SMITA E. GHOSH
1503 Mifflin Street • Philadelphia, PA 19145
• (217) 840-9794
EDUCATION
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
JD, 2014, cum laude
PhD Candidate, American Legal History
Proposed Dissertation: “Lost Borders”: Immigration Detention and Administrative Constitutionalism in the 1980s
Honors: 200+ Hours of Pro Bono legal work
Annenberg History Fellow, 2012-2013
Associate Editor, Journal of Constitutional Law Vol. 14
Recipient, Earl Warren Legal Training Program Scholarship, 2010-12
Activities: Case Manager, Iraqi Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP)
Research Editor, Civil Rights Law Project (CLRP)
Teaching Assistant, History of the American South
Research Assistant, Professor Serena Mayeri (Employment Discrimination), Professor Sophia Lee (Legal History- Labor Law).
Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, PA
BA, with High Honors, History and Psychology in College Honors Program, May 2006
Activities: Copy Editor & Columnist, Swarthmore Phoenix
Student Representative, Curriculum Committee
Writing Associate, Campus Writing Center
Abroad: School for International Training Independent Study Program, Durban, South Africa (Fall 2004).
EXPERIENCE
University of Pennsylvania Law School Graduate Programs Office, Education Programs Fellow July 2013
Acted as teachers’ assistant for summer programs for high school students. Planned and supervised educational activities, including field trips and end-of-summer moot court competition.
Transnational Legal Clinic, Philadelphia, PA Summer Legal Intern May- June, 2013
Drafted visa application materials for U-Visa applications. Researched and edited amicus brief for D.C. Circuit case. Reviewed and edited student-created briefs and affidavits.
Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center, El Paso, TX Summer Associate August, 2012
Interviewed and corresponded with clients in and out of detention. Prepared appeal of refugee denial to BIA. Prepared applications for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) applicants.
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, New York, NY Summer Associate May- July 2012
Researched and wrote memoranda on legal questions including implied certification under the False Claims Act (FCA) and the obligations of expert witnesses to share data. Worked extensively on several pro bono cases, including an asylum application and a constitutional claim against a City authority.
Manko, Gold, Katcher & Fox LLP, Bala Cynwyd, PA Summer Associate June - August 2011
Prepared memoranda on legal questions concerning the firm’s environmental litigation and regulatory practice. Drafted correspondence to state and federal regulators as well as legal documents.
Warren Institute on Race, Ethnicity & Diversity, Berkeley, CA Research Assistant June - August 2010
Reviewed results of FOIA request to the Department of Education. Summarized Department records regarding civil rights investigations.
NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, New York, NY Paralegal/Research Ass’t May 2007 - April 2010
Wrote 25-page report on school-to-prison pipeline and presented it at the Fund’s annual conference. Managed files for several dozen school integration cases. Researched and wrote memoranda on education policy. Prepared “The Education News,” daily summaries of education news articles for distribution to office. Supervised high school interns and managed summer internship hiring.
Urban Justice Center, New York, NY Research Intern June - August 2005
Received Swarthmore College grant to work with non-profit organization. Facilitated partnership between Urban Justice Center’s Community Research Project and Mothers on the Move, a community organization in the South Bronx. Created 30-question survey and database regarding Section 8 housing for Mothers on the Move’s tenant’s union.
Camp Kinderland, Tolland, MA Counselor July - August 2001, 2002, 2003 & 2006
Organized camp activities and supervised new staff.
SKILLS & INTERESTS
- Writer for the Defenders Online (www.thedefendersonline.org) and the Harvard Law & Policy Review (www.hlpronline.org).
- Volunteer with Sakhi for South Asian Women (New York, NY).
- Conversational Spanish, Bengali.