Philadelphia Native Receives Oxholm Fellowship
April 28, 2009 — Earle Mack School of Law 2L Alison Debes has been named the second recipient of the second Carl "Tobey" Oxholm III Summer Law Fellowship, which will enable her to work in the Philadelphia City Solicitor's Office.
Debes cited a longstanding desire to promote justice in her hometown and a fascination with litigation as driving forces in her decision to pursue a legal career. A graduate of Temple University, Debes was formerly employed by the Beasley School of Law's Trial Advocacy Program, where she portrayed witnesses and served as a juror for the LL.M and J.D. students' final mock trials.
Working in the Litigation Department of the city Solicitor's Office will give Debes experience with the process of trying cases.
"Now, more than ever, the city needs Philadelphians who are working to make it a better place for its residents," she wrote in her fellowship application.
Debes was selected by a committee of Earle Mack School of Law administrators and representatives from the city Solicitor's Office.
The fellowship, which will pay a stipend of $10,000 for the summer, was created and named in honor of Tobey Oxholm, inaugural dean and chief executive officer of Drexel University's new Center for Graduate Studies in Sacramento, California. He previously served as executive vice
president and chief of staff to the late Drexel President Constantine Papadakis and as Drexel's
general counsel. Prior to that, he was a practicing attorney in Philadelphia for 22 years at major
firms, including his own, and in the city's Law Department.
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