Assistant Dean for Public Interest and Social Initiatives

Email: lhorowitz2@law.fordham.edu

As Assistant Dean, Leah leads and coordinates much of the public interest and social justice efforts at the law school. Prior to becoming Assistant Dean, she was the Director of Public Interest Student Engagement in PIRC, working closely with public interest students and student leaders of our pro bono projects. Prior to coming (back) to Fordham, Leah worked as a public defender at The Bronx Defenders for almost a decade. While at The Bronx Defenders, in addition to zealously representing clients, she created the Client Library to provide books to incarcerated and non-incarcerated clients and started an initiative to address solitary confinement. Leah will always be a public defender at heart. Leah received her law degree from Fordham Law School and her undergraduate degree from Cornell University. During her years at Fordham, Leah was a Stein Scholar and served as the president of two PIRC student organizations.

Leah is admitted to the Bar in New York and Connecticut.

Director of Public Interest Scholars & Counseling

Email: abaruni@fordham.edu

Aisha works with the Law School’s Stein Scholars Program in Public Interest Law & Ethics. She also counsels students and alumni on all aspects of the public sector job search and organizes programs and events for the Fordham community. For almost ten years prior to coming to Fordham, Aisha worked as a civil legal services attorney representing low and moderate-income homeowners facing foreclosure, many of whom had predatory mortgage loans. She began this work in Philadelphia, as an Independence Foundation Fellow at Community Legal Services of Philadelphia, and continued it in New York at Queens Legal Services (part of Legal Services NYC). Prior to her direct legal services work, Aisha clerked for Judge James T. Giles of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and for Judge William L. Chapman, Jr. and Judge Michael K. Newell of the Delaware Family Court.  Aisha is a graduate of the Temple University Beasley School of Law and Swarthmore College.

Aisha is admitted to the Bar in New York and Pennsylvania. 

Office Manager

Email: aeno@fordham.edu

Adiaha Eno is the Office Manager for The Public Interest Resource Center. She will be able to help with any administrative task you may need such as helping with email accounts, petty cash, student group space, and listing opportunities in PIRC UP!