Center for Public Interest Law committee alumnae Caroline Manley
(‘11), Jenny Ansay (‘10) and Aya Barnea (‘10) are making great strides
not only in their public interest law careers, but also in building the
Chicago public interest law community.
All three have dedicated their legal careers to increasing access to
justice: Caroline Manley is an attorney working on elder law issues at
the Center for Disability and Elder Law; Jenny Ansay is the regional
attorney for Justice for Our Neighbors, a nonprofit immigration
organization; and Aya Barnea is a staff attorney at the Illinois
Appellate Court for Cook County. As young attorneys, they also have
dedicated a great deal of time to organizing and attending events
sponsored by the public interest lawyers network First 10.
First 10 is a peer-led organization that supports attorneys in their
first 10 years of public interest practice as well as the communities in
which they serve. They provide this support through networking,
professional development and continuing legal education opportunities
that are tailored to public interest work. One such event held on
January 29 at DePaul focused on immigration law and policy, featuring
speakers Fred Tsao, policy director at the Illinois Coalition for
Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR), and immigration practitioner
Michael Jarecki. First 10 members also regularly gather for community
building events, including volunteer projects, happy hour and potluck
events. A wide variety of practice areas are represented at each event.
As Manley explained, “Anyone who is interested in public interest work
is welcome.”
Similarly, public service-oriented law students have a home base in
DePaul’s Center for Public Interest Law. From this home base they can
build skills, network, exchange resources, and cultivate friendships
with likeminded students and faculty. First 10 serves as an extension of
that community atmosphere, according to Manley. Jenny Ansay and Aya
Barnea both echoed the importance of being involved with other attorneys
who are starting out in their legal careers. Ansay credits this
community atmosphere as a key reason to get involved, and stay involved,
with First 10. “Sometimes doing the kind of work that I do is a little
overwhelming and intense,” says Ansay. “Knowing you have a support
system out there with other people who understand you and who do what
you do makes First 10 a valuable resource for young attorneys.”
Barnea encourages law students to join First 10 upon graduation.
“You’ll see how valuable it is to meet other people in your professional
peer group and how nice that peer group is to have,” she remarked. “The
city is big and it can feel hard to navigate. Having this resource is a
very nice feeling.”