Seton Hall Law Community Members Named to American Association of Law Schools (AALS) 2023 Pro Bono Honor Roll

The American Association of Law Schools (AALS) Pro Bono and Access to Justice Section established the Pro Bono Honor Role to acknowledge and highlight the exceptional work of individuals engaging in, expanding, and/or supporting their law school community in providing pro bono legal services. Each law school may name one faculty member, one staff member, and one student for the Honor Roll each year.  In 2023, Seton Hall Law School named three members of our community to the Pro Bono Honor Role to recognize the tremendous contributions they have made to both the University and the community.

Lisa Roe ('24), a 4L student in the weekend program, was honored for service with several programs. She volunteered at an expungement clinic sponsored by Pashman Stein Walder Hayden P.C. and completed pro bono research for New Jersey Appleseed. She volunteered for the Center for Social Justice Housing Justice Project, participating in court observation, and presenting a tenancy training in the community. She completed a summer internship with the Housing Justice Project, working on eviction cases counseling clients, preparing court documents, and writing briefs. She is a current intern with Volunteer Lawyers for Justice, working with pro bono attorneys to increase access to justice.

Dr. Latisha Porter-Vaughn has worked at Seton Hall Law School for more than 30 years.  Since the summer of 2020, she has served as a paralegal with the Center for Social Justice, where she supports the clinical programs undertaking civil rights, immigration, and housing work.  She coordinates the clinic's recruitment of interpreters and translators and has developed trainings to teach faculty and students about how they can support colleagues and clients who are deaf and hard of hearing.  Outside of the office, she is President of the Hearing Loss Association of America, New Jersey Chapter, and has authored How We Hear, A Useful Guide for the Hearing to Understand Hearing Loss, and Sounds of the Heart, an autobiography.

Professor Kevin B. Kelly is an Associate Clinical Professor at the Seton Hall Law School Center for Social Justice in the Civil Litigation Clinic, which is part of the Housing Justice Project. Professor Kelly concentrates his practice in housing law, including eviction defense and affirmative litigation regarding habitability and housing subsidies. Professor Kelly previously taught in the Family Law Clinic, where he handled domestic violence, divorce, adoption, and international custody cases. Professor Kelly serves on the Early Settlement Panel in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Essex Vicinage. He was a founding trustee of Partners for Women and Justice in Montclair, NJ, and received their Partner in Hope Award. He has been similarly recognized by Manavi in New Brunswick, NJ, for his work on behalf of victims of domestic violence from Southeast Asia. Professor Kelly has served on the District VI Ethics Committee, the Essex County Domestic Violence Working Group, the New Jersey Supreme Court Pro Bono Task Force, and the Early Settlement Panel, Hudson Vicinage. He previously served as a statewide mediator in foreclosure cases. He was legal counselor to the Justice Virginia Long Family Law American Inn of Court. He has been a CLE trainer and guest speaker for Legal Services of New Jersey, NJ State Bar Association, NJ Coalition to End Domestic Violence, NJ LEEP, New York City Bar Association, and various other organizations.

They share this honor at Seton Hall Law with the inaugural recipients of the award from 2022: Tricia E. Connolly (SHLS '23), Pro Bono Student with the Edna Mahan Class Action Pro Bono Project; Melinda Lampley-Merritt, Paralegal for the Center for Social Justice; and Professor Lesley Risinger, Executive Director, The Last Resort Exoneration Project.

Congratulations to Lisa Roe, Dr. Porter-Vaughn, and Professor Kelly! You can see the listing of all award recipients here: Annual Pro Bono Honor Roll | Association of American Law Schools (aals.org).