Melissa Love Koenig – Page 26 – Marquette University Law School Faculty Blog

22nd Annual Howard B. Eisenberg Do-Gooders’ Auction–An Interview with Nicole Ostrowski

Post author:Melissa Love Koenig
Post published:February 10, 2015
Post category:Legal Education Legal Practice Legal Profession Marquette Law School Public

The 22nd Annual Howard B. Eisenberg Do-Gooders’ Auction on behalf of the Law School’s Public Interest Law Society (PILS) will be held in the evening on Friday, February 13, 2015 at the Law School. Proceeds from the event go to support PILS fellowships to enable Marquette law students to do public interest work in the summer. Nicole Ostrowski, a current law student, shares her experience here as a PILS fellow. Besides her work as a PILS fellow, Nicole is helping to organize this year’s auction.

Where did you work as a PILS fellow?

I worked at the Wisconsin State Public Defender’s Office–Milwaukee Trial Division, both this past summer and the summer between my 1L and 2L year as a PILS fellow.

What kind of work did you do there?

I mainly worked on misdemeanor cases and did anything and everything with the cases I was assigned, including preparing for a jury trial that unfortunately did not go. I was very fortunate in my fellowships because I was able to get a lot of hands on experience with clients, including visits to the jail by myself! My time with the Public Defender has helped me learn what it’s like to actually be an attorney in practice, as opposed to simply learning how to think and write like an attorney, as we’re taught in law school.

Attorney Priya Barnes Highlighted for Pro Bono Work

Post author:Melissa Love Koenig
Post published:January 19, 2015
Post category:Marquette Law School Pro Bono Public

This month the State Bar of Wisconsin highlighted Attorney Priya Barnes, a 2013 Marquette Law School graduate, for her pro bono work. The State Bar’s Inside Track interviewed Barnes. Barnes noted that while in law school, she volunteered with the Marquette Volunteer Legal Clinic (MVLC) and the Milwaukee Justice Center (MJC). She now represents pro bono clients referred through the Volunteer Lawyers Project at Legal Action of Wisconsin, handling primarily Chapter 7 bankruptcy and domestic violence matters. Barnes said that her pro bono work reinforces the work she does in her general practice and gives her “valuable practice experience” as a newer attorney.

As mentioned in the article, the State Bar Pro Bono Initiative “works to improve public access to the legal system by promoting solutions that eliminate barriers to effective access to the civil justice system.”

Pet DNA Used to Help Solve Crimes

Post author:Melissa Love Koenig
Post published:January 17, 2015
Post category:Criminal Law & Process Legal Practice Public

As this public radio show discusses, DNA from pets is increasingly being used to help solve crimes. Investigators can take DNA samples found at a crime scene, such as hair, and have it tested to match a victim’s pet. A match can link a perpetrator to the crime if, for instance, the DNA of the victim’s pet shows up on the assailant’s clothes. As noted on the show, the field of veterinary forensics is growing, and while the DNA testing is expensive, it can make a big difference in solving a case. In addition to animal DNA, plant DNA and viral DNA has also been used in criminal cases.