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Erin Fox
April 2008
The VLP is proud to
announce that the
Outstanding Law Student
Volunteer for April
2008 is Erin Fox. Erin
has been the Student
Coordinator for the VLP’s
Child Support Clinic
for the past two years,
after volunteering in the
Clinic during her first
year of law school. She
has been a phenomenal
coordinator – she knows
the Clinic inside and out
and has been instrumental
in training student
volunteers. This semester, Erin
has gone above and beyond
the call of duty as
she has signed up to
volunteer in the Child Support
Clinic for every single
Monday of the spring semester. The VLP staff and our
clients have greatly
benefited from Erin’s energy, knowledge and dedication.
Erin was born and
raised here in Tucson. Every summer while she was growing
up, her family
would spend a month in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New
York, a place that
she describes as her favorite travel destination and a second
home. Back here
in Tucson, one of her favorite things to do is catch a meal at
Café Poca Cosa.
Her favorite T.V. shows include Grey’s Anatomy and Project
Runway,
though she says that she’s still in mourning for Sex and the City
and
The West
Wing.
Erin attended the
University of Notre Dame where she earned a B.A. in English
and history in
2005. When asked about her dream job, Erin says “I dream about
many jobs and
positions! I think my ultimate goal is to do legal work that
improves the lives
of children and strengthens families.” Erin has already started
to accomplish that
goal through her work in the Child Support Clinic, as a
volunteer at Casa
de los Niños, and in the law school’s Child Advocacy Clinic.
She also feels
fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with her favorite
professor, Paul
Bennett. She states, “He has taught me to think critically about
our juvenile court
system and to act as an attorney as opposed to a law student.”
Erin says that the
experiences she has had during law school and through the
VLP have changed
her view of our legal system.
“My view of the
legal system and its possibilities has both
expanded and
become more limited – so it has essentially
become more
complicated. I did not have a clear idea as
to everything that
the law offers before becoming to law
school. I
remember opening my Torts textbook shortly
before starting
law school and thinking that the book
encompassed every
possible kind of lawsuit. I couldn’t
imagine what on
earth all my other books and classes
could be about.
I
also entered law school with a blithe belief that a lawyer
could
fix anything and that it would generally be easy to
find
a just answer to any given problem. I no longer believe
that
answers are always easy or right, and I understand
that
there are limits to how far the law can go in solving
problems or effectuating change.”
Erin says that the most
important thing she has learned from volunteering with
the VLP is “to expect the
unexpected, and to understand the importance of the
availability of quality,
affordable legal services.”
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Past Outstanding Volunteer
Student Awards |
