO’s) and Domestic Violence Restraining Orders (DVRO's) by including “ghost guns” in the definition of seizable items if a person is a threat to themselves or others. In regards to his time working with CPPC, Friedman stated, “As a Julianne D. Fellmeth Public Interest Scholar, I was fortunate to shape, as well as create, laws that make communities safer with life-saving legislation. Applying my legal skills to real-world change is my most rewarding experience in law school. I am proud of what I accomplished with the Consumer Protection Policy Center.”
2019
Kelsey Burns (JD '20)
At USD Law, Kelsey Burns served as President of the Environmental Law Society, President of the Student Animal Legal Defense Fund, Vice President of USD Law Democrats, and a volunteer at Casa Cornelia Law Center in San Diego. In addition to receiving the Julie D. Fellmeth Public Interest Scholarship, she was awarded the Law School Honor Scholarship and Alumni Achievement Scholarship. She also was recognized as CPIL’s Outstanding Public Interest Advocate in 2020.
Burns’ project proposal was to focus on researching the success of the California Transparency in Supply Chain Act of 2010 (TSCA), over its first ten years. TSCA was enacted after the U.S. Department of Labor released a report identifying 122 goods from 58 countries believed to be produced by forced or child labor. The Act requires large retailers and manufacturers doing business in California to disclose on their respective websites the efforts taken to eradicate slavery and human trafficking from their supply chains, in an effort to educate consumers on how to purchase goods produced by companies that responsibly manage their supply chains, and, thereby, improve the lives of victims of slavery and human trafficking. Ms. Burns will evaluate whether the TSCA has achieved its intended purpose and, if not, propose potential amendments to remedy any failures.
In addition to researching the TSCA and identifying areas for improvement for possible legislation, Burns participated in a unique, multi-university, interdisciplinary Innovate 4 Justice design-thinking course in the Fall of 2019 focused specifically on Human Trafficking. Through that experience, she was also instrumental in planning the University’s campus-wide “Stopping Traffic” summit – a two-day solutions summit hosted by USD School of Law and the Kroc School of Peace Studies, focused on answering the question “How can USD lead the fight to end Human Trafficking?”
2018
Kayla Watson (JD '19)
As a second-year law student at USD School of Law, Kayla was the first winner of the Julie D. Fellmeth Public Interest Scholarship. Kayla was a member of the San Diego International Law Journal and the Moot Court Associate Board. She competed in the Pacific Northwest Region of the Philip C. Jessup International Moot Court Competition, where the team won first place and advanced to the International Competition. She also earned the Center for Public Interest Law’s (CPIL) Outstanding Public Interest Advocate award in 2019.
Watson’s project proposal focused on researching and proposing a series of recommendations to improve consumers’ access to the information available in the California Department of Consumer Affairs’ (DCA) online licensing and discipline system, BreEZe. Specifically, she aims to partner with consumer review websites such as Yelp to raise awareness about BreEZe, and the information it provides, so that consumers can make informed decisions about their providers.
Ultimately, her research found a large disconnect between some doctors with five-star reviews online, and their actual disciplinary history—many of whom had been placed on probation by the Board. Finding this very concerning for consumers, Watson was instrumental in drafting proposed legislation that would require online review companies that review physicians and surgeons to include a link to the Medical Board’s official database containing disciplinary records. She was also interviewed by NBC News in San Diego about this project. While CPIL was unable to find a willing author for the bill in 2019, it continues to be among the Center’s policy priorities.