"Vanessa Merton is a force of nature" -Vickie N

“Vanessa Merton is a force of nature.” I’ve used this phrase and have heard other immigration lawyers and academics use it as well. While many law school clinics focus their efforts on the “easy” cases, ensuring that the students will have wins and with them a feel-good experience, Vanessa was willing to have her clinic take on the hardest cases, and give them her all. When I worked at Immigrant Justice Corps and regularly interviewed law students seeking a post-graduation immigration fellowship, every Pace Law student talked about the formative role Vanessa played in their desire to do this work. During those interviews, I would regularly ask students to discuss an interesting legal issue in a case that they had worked on. One of Vanessa’s students pulled out a printed flow chart for a case they were working on, that mapped out the sequence of motions, waivers, and applications their client would need to succeed. That is the image I have of Vanessa, pushing her students to leave no stone unturned to try to find a way to serve their clients.

Vickie N