Schulte Roth and Zabel LLP is pleased to announce that litigation associate Frances Rodriguez has been selected as the 2022 Brooks Burdette Fellow. Chosen after a rigorous application process, Frances will be fully embedded for six months with the National Advocates for Pregnant Women (“NAPW”), a non-profit advocacy organization that works to ensure women do not lose their constitutional and human rights as a result of pregnancy, while continuing to receive full pay and benefits as an SRZ employee.
As the Fellow, Frances will support NAPW's urgent work documenting cases and trends across the country, helping to respond to increased inquiries from individuals facing investigations or arrests, providing amicus briefs, legislative hearings and policy advocacy, rapid response resources to criminal defense attorneys on the ground, and conducting legal research and writing in support of criminal defense litigation in which NAPW is directly involved.
An SRZ pro bono client since 2015, NAPW has been working at the intersection of criminal justice and reproductive justice for over 20 years, defending the rights of pregnant people against criminalization because of pregnancy. SRZ has served as their “outside general counsel” on matters related to employment, real estate and other general corporate matters. We also recently partnered with them to research and draft the timely multi-disciplinary guide for professionals, Confronting Pregnancy Criminalization. SRZ will continue to support NAPW and the Fellow with ongoing pro bono work during the Fellowship.
About Brooks Burdette
In 2009, Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP created the Brooks Burdette Fellowship in honor of the late litigation partner who was a long-time chair of the firm’s Pro Bono Committee and whose commitment to public interest work while at the firm was exemplary. Brooks was a board member of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and was the first chair of the Board of Democracy Prep, a Harlem charter school.