Tara Casey wins Thomas Addis Emmet Fellowship 2018

Tara Casey, a law student at University College Dublin, has been awarded the Thomas Addis Emmet Fellowship for 2018.

The fellowship is run in association with FLAC and enables an outstanding Irish legal student to spend time in Seattle in Washington absorbing the legal practices and seeing at first-hand how another jurisdiction’s legal systems operate. To reciprocate, a student studying in the University of Washington also comes to Ireland and works with FLAC; this student is awarded the William Sampson Fellowship.

Séamus Wolfe, Attorney General of Ireland, announced the Fellowship winners during his visit to Washington.

Ms Casey is from Bray, Co Wicklow and is a former student of Loreto Dalkey. She is currently studying law at UCD and intends to progress to study International Human Rights Law. She was awarded the fellowship following a rigorous application process involving face-to-face interviews, academic evaluation and written assessments.

She said: “I’m thrilled to be the recipient of this year’s Thomas Addis Emmet Fellowship. The chance to work in the United States and get practical experience of the US legal system is something which really excites me. When I’m there, I’ll be working on projects which fight for legal rights and justice for marginalised groups.

“This is an area of law in which I hope to make my future career, so the chance to get a real insight is hugely beneficial. I know that there was significant interest from law students around the country, as this is such a prestigious award. Many of its previous recipients have achieved become leaders in the field of social justice and law reform.”

Eilis Barry, CEO of FLAC, said: “The judges were hugely impressed by Tara. She showed both the academic credentials and the commitment to use the law to advance the case for positive change.

“Significantly, Tara served as UCD Student Legal Service Clinic Coordinator 2017/18. She was responsible for arranging volunteer clinics to give legal information to students at weekly clinics on topics ranging from consumer complaints to landlord-tenant queries.

“This highlighted her passion for ensuring that people know how the law can be used to serve their rights and interests.”