Continuing its long recognized commitment to the community, DLA Piper has funded the placement of Pro Bono Fellows in its various offices in the US and Mexico.


Access to Education Fellow — Access to Education, the New York signature project, includes a DLA Piper Fellow who works both at DLA Piper and at one of the partner legal services organizations. The Fellow serves as on-the-ground liaison between the nonprofit and education communities, DLA Piper, and the community at large. DLA Piper has funded this fellowship since launching the project in 2006.

Senior Staff Attorney Judith Moldover spearheads Lawyers Alliance's Accountability initiative, which provides legal help to not-for-profits in areas of sound board governance, fiscal transparency, and proper personnel management. Ms. Moldover is also an experienced employment lawyer. Prior to joining Lawyers Alliance, Ms. Moldover was Of Counsel at Ford & Harrison LLP, VP and Group Counsel at American Express Company, and Labor and Employment Counsel at CBS. She received her J.D. from Boston University School of Law in 1977 and a B.A. cum laude from Bryn Mawr College in 1973.


Access to Justice Commission Fellow —The DC Signature Project, the Poverty Reduction Support Center, was created as a suggestion by the DC Access to Justice Commission. The Commission is charged with breaking down the barriers low- and moderate-income DC residents face when seeking redress through the civil justice system. One of the Commission's recommendations was the formation of a Support Center to formulate policy and advocate for systemic changes that address the roots of poverty as identified by the legal services providers through their direct experience with pro bono clients. DLA Piper, the Legal Aid Society of DC, and the Georgetown University Law Center have partnered to create the Support Center and staff its first projects, which focus on changing the way DC addresses child support payments owed to recipients of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF); TANF’s requirements that recipients be looking for employment; and housing issues.

Terry Smith is part of a team developing solutions to address systemic failures in the TANF system. He is creating TANF education and outreach programs for low-income DC residents and evaluating the District's process for sanctioning benefit recipients. Terry is working with another team to review existing contracts connected to required TANF programs. Terry is also working with pro bono clients involved in landlord/tenant court and custody disputes.

Terry graduated from the Villanova University School of Law in 2009. He received his B.A. from the University of Richmond in 2003.


Empowering Students and Families Fellow - Ashley Houston was assigned to the Baltimore office and has eagerly embraced the Baltimore Signature Project, Empowering Students and Families. The foundation of Empowering Students and Families is to provide free legal services to the families, students and staff of two Baltimore city schools with high enrollments of at-risk teens – the Baltimore Freedom Academy (BFA) and the Academy for College and Career Exploration (ACCE). The underlying premise is that by helping families solve non-school related problems, DLA Piper lawyers can enable these schools to better support their students’ education. The firm provides monthly walk-in legal clinics at the schools and a hotline serving BFA and ACCE students and their families; and street law workshops that educate students and their families about areas of law that impact their daily lives. These workshops provide Baltimore lawyers a vehicle for giving their audiences valuable information and demonstrating that they can help with real life problems. Empowering Students and Families provides legal help on everything from family law matters and eviction to estate planning and tax issues. As a Pro Bono Fellow, Ashley works closely with the Project’s management team, fulfilling all necessary tasks and regularly attending meetings critical to the project’s progress. She also helps staff the legal clinics, where she meets with potential clients. Ashley is a constant resource for attorneys representing clients from the legal clinics. Ashley also presents street law sessions.

Ashley earned her J.D. cum laude from the University of Maryland School of Law in 2009 and her B.A. cum laude from James Madison University in 2006. The Journal of Business and Technology Law published Ashley’s note, KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc.: The Supreme Court Declines the Opportunity to Finally Set the Record Straight and Articulate One Clear Standard for Determining Obviousness in Patent Cases, in 2009.


Equal Justice Works Fellow — Michelle Mendez works at the Catholic Charities Archdiocese of Washington, DC in the Immigration Legal Services (ILS) program where her project focuses on providing representation to immigrants in removal proceedings on account of civil rights violations on the part of local police and ICE agents and those facing family separation. The project seeks to educate immigrant families on their legal rights and how to protect themselves.  Additionally, the project works with local law enforcement agencies to maintain/develop immigrant friendly policies and convince these agencies to solely focus on enforcing state criminal law. CC-ILS provides high quality immigration legal services to low income immigrants and refugees in Washington, DC and Maryland. The program focuses on family reunification and assistance to the most vulnerable immigrants, including domestic violence victims, crime victims, refugees, and certain persons needing deportation and removal defense.

Having arrived in the US from Medellin, Colombia, at the tender age of seven, immigration issues are deeply personal to Michelle. She received her B.A. from the University of Richmond where she earned recognitions such as Dean's List, Golden Key National Honor Society, and the Distinguished Leadership Award. Prior to enrolling at the University of Maryland School of Law, Michelle worked at the Capital Area Immigrants' Rights Coalition, the French Ministry of Education as an English teacher, and the American Immigration Lawyers Association. While in law school, Michelle served on the International Moot Court Board and the Maryland Public Interest Law Project, Inc., interned at Ayuda, Inc. and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, and received a Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund national scholarship. Upon graduation, Michelle received the William P. Cunningham Award for exceptional achievement and service and the Annual Leadership in Public Interest Program Student Pro Bono Award.


New Perimeter Fellows — Three DLA Piper Fellows, Terry Smith, Lola Ladeinde Temple and Rob Mendez are working with New Perimeter, DLA Piper's nonprofit affiliate dedicated to global pro bono. New Perimeter develops and undertakes large-scale pro bono projects in the developing and post-conflict world. Through New Perimeter, DLA Piper lawyers provide legal assistance on projects of global concern, including health care, hunger, economic development, law reform and human rights. The Fellows work full-time in the Washington, DC office and Mexico City and provide support for ongoing New Perimeter projects in Southern Africa, Mexico and Central Europe, among others. The Fellows are also involved with researching and developing future New Perimeter initiatives. Additionally, the Fellows work with the New Perimeter team and DLA Piper’s Professional Development department to create trainings for DLA Piper lawyers working on New Perimeter teams. The programs will focus on providing background and skills needed when working with a New Perimeter global pro bono project.

