This summer, I had the privilege of working at the Survivor Justice Center in East Los Angeles through the WLALA Foundation’s Fran Kandel Public Interest Fellowship, spending the summer immersed in direct legal services for some of the most vulnerable members of our community: survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, and human trafficking. It was an experience that fundamentally changed how I see my future as an attorney. I know now that I want to do this kind of work pro bono as I begin my career in private practice, and that I will eventually transition into public interest work full-time, continuing to advocate for survivors, and especially immigrant survivors, throughout my career.

SJC’s model is what makes its work trauma-informed, and it now seems so intuitive to me that I can’t imagine approaching survivor work any other way: Attorneys help survivors navigate the legal system, for example, by filing restraining orders, reporting crimes to law enforcement, or seeking child custody, while community advocates address the web of safety, housing, mental health, and financial obstacles that often accompany these experiences. SJC’s integrated approach, I came to see, is fundamental to meeting survivors’ needs because the legal process is often just one piece of what a client is actually trying to survive.

I was glad to work exclusively with women, and the office culture reflected exactly what I had hoped for. In weekly meetings, the attorneys asked each other for advice openly, uplifted one another, and built a workplace free of any sense of competition or hierarchy. It set a high bar for what I want in my next job and was proof that women can support each other and still be excellent at what they do, without the two ever being at odds with each other.

One of my favorite parts of the fellowship was working with my fantastic supervisor, Yesenia Acosta. As her right hand woman, I was given real responsibility early on. She trusted me to speak with clients directly and to take an active role in shaping our legal strategy and research. Watching her work was a masterclass in active listening, patience, and translating confusing concepts and procedural steps into practical information so that a layperson in crisis could understand. I came away with a much deeper appreciation for how much emotional intelligence good lawyering requires, and also learned how rewarding it can be to offer someone a sense of being seen and heard at a moment when the world may feel out of control. I recall accompanying a client to a police station in July to report serious violations to her protective order, at what was a very low point for her. We held hands as she showed me her evidence, and shared a long hug before parting ways. Her thank-yous that day were a reminder of what was at stake in our work, and it stayed with me for the rest of the summer.

As the organization’s Fran Kandel Fellow, I was also tasked with the creation of a Criminal Justice Advocacy project for SJC, titled “From Police Report to Criminal Court: A Survivor’s Guide to the Criminal Justice System in L.A. County”. Most survivors do not report violent crime to the police because of a real mistrust of law enforcement and the legal process, and because remaining engaged with the criminal justice system can be physically and emotionally taxing. The guide walks through the process from the moment a report is filed to the resolution of a case, explaining in plain language what survivors can expect at each stage, outlining what their rights are, and where they can turn to for support. My hope is that it becomes a resource survivors and advocates return to, to reduce even some of the burden they may face. 

By the end of my summer at SJC, I no longer felt like an intern but like a full-time member of the team, even as I was still learning something new every day. I’m deeply grateful to Yesenia for her mentorship, to Lourdes for showing us her incredible court skills, and to Jimena for her fierce leadership. I would also like to thank the WLALA Foundation for creating and funding the Fran Kandel Public Interest Fellowship, and for giving law students like me the opportunity to spend a summer doing work that has a lasting impact on both the people it serves, and on the women doing it. 

Juliana Corsetti
J.D. Candidate, Gold Honors Scholar
USC Gould School of Law | Class of 2028