The Bradley Foundation is pleased to announce the 2024 Bradley Summer Legal Fellows:
Ms. Emma Ferdinandi
Boston University School of Law
Pioneer Law Center
Mr. Britton Haigh
Washburn University School of Law
Kansas Justice Institute
Mr. Nathan Kawlewski
University of Notre Dame Law School
Upper Midwest Law Center
Ms. Emma Lively
University of Notre Dame Law School
Napa Legal Institute
Ms. Riley Marelli
George Mason University Scalia Law School
Public Interest Legal Foundation
Ms. Caroline Martin
University of North Carolina Law School
Liberty Justice Center
Mr. Ryan McGoffin
Washington University in St. Louis Law School
Institute for Justice
Mr. Winkler Michel
University of Michigan Law School
Beacon Center of Tennessee
Ms. Hannah Mickley
Regent University School of Law
The Fairness Center
Mr. Joseph Mockabee
William and Mary Law School
Pacific Legal Foundation
Ms. Sadie Parker
University of San Diego School of Law
Freedom Foundation
Ms. Madeline Walth
University of Wisconsin Law School
Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce Litigation Center
A Conversation with Bradley Summer Associate Legal Fellows
Fellow: Ms. Hannah Mickley, Regent University School of Law
What interests you about public interest law?
The community of people that you work with are not only talented at what they do but are very mission oriented. It makes for a really fulfilling place to be and it makes such a difference for people.
What freedom do you think is most at risk and why?
Free speech, because people are so concerned about offending people. It's affecting people's ability to speak up for their religion, for their sincerely held beliefs.
At the Fairness Center, we work with individuals who have been harmed by public sector unions whose rights can be suppressed. We fight back and try to make sure that that doesn't happen, but it's happening all over the place.
After spending some time today learning about the Bradley brothers, the company they built and their contributions to the community was there anything that stood out to you?
I was really fascinated with how they incorporated their work with the community. They served together and they did all these things together. I feel like that's something that's kind of lost nowadays.
What do you hope to learn from your Bradley Summer Legal Fellowship?
I hope to learn the mindset of the successful leaders here and to see what has driven them and inspired them. I hope I can incorporate that as I approach my career as an attorney.
Fellow: Mr. Joseph Mockabee, William and Mary Law School
What interests you about public interest law?
In undergrad I did a lot of political science and political work, and I thought I wanted to go into the policy field. Then I got really interested in the legal realm. Public interest law is just a good balance of both of those things. You get to kind of work on the policy side through your legal work while promoting ideas and philosophies you believe in.
What freedom do you think is most at risk and why?
The freedom of expression. It's really gotten to a point where disagreements or having a contrary opinion is becoming almost dangerous.
After spending some time today learning about the Bradley brothers, the company they built and their contributions to the community was there anything that stood out to you?
On a personal level, I think it was that neither of them graduated high school. I'm a first-generation college student and law student. Both my parents, while they did graduate high school, neither of them went to college. Yet we were able to move up from a trailer house to a middle-class family home and now we're in a pretty good neighborhood. They were able to achieve that without traditional college degrees.
It reminded me that you can do many things in America that you can't do other places. Also, it's just the hard work that you put into it can really make the difference.
What do you hope to learn from your Bradley Summer Legal Fellowship?
I've already really enjoyed learning the Bradley story – their philanthropy stands out, so I want to learn more about that area.
I'm excited to be in an environment where I can hear about opportunities in the legal profession and other areas that I don't hear about in law school. As I said, neither of my parents were lawyers or college students so I've had to build networks myself. I'm excited about building relationships so that I can stay involved in the conservative legal field.