Kenny Wallace came to Case Western Reserve to make a difference. What he didn’t expect was how deeply his clients—and his fieldwork—would change him in return.
Wallace, a dual-degree social work and law student, worked as a certified legal intern with the Human Trafficking Law Clinic as part of his second-year field placement under the guidance of the School of Law’s Maya Simek, a dual-trained social worker and attorney.
“Watching Maya navigate complex cases while showing up fully for her clients was inspiring, and a reality check,” he said. “To see that kind of strength and resilience up close, and to be trusted by her in their most sensitive moments, is something I will never forget.”
He also will never forget a guiding philosophy Simek instilled in him: Simply begin again.
“By knowing that we will suffer losses and setbacks from time to time—and affording ourselves the grace and self-compassion to embrace the day ahead as a clean, new slate—we can accomplish great ends for ourselves, and by association, others,” Wallace reflected.
His work at the clinic centered on expungement cases, supporting human trafficking survivors as they worked to clear their records and move forward. While Wallace has learned an invaluable amount from his public interest work and client interactions, he also believes in bringing change to the legal profession from the inside out.
As part of the Mandel School’s Leadership Fellows program, he proposed an evidence-based practice framework that begins during a students’ first year of law school and focuses on improving the mental health, substance use and wellbeing challenges law students and attorneys often face. His dream is to turn that proposal into real-world policy—using his social work lens to advocate for a healthier legal profession.
The Mandel School has provided him with the space and support to connect systems-level thinking with hands-on practice.
“The Master of Social Work program helped me turn abstract goals into tangible tools, and gave me the experience to actually use them,” he said.
After graduation, Wallace will head west to North Dakota to begin work as an associate attorney at a full-service law firm. But his deeper mission is already clear—to build a healthier, more humane legal profession, starting with the people who serve it.