Alumni Spotlight: Sarah Looney '06
“Much of my work with clients is done over the phone,” says Sarah Looney, a staff attorney in the Harrisonburg, Virginia office of Blue Ridge Legal Services, Inc. “It’s a rural area, and qualifying clients are at or slightly above the poverty level, so transportation is often an issue.” Looney says her clients’ legal problems, while significant, can sometimes be the least of their challenges. “I might be able to help someone with a landlord/tenant issue or debt-relief, but they may be in poor health, uninsured, and face difficulty obtaining medical or dental care. I might help a domestic violence survivor obtain a protective order, but she may continue returning to an abusive household. I’ve come to accept that I can’t fix everything. Helping these people is a community-wide effort, and I am just one part of that community.”
While a Notre Dame law student, Looney won awards for her dedication to bettering both the Law School and the local communities. She served as president of the Public Interest Law Forum, and was a founding member and president of Legal Voices for Children and Youth, a law student organization focusing on legal issues affecting children.
“One of the most—if not the most—valuable things I did during law school was intern at the Legal Aid Clinic,” says Looney. She describes working with one elderly client on bankruptcy paperwork during the summer after her first year of law school. “She was so grateful for my help that she offered me her chapstick. It was all she had to give.”
Looney’s horizons during law school were broader than pro-bono, though. She participated in the Intensive Trial Advocacy course during winter break to hone her courtroom skills. “I got up early every day for a week—during break no less—and trudged over to the Law School in the snow for this course. I was surprised to find that I really liked it, and would definitely recommend it.” She also loved her class on evidence, taught by Amy Barrett. “I still remember her imitating a parrot when she discussed ‘hearsay.’”
Looney appreciates the fact that, even now, she can turn to her professors for advice. “I still use them as a sounding board. I had a question recently, and I called [Prof.] Mike [Jenuwine] and he had an answer to me in five minutes,” says Looney. “It’s great to have that support system.”
