Seton Hall Law School’s Leadership Fellows Program, under the direction of Prof. Paula Franzese, is an honors program comprised of third and fourth year law students with demonstrated leadership ability and/or leadership potential. Students selected for the Program participate in the Leadership, Ethics, and Decision-Making course and develop and implement a community-based service project. In the Leadership course students hone decision-making skills, consider the ethical challenges sometimes faced by lawyer-leaders, develop core leadership proficiencies, hone time-management abilities and consider pathways to balance in the legal profession. Distinguished leaders of the bench and bar share their wisdom as part of the Program’s Leadership Speaks lecture series.

Past speakers have spoken to the power of grit and resilience and the importance of giving back to the people and communities who do so much for so many. Rehan Staton, Esq., the founder of The Reciprocity Effect, recently shared lessons on courage, grace and gratitude as he spoke of his work aimed at honoring the unsung heroes of our craft. Distinguished Seton Hall Law alumna and federal district court judge the Hon. Evelyn Padin shared poignant reflections on her time as a law student. She stated, "You can help change this world. You must find your inner voices and rise up. As future lawyers you will learn to reach deep within yourselves to be the best that you can be by helping those in need, whether the client can pay your fees and sometimes only when they can only say 'Thank You'. Lawyers are instilled with the understanding that we must make room at the table for justice not just for some but for all."

Among other initiatives, this year’s class of Leadership Fellows created a non-profit organization to provide financial support for first-generation college students, created community outreach programs to apprise Newark residents of how to tap into incentives provided by their local utilities to promote clean air efforts, developed local mentoring programs, planted local gardens, partnered with the Reentry Corps, and developed a central hub of resources for New Jersey’s immigrant communities.

The Leadership Fellows Program recently received the top New Jersey State Bar Association Pro Bono Award for its groundbreaking work.