Tarra Simmons’ life has taken a U-turn. As Seattle University School of Law’s first-ever Skadden Fellow, she enrolled in a J.D. program after a 20-month stint in prison for drug offenses. The former nurse, encouraged to attend law school by the attorneys who helped her get her life back on track, will soon spend two years working in public interest, thanks to the prestigious Skadden program that awarded 30 fellowships in 2017.

Serving time gave Simmons a firsthand look at the shortcomings of the criminal justice system—a perspective few lawyers have—including what she sees as a lack of empathy for low-income defendants, few true rehabilitation options for drug-addicted inmates, and a myriad of roadblocks for people trying to re-establish their lives with a conviction on their records.

This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.

To view this content, please continue to their sites.

Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Why am I seeing this?

LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.

For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]