Penn and Drexel law students help with LASP projects

NORRISTOWN - (APRIL 2020) - During their spring break in early March (and before coronavirus restrictions began), eight University of Pennsylvania law students volunteered at LASP Norristown, working with Erica Briant, Supervising Attorney for the Community Engagement Unit. Students:

• Reviewed records for former clients to identify people eligible for the new expedited pardon process;

• Analyzed expungement, sealing and pardon eligibility;

• Drafted petitions for expungement, sealing and pardons;

• Met with clients together with Erica;

• Filed expungement petitions and scheduled hearings, with Daniel Cortes, Community Engagement Staff Attorney;

• Helped at an expungement clinic at Pro Act in Norristown.

Just a week later for Drexel's spring break, COVID-19 social distancing guidelines went into effect, so the effort went virtual. Briant, together with LASP intern Sarah Fishel, trained students through Zoom. Sean Kilkenny returned from summer 2019, and Krystal R. Bordoni-Cowley, Raffaele Cicala, Alexandra Lynch and Kayla Panek also volunteered. They each were assigned 100 former LASP clients to review for eligibility for the expedited marijuana pardons.

Penn law students are pictured. Front row (from left): Erica Briant and Roger Li. Back row: Wesley Newton, Cathlin, Joshua El-Bey, Mackenzie Libbey, Jon Blomberg, and Seth Rubenstein.