New Perimeter Fellow - Lola Ladeinde Temple is a DLA Piper Fellow working with the New Perimeter international pro bono initiative in DLA Piper's Washington, DC office. As a Fellow, she is involved in the research, development and implementation of new international projects that allow DLA Piper lawyers, often in collaboration with NGOs, government agencies and other joint venture partners, to work in areas of pressing global concern, including economic development, rule of law issues, legal education, and human rights. Lola is also developing a professional development training program for DLA Piper attorneys working with nonprofit organizations on matters.

In 2004, Lola received her B.A. in Economics from the University of Michigan. Thereafter, she worked as commercial real estate market analyst in the Washington, DC, area before going on to work as a corporate paralegal at a DC law firm. Lola earned her J.D. from the Washington University School of Law in 2009, where she was a Gerald Presberg Scholar in Law. While in law school, she was a founding editor of a new law journal, the Washington University Jurisprudence Review. Lola participated in and later served as a Board member of the Environmental Moot Court Competition.

Mexico Appleseed Fellow – Rob Mendez is a DLA Piper Fellow working on-the-ground in Mexico City on DLA Piper's New Perimeter project assisting Mexico Appleseed to promote and encourage a culture of pro bono among the Mexican bar. Rob works closely with Mexico Appleseed staff and liases between the firm and Mexico Appleseed. He contributes to DLA Piper’s Pro Bono initiatives in Mexico, including teaching seminars on pro bono at three major law schools in Mexico City, organizing an annual conference on pro bono in Mexico, the unaccompanied minors project, and developing of a possible project dealing with Powers of Attorney for immigrants at risk of deportation from the United States.

Rob received his J.D. from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University in 2009, and a B.A. from New York University in 2006.


Serving Those Who Serve Our Country Fellow - Nicole King is a DLA Piper Fellow in the firm’s San Diego Office. She is active in all aspects of the San Diego Signature Project: Serving Those Who Serve Our Country. The San Diego Signature Project is a multi-faceted project with litigation, transactional, policy and community service components. The Signature Project not only aims to benefit veterans and their families but also organizations that serve this deserving group. Some of the specific projects that DLA attorneys and staff are participating in as part of the Signature Project are: (1) representing clients in Homeless Court; (2) representing veterans appealing disability compensation and pension decisions both administratively and in court; (3) representing veterans seeking expungements of prior criminal convictions; (4) conducting corporate governance training for veteran-entrepreneurs in partnership with Entrepreneurship Bootcamp; and (5) representing individual clients in a wide range of general corporate and litigation matters. Nicole participates or assists in each of these activities, including individual representations related to both corporate and litigation matters. Nicole is also assisting with the policy component of the Signature Project , examining policies and legislation affecting military families in preparation for drafting a white paper advocating for legislation to address a particular area of need. Nicole is working under the direction of the San Diego Signature Project leaders: Rick Storms, Marty Lorenzo, Jennifer Feldman, and Adam Garson.

Nicole received her A.B. from Harvard University where she studied Sociology and graduated with honors. As a Jesse Marvin Unruh Fellow, she worked for the Speaker pro Tempore of the California State Assembly. She then acquired her Master of Public Policy degree from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, winning the Carballo Prize in conjunction with her co-authors for outstanding written scholarship in urban studies. Nicole went on to be named a Presidential Management Fellow, working for the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Her work in prisons included analysis of medical and mental health policy, case management in an inpatient mental health unit, and management of a men’s general population housing unit. Nicole obtained her J.D. from the University of San Diego, where she graduated with honors and was awarded membership in The Order of the Coif.


Supporting Early Childhood Education Fellow - Tonya Major Gauff is a DLA Piper Fellow in DLA Piper's Chicago Office. She is working on each of the three components of the Chicago Signature Project: Supporting Early Childhood Education. First, Tonya is providing general counsel representation for Head Start programs in the Chicago area through DLA Piper LLP’s partnership with the Community Economic Development Law Project. Second, she is working with Equip for Equality, a non-profit organization that advocates for the inclusion of children and adults with disabilities in all aspects of the community, to ensure public school children with disabilities are receiving legal representation during special education and disciplinary proceedings. Lastly, Tonya is working on our policy study which involves surveying, exposing, and streamlining the difficulties children with disabilities between the ages of 3 to 5 encounter in acquiring access to public early childhood special education services in the Chicago area.

In 2002, Tonya received her B.A. from Dillard University, where she graduated valedictorian of her class and was named a Regent’s Scholar. As a Consortium for Graduate Study in Management Fellow, she next acquired her Masters in Professional Accounting from the University of Texas at Austin in 2003. Then, Tonya worked for Entergy Corporation providing revenue analysis for Entergy’s regulated subsidiaries/public utilities. Tonya acquired her J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law in 2009. While in law school, her journal, Journal of Law and Social Policy, published her comment Eliminating the Secondary Earner Bias: Lessons from Malaysia, the United Kingdom and Ireland. Tonya also published a research piece entitled Washington State and Minnesota Probate Law: Comparison and Contrast with Louisiana Succession Law for the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy ResearchLink. Additionally, at Northwestern, Tonya volunteered with the Tax Assistance Program, was a member of the Business Law Association and Black Law Student Association and graduated on the Dean's List. Tonya is a certified public accountant.