Ena Kaur, 2L, Receives Peggy Browning Fellowship
The Peggy Browning Fund recently awarded second-year law student, Ena Kaur, a 10-week summer fellowship to support Kaur’s summer work with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters in Washington, D.C.
“It is a great honor to win this highly competitive award,” Kaur said. “The Peggy Browning Fellowship will help me stand out in the labor law field and demonstrate my commitment to workers’ rights. It will allow me to join a network of labor lawyers who, like myself, are all dedicated to empowering workers.”
In announcing the award, the Peggy Browning Fund applauded Kaur’s academic excellence and her commitment to workers’ rights. The San Jose native attended the University of California-Berkeley and majored in political science with minors in public policy and English. After taking a labor and employment course at Notre Dame Law School, Kaur said she thought she could play a role in helping counter the power balance between workers and employers through legal advocacy. This semester she has put her passion into action by taking an externship with the National Labor Relations Board in Chicago.
“Given the current economy, it is more important than ever to ensure that workers get the fair treatment they deserve and are able to find stable jobs that pay them a fair wage,” Kaur said. “The labor movement is key in accomplishing that mission. I feel privileged to have this opportunity to advocate for workers’ rights alongside a union that has a longstanding history of ensuring hardworking Americans are protected.”
The application process for a Peggy Browning Fellowship is highly competitive. In 2016, the Peggy Browning Fund will support nearly 70 public-interest labor law fellowships nationwide from a pool of 325 applicants.
“This is a well-recognized fellowship, which can provide a gateway to post-graduate legal employment in the specialized field of labor and employment law,” said Barbara J. Fick, associate professor of law at Notre Dame Law School.
The Peggy Browning Fund is a nonprofit organization established in memory of Margaret A. Browning, a prominent union-side attorney who was a member of the National Labor Relations Board from 1994 until 1997. Peggy Browning Fellowships are intended provide law students with unique, diverse and challenging work experiences fighting for social and economic justice. These experiences encourage and inspire students to pursue careers in public interest labor law.
“The mission of protecting the rights of workers inspires me,” Kaur said. “I am determined to help hardworking Americans understand their rights and assert them.”