Two recent UCLA School of Law graduates have gained paid post-bar fellowships at the Children’s Law Center of California, thanks to a grant from the UCLA Pritzker Center for Strengthening Children and Families.

Nicole Englanoff-Herzberg and Kaveh Landsverk, both members of the UCLA Law Class of 2020, will advocate for the rights of children, teens and families in the foster care system at the venerable Los Angeles public interest agency.

The fellowships are funded by the UCLA Pritzker Center, founded in 2018 by the Anthony and Jeanne Pritzker Family Foundation. The UCLA Pritzker Center is a multidisciplinary hub for research, training and community partnership that leverages UCLA’s rich and diverse cross-disciplinary resources to help prevent child maltreatment, reduce the need for foster care, and support the enhancement of the child welfare system and related agencies.

As a law student, Englanoff-Herzberg volunteered with the Veterans Legal Clinic and was chief articles editor for the UCLA Entertainment Law Review.

“My motivation for choosing a career in the law has always been to advocate for those who need legal support and help them navigate our legal system,” Englanoff-Herzberg said. “I am very excited about the opportunity that this fellowship provides to support the CLC in advocating for the needs of these children and supporting the improvement of our child welfare system.”

While at UCLA Law, Landsverk served as an Articles Editor for the UCLA Law Review and co-chair of the student-run El Centro Legal Let’sGo! Liberation clinic at the Los Angeles LGBT Center. He spent the summers between his years in law school clerking for the Federal Public Defender’s Office for the Central District of California and the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia.

“I am eager to provide direct legal representation and engage holistically with CLC clients, with an eye toward interrupting cycles of foster care involvement,” said Landsverk.

CLC Executive Director Leslie Heimov said, “Lawyers for children shoulder a tremendous responsibility. The post-bar fellows, working side by side with experienced attorneys, will have the unique opportunity to gain a deep understanding of the child welfare system, the dependency courts and most importantly the experiences of children and families impacted by these systems.”

Added UCLA Pritzker Center Director Tyrone Howard, “The UCLA Pritzker Center is thrilled to partner with UCLA School of Law to offer this first-of its-kind fellowship to graduating law students. Our aim is to promote greater access to careers in child welfare, and deeper understanding of this field at UCLA. We can think of no better partners in this effort than the preeminent Children’s Law Center of California, the illustrious UCLA School of Law and the fine law graduates chosen to serve in this new role.”