Every month, we give the Amicus Mundi Award to an outstanding lawyer in our community who exemplifies our shared values of service and volunteerism.
On July 28, We The Action celebrated our fourth anniversary, and we’re proud to give this month’s award to a lawyer who joined We The Action the day we launched and has been consistently volunteering with us since then.
Congratulations, Stephanie Killian!
The big picture: A lawyer from North Carolina, Stephanie Killian joined We The Action on July 28, 2017 -- the day We The Action launched. In fact, Stephanie was the 84th lawyer to ever join We The Action!
“I always loved doing pro bono work in law school,” Stephanie says. “It was easy in school because everyone loves using law students to do things for them. But I found it harder to find those opportunities once I graduated."
When she heard about We The Action, Stephanie jumped at the chance to join a community of like-minded lawyers eager to chip in and make a difference.
“I always wanted to do more because that’s an obligation we have as lawyers,” Stephanie says. “But finding opportunities was harder than you’d expect. The ease of finding those projects was what first attracted me to We The Action.”
There are currently more than 60 projects looking for lawyers of all interests, expertises, and availability. Click here to browse the latest opportunities!
Rolling up her sleeves: Since then, Stephanie has completed six volunteer projects, including creating voter guides to empower voters in the 2018 elections and helping nonprofits apply for federal funding to keep their doors open during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Stephanie says the thing she remembers most about her projects are the people she was able to help.
“The people you help with these projects are so thankful for anything you do -- even answering the simplest questions,” she says. “You feel like you’ve made an impact, and it’s awesome to see the people and organizations flourish in their work.”
She particularly remembers helping Oakland Promise, a California-based organization that provides scholarships, guidance and support to Oakland’s youth, navigate the process of applying for federal funds to keep working during COVID. The advice she provided was crucial to the organization, and took less than an hour of her time.
“The time to do it is now.” Stephanie encourages lawyers who feel concerned about the direction of the country to seek out opportunities to make a difference like she did.
“We The Action caught me at the right time,” Stephanie says. “The world was burning, and I thought to myself ‘What can I do about it?’”
Once she started volunteering, Stephanie saw the impact that a lawyer can make in people’s lives, and decided to make volunteering a regular part of her life.
“I’m not a superhero, but I do think a law license is a pretty powerful thing,” she says. “If there’s one thing that this piece of paper allows me to do to help, the time to do it is now.”
“Easy and impactful.” Between her full-time job and caring for her children, Stephanie says that, like most lawyers, she’s often short on time. But through We The Action, lawyers can find a project that fits their schedule.
“Volunteering through We The Action is easy and impactful,” she says. “Like most lawyers, I can’t commit to representing a fleet of people in court for free, but everybody has a couple free hours a month to do something.”
In fact, Stephanie just signed up for her next project, where she’ll be working with the family of a deceased military member on navigating some estate issues.
“Pick a project and run with it.” Whatever your experience level, expertise, or time availability, Stephanie emphasizes that every lawyer should try to find an opportunity to give back.
“A project doesn’t have to be a big commitment,” Stephanie says. “Several small commitments have the same impact.”
Four years into volunteering with We The Action, Stephanie says she’s as excited as ever about the possibilities of what this community of lawyers can accomplish if everyone gives a few hours.
“Whatever issue you’re into, pick a project and run with it,” Stephanie advises. “Whatever your passion is, there’s going to be something for you.”
On behalf of nearly 41,000 We The Action volunteer lawyers: Thank you, Stephanie!
Don’t let Stephanie have all the fun -- Kick off the next four years of We The Action by signing up for a project today!
From all of us at We The Action, thank you for a wonderful four years. We can’t wait to see what comes next for this incredible community.