NEW YORK, JULY 21, 2026: International law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP is pleased to announce the 2026-2027 class of its multi-stakeholder public service initiative, the Weil Legal Innovators Program (WLI), now in its seventh year.

The ten fellows selected for this year’s class deferred their first year of study at one of WLI’s thirteen partner law schools to complete one year of public service at a nonprofit partner organization participating in the WLI Program. These incoming law students gain a unique opportunity to work on some of the most urgent social and legal challenges through placements at leading nonprofits, including the Clooney Foundation for Justice, World Wildlife Fund, Innocence Project and United Way of New York City. The Innovators will focus on a range of issues, principally human rights, criminal justice reform, sustainability and food insecurity, among others.

Fellowships commenced this week and continue through July 2027.

The Innovators’ WLI positions and law school affiliations are as follows:

• Arantza Caudillo Alvarez will join Miami Waterkeeper in Coral Gables, Florida as a Community Organizing Fellow. She will attend University of Michigan Law School.

• Catherine “Raine” Esparza will join the World Wildlife Fund in Washington, D.C. as a Program Associate on the Oceans Team. She will attend the University of Texas at Austin School of Law.

• Hannah Figueroa Velázquez will join the Innocence Project in New York City as an Exoneration Innovator. She will attend Yale Law School.

• Justin Hu will join Graham Windham in New York City as a Community Advocacy Associate. He will attend Harvard Law School.

• Allison Huang will join Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law in Washington, D.C. as Movement Partnerships Coordinator. She will attend the University of Texas at Austin School of Law.

• Brandon Kim will join the Clooney Foundation for Justice in New York City as a Technology and Justice Fellow. He will attend NYU School of Law.

• Andrew “Drew” Landsaw will join the World Wildlife Fund in Washington, D.C. as a Program Associate on the Nature Finance and Investment Team. He will attend the University of Texas at Austin School of Law.

• Ruslan Peredelskyi will join UnCommon Law in Oakland, California as a Litigation Assistant. He will attend the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School.

• Adam Tufts will join United Way of New York City as a Community Impact Strategy Associate. He will attend NYU School of Law.

• Richard “Connor” Wynne will join Upsolve in Cambridge, Massachusetts as an AI Legal Research Fellow. He will attend the University of Texas at Austin School of Law.

Each Innovator will receive a $60,000 salary and full benefits package for the duration of their engagement. Upon starting law school, they will also receive a $10,000 scholarship toward academic tuition. Weil invests in the long-term success of the program by providing robust professional development and mentorship opportunities throughout the entirety of the fellowship. The nonprofit partners also receive a $40,000 charitable contribution to help cover operating expenses and costs associated with onboarding the Innovators.

“As the Weil Legal Innovators program enters its seventh year, we’re proud to welcome another remarkable class of fellows,” said Weil Executive Partner Barry Wolf. “These future legal leaders bring drive, dedication and fresh vision to our nonprofit partners, and we’re proud to support their journeys as they turn those values into action.”

This year’s fellowship launched at the 2026 WLI Conference on July 14, which brought together the incoming and outgoing class, WLI alumni, nonprofit partners, law school representatives and Weil leaders to celebrate the start of the fellowship year.  Each member of the outgoing cohort delivered a compelling presentation reflecting on their year of service, the impact of their work and the lessons they learned while tackling some of today’s most pressing social and legal challenges, before passing the torch to a new cohort embarking on its own transformative year with the program.

The conference also featured a fireside chat with The Honorable David S. Tatel, former Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, moderated by Robert Niles-Weed, Co-Head of Weil’s Appeals and Strategic Counseling practice and a former law clerk to Judge Tatel. Drawing on Judge Tatel's distinguished judicial career and his recent memoir, Vision: A Memoir of Blindness and Justice, the conversation explored the pursuit of justice, resilience in the face of adversity, and the enduring importance of public service. The discussion encouraged the Innovators to reflect on the values that will shape their own careers and reaffirmed the program's commitment to developing the next generation of purpose-driven legal leaders.

The WLI initiative is made possible by an annual investment of more than $1 million from Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP.

For more information, please visit the Weil Legal Innovators Program website. 

About Weil’s Citizenship Commitment

Weil is committed to engaging as a responsible corporate citizen in the communities where we live and work. The Firm’s corporate citizenship footprint is brought to bear through Weil’s longstanding community engagement; inclusion; pro bono legal service; and charitable contributions programs, including the Weil Foundation.

About Weil

Founded in 1931, Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP has been a preeminent provider of legal services for more than 90 years. With approximately 1,200 lawyers in offices on three continents, Weil has been a pioneer in the marketplace and a first-mover in the establishment of many significant practice areas.  The Firm’s four departments, Corporate, Litigation, Restructuring, and Tax, Executive Compensation & Benefits, and more than two dozen practice groups are consistently recognized as leaders in their respective fields.