University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School student Erik Nickels (L’21) has been awarded a Skadden Fellowship, joining a long line of 30 Law School graduates who have previously served as fellows.

Established in 1988, these highly competitive two-year fellowships fund recent law graduates who want to pursue work in the public interest, particularly in service of the poor, elderly, homeless, and disabled. The 2021 class includes 29 fellows, who will work in 18 cities across 14 states in the United States.

Mr. Nickels will work with Mental Health Advocacy Services in Los Angeles with the goal of establishing a medical-legal partnership for transition age youth with mental health needs through direct legal services and impact litigation cases. He is a 2018 graduate of the University of Oklahoma and has worked as a law clerk with Mental Health Advocacy Services and the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law in Washington, DC.