Penn Carey Law School established a Democracy Consortium for student-led civic initiatives, aiming to provide structured avenues for election-related and democracy-focused projects.
The initiative builds on the work of the Democracy Law Project, a pro bono group focused on election law and voting rights within Penn’s Toll Public Interest Center. It will be led by third-year law student and Toll Scholar Hillary Shah and Brett Isaacs, a second-year law student and Toll Fellow, according to the Nov. 1 announcement.
TPIC serves as the University’s hub for public interest law, administering the pro bono requirement for law students that mandates a minimum of 70 service hours prior to graduation. It also oversees various programs and projects, including the Toll Public Interest Scholars and Fellows Programs and the Public Interest Experience, which are designed to support students in service-oriented law careers.
“For years, DLP has been developing a national, nonpartisan network while also working tirelessly to maximize the project’s tangible impacts on people’s lives,” TPIC’s Executive Director Emily Sutcliffe said in the announcement.
DLP’s Democracy Consortium now centralizes pro bono activities that promote democracy, bringing together a wide range of student groups, including the Black Law Students Association, Latinx Law Students Association, American Constitution Society, and Environmental Law Project. This non-partisan approach aims to bridge students’ diverse interests through shared goals of strengthening democratic engagement.
“Our DLP Native Rights Project partnered with the Native American Law Students Association (NALSA) to advertise and execute a trip to Wisconsin over Election Day that will deploy law students to poll on Native reservations,” Isaacs told Penn Carey Law. “We’ve worked with BLSA and LALSA to advertise poll watching opportunities through Common Cause PA, utilizing students’ energy and Spanish language skills for election protection in Philadelphia.”
The Consortium is also set to host community events on topics such as environmental justice and democracy.
“To see such a broad range of student groups join the Consortium speaks to the values of Penn Carey Law and demonstrates the Consortium’s goal of bringing people from all backgrounds and perspectives together through a shared commitment to democracy,” Sutcliffe said.
The Daily Pennsylvanian is an independent, student-run newspaper. Please consider making a donation to support the coverage that shapes the University. Your generosity ensures a future of strong journalism at Penn.
Donate