Continuing with our Summer 2024 new intern spotlight series, Volunteer Lawyers for Justice is elated to welcome Caroline Sigler.
Caroline completed her undergraduate studies at Hunter College and is now pursuing her law degree at Rutgers Law School-Newark (class of 2026). During her summer internship Caroline is supporting VLJ’s Debt Relief Legal Program and Veterans Legal Program.
Caroline's journey to VLJ began when was selected for Rutgers Law’s Maida Public Interest Fellowship Program. This prestigious program connects public interest-minded law students with legal services organizations across New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania for summer internships. Caroline was thrilled to be partnered with her first choice, VLJ. We're honored to be Caroline's first choice, and we're happy to have her on the team this summer!
To Caroline, public interest law isn't just a career path—it's a calling. This past semester, she volunteered with the ACLU of New Jersey’s Clemency Project, advocating for using pardons and commutations as tools of decarceration. Her role involved interviewing people currently incarcerated, writing summaries of their stories, and sharing their testimonies in requests for clemency. At Rutgers Law, Caroline is an active member of the Public Interest Law Student Association, helping raise funds for student public interest opportunities that would otherwise go unfunded.
This summer, Caroline is eager to gain practical hands-on experience working directly with clients. She also aims to get the “behind the scenes” insight on how no-cost legal services organizations operate. “I am pursuing a career in public interest law so the knowledge I gain from this internship will be incredibly valuable in helping me navigate the public interest field and determine more specifically what type of work I want to do.”
Passionate about pro bono and volunteering one’s time and talent for justice, Caroline encourages others considering pro bono to give it a try. In her words, “Not only are pro bono services much needed, but volunteering is a great way to get involved in your community.” When it comes to VLJ's mission of "ensuring access to justice for people experiencing poverty,” Caroline recognizes the complexity of the American legal system and the significant challenges faced by community members without legal help:
“Those without a lawyer are much less likely to obtain favorable outcomes of legal issues or exercise their civil rights. For this reason, access to legal advice and representation should be guaranteed to all. However, hiring a lawyer can often be prohibitively expensive, especially for people experiencing poverty. Access to justice therefore requires that anyone who needs it has access to free legal advice and representation. I am proud to be working with an organization which does provide legal services at no charge.”
We're delighted to have Caroline aboard, and we look forward to witnessing the tremendous impact she'll have, both at VLJ and in her future career ensuring access to justice. Welcome, Caroline!