The Notre Dame Law School Lindsay and Matt Moroun Religious Liberty Clinic has welcomed its next cohort of students for the 2024-25 academic year. Within the Law School's Catholic tradition, the Clinic teaches, trains, and prepares students to become the rising generation of religious liberty advocates as they defend the freedom of religion for all people.
Established in 2020, the Clinic represents individuals and organizations from all faith traditions to promote not only the freedom for people to hold religious beliefs but also their fundamental right to express those beliefs and to live according to them. Students in the clinic work under the guidance of Notre Dame Law School faculty and staff to provide advice, counsel, and advocacy on a broad array of matters related to religious freedom in the United States and abroad. The Religious Liberty Clinic has participated in proceedings at all levels of federal and state courts, in administrative agencies, and before foreign courts and other governmental bodies around the world.
“We are blessed at Notre Dame to have so many talented students who are committed to the principles of religious liberty and are passionate about the work of our Clinic. We are delighted to begin another year leading these impressive men and women in service of our most precious freedom,” said John Meiser, associate clinical professor and director of the Lindsay and Matt Moroun Religious Liberty Clinic.
This year, the Clinic will include 27 Notre Dame law students, including 23 first-time clinic participants and 4 students who will return for a second year in the Clinic. The Religious Liberty Clinic offers opportunities to students interested in this work in three different practice areas:
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Litigation: Students represent individuals and organizations in defense of their religious freedom before all levels of U.S. courts and administrative agencies.
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Transactional Advising: Students work directly with a variety of religious nonprofit organizations to advise them on tax, corporate, transactional, employment, and strategic issues.
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Global Religious Persecution & Immigration: Students work on issues related to international religious persecution, including representing religious clients seeking asylum in the U.S. and assisting with other government officials and NGOs seeking to investigate and address these issues in other countries.
Students in the Litigation section include second-year law students Simon Brake, Breck Giltner, Veronica Maska, Jessica Smith, Steven Tu, and Dennis Wieboldt; and third-year law students Alicia Armstrong, Hadiah Mabry, Annie Ortega, Leo Schlueter, and Sean Tehan.
Students in the Transactional Advising section include second-year law students Nora Ibrahim, Zachary Pearson, Blake Perry, and Rebecca Sonn; and third-year law students Joseph Andres, Maria Lake, Nick Munsen, and Benjamin Tillinghast.
Students in the Global Religious Persecution & Immigration section include second-year law students Kathleen Casey, Brendan Dodd, and Gloria Wertjes; and third-year law students Holly Fulbright, Rania Khamees, Brent Nymeyer, Shideya Parrilla, and Rohan Vaidya.
Alicia Armstrong and Hadiah Mabry are returning student fellows who will continue their work in the Domestic Litigation section, and students Holly Fulbright and Rohan Vaidya are returning to the Global Religious Persecution & Immigration section.
“Last year, I participated in an international delegation to France, represented a client in asylum proceedings, and wrote a complaint for an international human rights body,” said Fulbright. “Being a student fellow in the clinic has been an extremely rewarding experience, and I am eager to continue contributing to its success next year.”
Visit our case page at https://religiousliberty.nd.edu/clinic/cases/ to learn more about the range of cases taken up by the Lindsay and Matt Moroun Religious Liberty Clinic.