Northwest Arkansas Business Journal 2009 Fast 15: Elizabeth L. Young
by February 23, 2009 12:00 am 488 views
Elizabeth L. Young, 31
Assistant Professor of Law
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
Claim to Fame: Returned to her home state to set up and run the Immigration Law Clinic at the UA.
Next Step: “I would like to stick around. I’m on tenure track and hopefully will become a full professor.”
Elizabeth Young has been working on the front lines of immigration law for years.
She’s studied international human rights law at Oxford and worked in both the Bush Justice Department and the Executive Office for Immigration Review in San Francisco from 2004-07.
Young ran the Immigration Law Clinic at George Washington University during the 2007-08 school year and has now returned to her home state to set up and operate the same program at the University of Arkansas.
A native of Lamar, Young earned her bachelor’s degree in sociology and antropology from Hendrix University in Conway in 1999 and her law degree from George Washington University in 2004. Young said she still stays in touch with her GW immigration professor, Alberto Benitez.
“Everything he tells me is awesome,” she said.
The Immigration Law Clinic opened for the Spring 2009 semester, and Young has five students out of 40 who applied working 12 cases.
The clinic’s caseload is supplied by local immigration attorneys who have been working pro bono on a variety of legal issues from family immigration to removal defense.
Students in the clinic practice interviewing clients, working with interpreters, going to court, prepping witnesses and writing briefs.
“There is a great need in the community,” she said. “It’s going to continue to grow. With the new administration, there could be some changes in immigration law that would increase the need for more attorneys.”
Young expected some controversy in setting up the clinic, as immigration is one of the hottest of hot-button issues in the country. An article by The Associated Press spotlighting such clinics did lead to a few e-mails, she said.
“I got several saying it’s a waste of taxpayer money,” she said. “The job of a law school is to train people to represent people. It’s like any other course.”
UA students requested the new clinic be immigration-specific, and Young said interest has flowed from those who want to practice in international law and others who just want the clinic experience.
Young makes no apologies about her desire to “make the world a better place,” and she applies that to her dealings with older professors.
“Everyone can teach each other,” she said. “The world needs more of that.”
(RELATED: Northwest Arkansas Business Journal’s 15 Young Pros on the Fast Track)