Jonathan Bertulis-Fernandes’ ’24 drive to dedicate his career to improving housing rights and better outcomes for the unhoused has just received a significant boost, a prestigious Skadden Foundation Fellowship. The program provides two-year fellowships to recent law graduates to pursue the practice of public interest law on a full-time basis. They are among the most selective and competitive public interest positions law school graduates can receive after graduation or completing a clerkship, with just 34 being awarded nationwide this year.
Bertulis-Fernandes is currently clerking for the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Washington state after completing a clerkship with the US District Court for the Western District of Texas after graduation. He graduated from BC Law summa cum laude and received the Privitera Commencement Award for his outstanding scholarship and commitment to service.
In his time at the Law School, he served as editor-in-chief of the Boston College Law Review, co-president of the South Asian Law Student Association, and was a student in the Civil Rights Clinic.
His experience prior to law school after graduating from the University of St Andrews in Scotland included the NY Legal Aid Society and the Carter Center. Bertulis-Fernandes spoke to BC Law Magazine about the roots of his concern for social issues and the formative experiences that led him on this path in a profile last year.
The Skadden Fellowship will see Bertulis-Fernandes return to Massachusetts, where he will work at the ACLU advocating for unhoused individuals utilizing litigation, systemic advocacy, and community and advocate education to protect rights to engage in life-sustaining activities in public spaces.
Upon learning this news, several members of the BC Law community praised Bertulis-Fernandes for his achievements. Among them was Professor Lisa Alexander. “It was an honor to work with you on your great law review note [https://bclawreview.bc.edu/articles/3090] that now serves as the inspiration and vision for this well-deserved fellowship,” she wrote in a group email. “I am glad that you will be putting what you learned in all of your classes, but especially in my Housing Law & Policy class, and in Reena [Parikh’s] Civil Rights Clinic, to use. I am also glad to see that your hard work…will be used in the service of those in Massachusetts who so desperately need it at this time.”
Bertulis-Fernandes joins the ranks of other BC Law alums who have been Skadden Fellows: Lauren Koster in 2020, Margaretta Homsey Kroeger in 2011, Tara Twomey in 1999, and Christine Griffin in 1993. Additionally, Associate Professor Daniel Farbman was a fellow in 2008.
Launched in 1988, the Skadden Fellowship Foundation program provides young lawyers with the opportunity to pursue the practice of public interest law on a full-time basis. The highly selective application process considers academic accomplishments, meaningful public interest work, and leadership experience.
Photograph by Diana Levine