Valparaiso University Alumnus Awarded Skadden Fellowship

Jess Hunter-Bowman ’17 J.D., an alumnus of the Valparaiso University Law School, is one of 28 lawyers nationwide to receive a Skadden Fellowship.

“Jess Hunter-Bowman’s selection as a Skadden Fellow is well deserved,” said David R. Cleveland, J.D., interim dean of the Law School and professor of law. “While at Valparaiso University Law School, he was awarded a Poverty and Human Rights Law Fellowship and the Valparaiso University Alumni Association’s Distinguished Student Award. His commitment to human rights work before and during law school is inspiring, and his selection as a Skadden Fellow will allow him to continue that important work. We are incredibly proud of Jess for his work and this wonderful recognition.”

The Skadden Fellowship Foundation launched in 1988 to commemorate Skadden’s 40th anniversary and has since become the largest public interest law firm in the United States. According to the foundation, the program provides two-year fellowships to talented young lawyers to pursue the practice of public interest law on a full-time basis.

Hunter-Bowman currently holds a federal judicial clerkship. Through the fellowship, he will serve the National Immigrant Justice Center for two years, providing direct representation to immigrant victims of crime and human trafficking in northern Indiana.

The majority of applicants come from Harvard, Yale, NYU, Stanford and Columbia, according to the founding director, Susan Plum. Hunter-Bowman is the first Valparaiso University Law School graduate to receive this honor.

Founded in 1879 and fully accredited by the ABA since 1929, the Law School has educated thousands of successful law graduates who lead and serve across the nation. Students and graduates embrace law as a calling to leadership, and the Valparaiso law community has a distinguished history of public service, a demonstrated commitment to diversity and a focus on experiential education.

The Skadden Fellowship Foundation says its guiding principle is to improve legal services for the poor and encourage economic independence. To date, the foundation has funded more than 800 fellowships. Ninety percent of former fellows remain in public service, and nearly all of them continue working on the same issues they addressed in their original fellowship projects.