Meet our Summer Legal Interns

This summer Tenants Together was lucky to have three excellent Legal Interns who contributed to our efforts to hold slumlords in the Central Valley accountable, support the growth of our Tenant Lawyer Network, and research how Code Enforcement functions in major cities across the state. While furthering the goals of promoting safe and affordable housing for California's renters, our internship program focuses on mentoring and developing future public interest lawyers who will continue to fight for tenants long past their internship has ended. We are sad to see them go, but we know they will go on to do great things! Learn more about these future public interest law leaders:

 

Darren Orr

Where did you grow up?
In the Seattle area.

What were the experiences of renters in your neighborhood?
Many renters were stigmatized for not being home owners.

Why did you decide to intern with Tenants Together?
Because tenants rights are IMPORTANT. One third of the country rents, and tenants are almost always unrepresented while landlords lawyer up.

What’s next for you after your internship?
One more year of school at University of San Francisco, working at the Child Advocacy Clinic and hopefully doing a fellowship at Tenants Together.

What's your dream job?
This is a group of fun, progressive-minded people who can tackle serious issues while making time to have a laugh.

What's the craziest landlord story you've heard?
Any time a landlord who has used Arkansas' Criminal Eviction Statute.

What's the least realistic onscreen portrayal of an internship you've ever seen?
I don't know that I have seen an onscreen portrayal of an internship.

What's one thing someone would never guess about you?

By age fifteen I had flown six planes and a helicopter.

Alexx Campbell

Where did you grow up?
I grew up in San Francisco and San Anselmo (in Marin County).

Why did you decide to intern with Tenants Together?
I was excited about the work Tenants Together is doing because I think housing affects people's everyday lives in such a big way.  Defending tenants' rights can also make a huge difference in creating and maintaining  diverse, vibrant communities where all kinds of people can afford to live.  I'm a law student, I wanted to get some hands-on legal experience, and I wanted to get a taste for policy advocacy and organizing work, too.

What’s next for you after your internship?
I'm going back to law school at UC Berkeley for my second year.  In the fall, I'll be working at the East Bay Community Law Center's Clean Slate Clinic, helping people clean up their criminal records so they have an easier time re-entering society.

What's your dream job?
Like most people, I'm still trying to figure it out, but my vision so far is to become a lawyer who helps people directly and fights for social justice.  That, or a bicycle-riding mobile ice cream taste tester!

What do you enjoy about working with fellow Tenants Together staff & volunteers?
Everyone has been super-friendly and interested in getting to know us interns!  I've especially enjoyed the scientific debates about stuff that we know absolutely nothing about.

What's the craziest landlord story you've heard?
There was a case we read in law school about a landlord in Louisiana who used one-way mirrors to spy on his tenants, a newly-married couple.  Creepy!
                     
What's the least realistic onscreen portrayal of an internship you've ever seen?
Hmmm... I don't think I watch enough TV.

What's one thing someone would never guess about you?
That I'm 29, married, and have a daughter  (People are constantly telling me I look like I'm 17).

Eunice Kim

Where did you grow up?
Fullerton, California.

Why did you decide to intern with Tenants Together?
I would like to pursue public interest law, and after volunteering in an immigration advocacy non-profit, I wanted to expand my exposure to this legal field by getting involved in housing law.

What’s next for you after your internship?
Going to law school!

What's your dream job?
I’d like to be a public interest lawyer.

What do you enjoy about working with fellow Tenants Together staff & volunteers?
They are passionate not only about their jobs but also about their hobbies and interests, i.e. baking delicious homemade breads and scones.

What's the craziest landlord story you've heard?                     
The story of the landlords from hell who terrorized their tenants by--among many other atrocious acts-- sawing holes in the floor; cutting off gas, power, and electricity, and creating a false email account under the tenant's name to fire his lawyer.

What's the least realistic onscreen portrayal of an internship you've ever seen?
Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson in “The Internship”

What's one thing someone would never guess about you?
I don't know how to ride a bicycle.


Interested in applying to be a Tenants Together Legal Intern? Read more about our internships and how you can apply here.