News & Events

Our very own Seema Ahmad is interviewed about the life of a Public Defender, Not as Seen on TV. “The job is raw and real, unlike Hollywood depictions that show these people as either glamorous or bumbling.” The article published at American in Justice is also excerpted below. When you are a federal public defender, sometimes the only things you can do for a client are to stand next to him, bear witness to his struggle and his life, and brace yourself as the criminal […]..

On a January morning, as a federal appropriations lapse threatened to disrupt court operations, Chief Judge Virginia A. Phillips of the Central District of California gathered her senior leaders around a large table in the clerk of court’s office to plan for the impending crisis. She noticed something that she hadn’t before: The court’s senior management team are all women. “I hadn’t looked at the people I work with and thought, ‘Look at all these great women,’” Phillips said. “I focus on the diverse skills […]..