Naisha Mercury L’24 is one of 60 selected for the fellowship in public interest law for her project aimed at reforming reproductive health access within the prison system.
An Elon University School of Law alumna is among 60 recent law school graduates selected for a fellowship program that strengthens initiatives in public interest law.
Naisha Mercury L’24 will spend the next two years as an Equal Justice Works Fellow, investigating shortfalls and potential reforms to reproductive health access within the U.S. prison system.
“This project is particularly timely as national conversations around reproductive rights and criminal justice reform are gaining momentum, providing a critical opportunity to advocate for change,” Mercury said. “By addressing these pressing needs, this project will contribute to the creation of a more just and equitable society, where the reproductive rights of all individuals are respected and upheld, regardless of their incarceration status.”
Mercury earned her bachelor’s degree in health service management from East Carolina University before pursuing interests in public interest and health law in law school. While at Elon Law, she completed her residency-in-practice at the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law and reestablished Elon’s Health Law and Bioethics Society.
“We are so proud of each of our incoming Fellows for committing to public service when they are needed more than ever,” said Verna Williams, CEO of Equal Justice Works. “The Fellows embody our organizational belief that the law belongs to everyone. With this dedicated class of Fellows, Equal Justice Works deepens the nation’s bench of passionate, skilled champions of justice.”
Equal Justice Works offers fellowships for law students and graduates in a range of areas, including Disaster Resilience, Housing Justice and Opioid Crisis Response Programs.
Mercury is Elon Law’s third equal justice works fellow, following Catherine Caperton L’21, a crime victims advocacy fellow in 2023, and Brandon L. Ballard L’19, a housing justice program fellow in 2022. Eric Rhoton ’20 L’22 was selected as a disaster resilience program student fellow in 2021.