Elleanor H. Chin

Elleanor is a joint degree candidate with the Law School and the School of Social Work at the University of Michigan. Prior to coming to law school she worked as a mental health case manager with children in Detroit. She has experience with children and families in primarily Native American communities in both Oklahoma and Michigan.

Elleanor represented Child Advocacy Clinic clients, primarily children who had been removed from their homes in neglect proceedings. Her placement was at the University of Michigan Child Advocacy Law Clinic. Her work included home visits with clients, advocating for clients with therapists and State workers, and representing them in review hearings and permanency planning hearings. Elleanor also researched an appellate brief, worked with children in a contested divorce and represented parents whose children had been removed from the home.

Bethany Daniels

Bethany has worked as an attendant for Juvenile Intake at the Douglas County District Attorney's Office. In addition she has also served as a CASA volunteer in a pilot program for first time juvenile offenders. Her placement was at Shelter, Inc. in Lawrence, Kansas. Bethany conducted temporary custody hearings and disposition reviews. She also prepared motions and petitions.

Prior to attending law school, Kevin worked as a wilderness instructor through an Upward Bound program, a community organizer in Washington, D.C., and as a youth worker for a Boston public housing development. Following his first year of law school, he spent his summer interning at Lawyers For Children in New York, and the following spring at The Door, a multi-service youth organization in Manhattan.

Kevin was placed at the Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS), Children and Family Law Program, Boston, MA. Kevin assisted the Director of the Program by preparing for a trial dispensing with the need for consent of a mother of five children who had been in foster care for about seven years. He assisted in representing the respondent mother by summarizing the case notes from the Department of Social Services (DSS), by investigating the criminal record of the pre-adoptive foster father, and by interviewing potential witnesses. He also researched and orally argued a successful motion to obtain the complete DSS file on a foster parent, and researched the legal justification for suppressing psychiatric medical records under the patient-psychotherapist privilege.

Barbara Kaban

With an M.Ed. and an M.B.A., Barbara's experiences with children include research in developmental psychology at the Harvard Preschool Project as well as fund raising for child and youth related projects. She has also volunteered as a guardian ad litem in Boston Juvenile Court. Her placement was at the Children's Law Center of Massachusetts, Lynn, Massachusetts. Barbara worked on cases regarding Child in Need of Services (CHINS), special education advocacy and delinquency cases. This work involved preparing motions and interviewing clients.

Kristen Schutjer

404 S 5th Avenue
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
phone: 313.663.6415

Kristie earned her M.T.S. from Harvard Divinity School. She has worked at Renewal House Battered Women's Shelter and Senecca Residential Treatment Center for emotionally disturbed children. Her placement was at the Society of Counsel Representing Accused Persons (SCRAP), Seattle, Washington. Kristie participated in various aspects of dependency defense work. She observed and conducted client interviews, participated in settlement negotiations, observed hearings and trials. She also researched evidentiary and procedural rules and prepared a case file for a court hearing.

Meredith Shuford

For several summers, Meredith worked as a camp counselor. She has also served as a volunteer at a group home for mentally disabled children. She was placed with the Durham Guardian Ad Litem Office, Durham, North Carolina. Meredith wrote and filed a termination of parental rights petition. She also conducted non-secure hearings, review hearings, and pretrial conferences. In addition, Meredith served as a guardian for two children.

Carl D. Soto

551 S State Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
phone: 313.764.8961

Before entering law school, Carl worked as a Spanish translator for the U.S. District Court in Missoula, Montana, while simultaneously earning his accounting degree at the University of Montana. Prior to residing in Montana, Carl pursued a hotel management career in Maui, Honolulu, and New York City. After graduating from high school, Carl served four years in the United States Navy. Currently, Carl is in his second year at the University of Michigan Law School. He is an Associate Editor of the Journal of Race & Law, and he is the Vice-Chair of the Latino Law Students Association.

Carl was placed with the Child and Family Services Division of Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, Helena, Montana. He reviewed the State's administrative rules and departmental procedures regarding foster care to ensure they were in compliance with federally mandated standards. He also represented foster parents in a trial and drafted a revision of the Montana adoption statutes.

Charles Talley Wells

Talley is a student at Duke University. He worked for at Legal Services of Southern Piedmont, Charlotte, North Carolina. Charles assisted the attorneys in Legal Services by interviewing clients, researching case law, attending staffings, discussing cases and attending the proceedings. He also drafted a guidebook regarding North Carolina's new Standby Guardianship law which allows people who suffer from a chronic or fatal illness to designate a guardian for their minor children.

Talley earned his M.Ed. from Harvard Graduate School of Education. He has worked with children affected by AIDS/HIV at Pediatric AIDS/HIV Care, Inc. in Washington, D.C. He also tutored children at Durham Housing Project. In addition, he is a former Walt Disney World Jungle Cruise Skipper and Pirates of the Caribbean Pirate.