portrait

Monica A. Fennell

Part-time Assistant Professor in the Honor Scholar Program

monicafennell@depauw.edu

Statement on Scholarly or Artistic Work

  • As pro bono counsel at Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath, Monica leads the pro bono program across the firm's Midwest offices. This includes identifying and developing opportunities for the program, establishing an integrated pro bono system across the firm, and ensuring that all Faegre Drinker pro bono legal services are consistent with the firm's values and commitment to improving the communities it serves. In 2022, Monica taught law as a Fulbright Scholar at Maldives National University.
  • Before becoming pro bono counsel, Monica served as the executive director of the Indiana Pro Bono Commission and was a Fellow at the Supreme Court of the United States. Monica began her legal career as a litigator in big cities and a small town.
  • Monica earned her B.A., cum laude, from Williams College and a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center. She also holds a professional development certificate in peace and conflict studies as a Rotary Peace Fellow at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand.

Educational Background

  • J.D., Georgetown University Law Center
  • B.A. in French and English, Williams College

Teaching Interests

Access to Justice and Poverty Law, Community Mediation, Constitutional Law, Legal Ethics

Research, Scholarly, Creative Work

  • "Women of 'Sense and Steel,'" Indiana State Bar Association magazine Res Gestae, 2024
  • "It's as Beautiful as You Think," ABA Center for Pro Bono blog, 2022
  • "Using Peace and Conflict Analysis to Spur Innovation in Access to Justice in the U.S." in Problems, Threats and Challenges for Peace and Conflict Resolution, Adam Marszalek Publishing House, Torun, Poland, 2021
  • "ABA Free Legal Answers—helping to stem the tide of civil cases," ABA Judicial Division Record 2021
  • "Lighting One Candle Provides Light for a Long Time: Pro Bono for Holocaust Survivors,"
  • American Bar Association Center for Pro Bono blog, 2020
  • "Celebrating Pro Bono in a Pandemic," ABA Judicial Division Record, 2020
  • "Virtual Clinics for Online Pro Bono Help: Hurdling Barriers to Pro Bono," Dialogue, ABA 2016
  • "Beyond the City Square: Fishing in Wider Pools Without Soundings," Fordham Urban Law Journal City Square, 39 (2012): 11 
  • "Using State Legal Needs Studies to Increase Access to Justice for Low-Income Families," 48 Family Court Review, 48 (2010): 619 
  • "Emergent Identity: A Comparative Analysis of the New Supreme Court of the United Kingdom and the Supreme Court of the United States," Temple International and Comparative Law Journal, (2008):279 
  • "Hunger and Homelessness: Why the Homeless Need Food Stamp Advocacy and How to Pay for It," Fordham Urban Law Journal, 21 (1993): 127 
  • "Missing the Mark in Maryland: How Poor Drafting and Implementation Vitiated a Model State Gun Control Law," Hamline Journal of Public Law and Policy, 13 (1992): 37

Awards and Honors

  • Fulbright Scholar, Maldives National University (2022)
  • Shepard Award for excellence in pro bono, Indiana Pro Bono Commission (2015)
  • Rotary Peace Fellow, Chulalongkorn University (2012)
  • Distinguished Barrister Award for Leadership in Law (2011)
  • Justice Thomas Clark Award for excellence as Supreme Court Fellow (2008)
  • U.S. Supreme Court Fellow, (2007-2008)

Service and Leadership

  • Board Member, Social Promise
  • Ethics Bowl Judge, Prindle Institute for Ethics
  • We the People Judge, Indiana Bar Foundation
  • Editorial Board Member, ABA Commission on Women in the Profession
  • Executive Committee Member, ABA Judicial Division Lawyers Conference 
  • Member, Association of Pro Bono Counsel

Speaking Engagements and Presentations

  • "Women of 'Sense and Steel,'" Indiana State Bar Association magazine Res Gestae, 2024
  • "It's as Beautiful as You Think," ABA Center for Pro Bono blog, 2022
  • "Using Peace and Conflict Analysis to Spur Innovation in Access to Justice in the U.S." in Problems, Threats and Challenges for Peace and Conflict Resolution, Adam Marszalek Publishing House, Torun, Poland, 2021
  • "ABA Free Legal Answers—helping to stem the tide of civil cases," ABA Judicial Division Record 2021
  • "Lighting One Candle Provides Light for a Long Time: Pro Bono for Holocaust Survivors,"
  • American Bar Association Center for Pro Bono blog, 2020
  • "Celebrating Pro Bono in a Pandemic," ABA Judicial Division Record, 2020
  • "Virtual Clinics for Online Pro Bono Help: Hurdling Barriers to Pro Bono," Dialogue, ABA 2016
  • "Beyond the City Square: Fishing in Wider Pools Without Soundings," Fordham Urban Law Journal City Square, 39 (2012): 11 
  • "Using State Legal Needs Studies to Increase Access to Justice for Low-Income Families," 48 Family Court Review, 48 (2010): 619 
  • "Emergent Identity: A Comparative Analysis of the New Supreme Court of the United Kingdom and the Supreme Court of the United States," Temple International and Comparative Law Journal, (2008):279 
  • "Hunger and Homelessness: Why the Homeless Need Food Stamp Advocacy and How to Pay for It," Fordham Urban Law Journal, 21 (1993): 127 
  • "Missing the Mark in Maryland: How Poor Drafting and Implementation Vitiated a Model State Gun Control Law," Hamline Journal of Public Law and Policy, 13 (1992): 37

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