3L Lizzie Allen Earns Highly Competitive Equal Justice Works Fellowship
Baylor Law 3L Lizzie Allen will work as an Equal Justice Works Fellow with Disability Rights Texas
WACO -
Baylor Law 3L Lizzie Allen was recently selected to receive a highly selective Equal Justice Works Fellowship. Fellows design their own two-year public service project to fill a gap they have identified in access to legal services. Following her graduation from Baylor Law in July, Allen will work as a Fellow with Disability Rights Texas (DRTx). She will provide direct representation and advocacy for students with disabilities at risk of, and currently navigating, the juvenile justice system and will provide advocacy coaching to their families. Elizabeth’s Equal Justice Works Fellowship is co-funded by Greenberg Traurig, LLP, and the Texas Access to Justice Foundation.
“Elizabeth will be an outstanding advocate for students with disabilities,” noted Dean Brad Toben. “Her passion for ensuring equal access to justice for some of our state’s most vulnerable citizens is admirable, and we cannot wait to see all that she will accomplish.”
As a 3L, Allen worked as a Law Clerk for Disability Rights Texas, a position sponsored by the Access to Justice Internship Program. At DRTx, she assisted the attorneys on the Education Team to advocate and pursue legal remedies for students with disabilities.
Before enrolling at Baylor Law, Allen worked as a speech-language pathologist for Thrive Skilled Pediatric Care in Temple and the Killeen Independent School District. She screened and evaluated students, developed treatment plans, and provided therapeutic care. During this experience, serving her patients in school and home health settings, she decided to become a lawyer to better advocate for students with disabilities.
Allen has also taken advantage of a broad array of experiential and public interest opportunities while at Baylor Law to develop the practical skills that will help her make an impact as a Fellow. She has been a volunteer Court Appointed Special Advocate for CASA of Mclennan County since 2020, held an externship with the Bell County Attorney’s Child Protection Services Division as a 3L, and served as a volunteer student advocate representing children in juvenile court through Baylor Law’s Trial Advocacy Clinic. In addition, she recently competed in the L. Edward Bryant, Jr. National Health Law Transactional Competition, where her team secured a third-place win, the best showing ever for a Baylor Law team at this competition.
“Elizabeth is an outstanding public service leader, and we are proud to award her with a 2022 Equal Justice Works Fellowship,” stated Jessica Ryckman, Equal Justice Works Director of Fellowships. “We look forward to supporting Elizabeth’s public interest journey and the work she will do to provide education advocacy to children with disabilities in Texas.”
Equal Justice Works selects a class of public interest lawyers who have designed unique projects in partnership with legal services organizations. These projects are funded by law firms, corporations, private foundations, and individual supporters. Selected from 385 applications, the 2022 class of Equal Justice Works Fellows includes graduates from 45 law schools who will work at 76 legal services organizations across 20 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. Among this year’s 81 sponsors are 31 leading law firms recognized in the Am Law 200 and 25 Fortune 500 corporations.
Allen will be the second Baylor Law graduate to hold an Equal Justice Works Fellowship. She follows Baylor Lawyer Alicia Alvarado (JD ’19), who received a Fellowship in 2020 and currently advocates for immigrant rights at the non-profit American Gateways in Waco.
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