Congratulations to the 2017 Goldmark Intern, Laura Ferrari-Agudelo

Laura Ferrari-Agudelo

The Legal Foundation of Washington is pleased to introduce the 2017 Goldmark Equal Justice intern, Laura Ferrari-Agudelo, a second year law student from the University of Montana. Laura will intern with the King County Bar Association’s Pro Bono Services Family Law Program assisting children in immigration matters in collaboration with Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) and Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP). As a native of Argentina, Laura is fluent in Spanish and will be interviewing newly arrived immigrants and providing the court with context for their cases.

Laura recently completed an internship at NWIRP where she advocated for immigrant children seeking asylum from gang violence and neglect. She also brings several years of experience working as a legal assistant in federal criminal and bankruptcy courts. As she wrote in her internship application materials, “As an immigrant who came to this country 12 years ago, I understand the complexities of the legal system and the overwhelming pride to become an American citizen.”

Tarra Simmons (second from right) is joined by Judge Bassett and her Civil Survival colleagues at the Juneteenth celebration in Bremerton.

LFW also expresses gratitude to the 2016 Goldmark Intern, Tarra Simmons, who completed her internship in August with Northwest Justice Project’s RISE (Reentry Initiated through Services and Education) project in Seattle. In addition to accompanying her supervising attorney to the legal clinics inside the women’s prisons, Tarra drafted pleadings, attended stakeholder meetings, communicated with clients and social service providers, and represented her first client in a court hearing. Tarra said she prepared for a month, revising the hearing outline multiple times. “Through that process, I had the privilege to learn best practices from many attorneys and learn what style will work best for me.”

Tarra made news in June by being the first person in Washington State to receive the Certificate of Restoration of Opportunity, which allows people who have been convicted of certain crimes to petition a judge for a certificate that shows they have completed their sentence and are a law abiding citizen. Tarra is also active with Civil Survival, an advocacy organization for formerly incarcerated persons, and during her internship was appointed by Governor Inslee to the newly created Washington Statewide Reentry Council and elected co-chair with King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg. Most recently, Tarra was awarded the prestigious Skadden Fellowship.  Congratulations Tarra!