News

Claudia Benz ’23 has been selected for one of two E. Barrett Prettyman Fellowships and will join an intensive two-year training program in criminal trial advocacy and clinical teaching at Georgetown University Law Center in August.

Recipients of the highly competitive fellowship spend their first year representing indigent clients in local courts of the District of Columbia. In the second year fellows take classes in clinical teaching and instruct and supervise students representing defendants in misdemeanor and juvenile cases through Georgetown Law’s Criminal Defense and Prisoner Advocacy Clinic, Criminal Justice Clinic, and Juvenile Justice Clinic. Upon completion of the program fellows receive a master’s degree in advocacy.

“I cannot wait to begin my career as a public defender in a position where I will be trained and try cases under the supervision of incredible attorneys. I’m counting down the days until I get to start,” Benz said.

“I am also beyond excited to work with clinic students who share my commitment to indigent defense. I am so grateful for this opportunity and know that it will help me become a competent and effective public defender.”

Benz, who graduated from the University of Chicago with a bachelor’s degree in public policy studies, has long been committed to a career in public defense. Prior to entering law school she taught social science and mathematics to fifth graders in Chicago through Teach for America. As a teacher, she began to more fully understand the issue of the school to prison pipeline and also got to know families who had incarcerated relatives.

“That was when I knew I wanted to work on the issue, and I thought public defense would be a way to work at an individual level,” Benz recalled.

“Coming to court and facing those charges is such a critical juncture in someone’s involvement with the legal system. So I wanted to do work that I feel is pushing back on mass incarceration but in a way where I was able to build personal connections with people. Everything I’ve done at Duke has been to get closer and closer to that job.”

Assistant Dean of Public Interest and Pro Bono Stella Boswell said that from their first conversations Benz displayed a passion for public defense and has taken every opportunity to develop it.

“Claudia has done every single thing she could and should do to prepare herself for this career and had this completely unwavering goal to do that,” Boswell said. “She’s really gone all in.”

That included getting as much direct experience with clients as she could fit into three years. Benz is co-director of the pro bono Duke Law Juvenile Sentence Review Board Clemency Project and is in the inaugural class of the Criminal Defense Clinic, which launched this semester under the direction of Clinical Professor Elana Fogel. She also has been a student-attorney in the Health Justice Clinic and done pro bono work like the Fair Chance Project, which helps North Carolinians get their criminal records expunged and driver’s license restored, all while holding leadership roles in OutLaw and the National Lawyers Guild.

“Claudia has already shown great skill at connecting with her clients,” said Fogel, who was a federal public defender before joining Duke Law. “Throughout her legal education, including her advocacy as a student in the Criminal Defense Clinic, she has sought opportunities to fight for individuals and against injustice. Claudia’s teaching experience and dedication to this work make her a great fit for the unique opportunities provided by the highly competitive Prettyman Fellowship. This will be a wonderful next step on her exciting path.”

In addition to spending her 1L and 2L summers as an intern in the Albuquerque, N.M., and Fairfax County, Virginia, public defenders’ offices, respectively, Benz externed at the Durham Office of the Public Defender last fall. The externship provided extensive experience in client work, research, drafting, and negotiating with prosecutors for dismissals of misdemeanor charges, and included representing an actual defendant at trial in traffic court, cross-examining a police officer, and making the closing argument.

Benz was undeterred by the heavy caseload of a public defender, saying she thrives in fast-paced environments and is motivated by working with people and giving clients the best legal services she can provide.

“Indigent clients don’t just deserve free lawyers. They deserve really, really good lawyers,” Benz said.

“So while I’ve been trying to become a public defender, training and working under close mentorship and supervision was my highest priority when I was applying to jobs. The Prettyman Fellowship is a spectacular opportunity to train and to learn under direct supervision from really experienced attorneys. It’s an opportunity to become a really excellent public defender and get the best possible outcomes for my clients when I start practicing.”