Class of 2008-09 Attorney Advisor Social Security Administration Office of Disability Adjudication and Review 5107 Leesburg Pike One Skyline Tower -- Room 304 Falls Church, VA 22041 Phone: (703) 605-8440

Profile:

Arlene graduated magna cum laude from Syracuse University with a degree in journalism and political science and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa.  She then earned her J.D. cum laude from Indiana University School of Law-Bloomington.  She was Notes Editor on the Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies (IJGLS), secretary of the Latino Law Students Association, a member of the Public Interest Law Foundation, and a regional seminfinalist in the Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition.  While serving on journal, Arlene became passionate about international women’s human rights and wrote her note on the sex trafficking of women into the United States.  She also represented indigent clients at Indiana Legal Services.  Upon law school graduation, Arlene spent a year and a half practicing labor & employment law in the Cleveland law firm of Thompson Hine, while representing women with mental disabilities as a Guardian Ad Litem and volunteering for the United Way as a Summer Loaned Executive.  Arlene then clerked for a federal judge in the Western of District of Missouri in Kansas City, where she worked on a variety of cases such as ERISA, employment discrimination, insurance, breach of contract, and mortgage fraud cases.  Arlene is the co-author of “Bloggers in the Worldplace: An Employer’s Rights, Risks, and Responsibilities.”  She has also been involved in her community in many ways, such as spending a year mentoring a youth through the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program of Cleveland, and organizing clothing and toy drives for charities.

During her Fellowship with the National Women's Law Center, Arlene researched and edited many reports, such as the Getting Organized Update: 2008.  This report concerns the unionization of home-based child care workers and provides a summary of the states that have executive orders or legislation that allows home-based child care workers to unionize in that state.  Arlene also completed research for a report on Louisiana’s tiered bonus reimbursement system for child care providers.  This research was needed for NWLC’s report on State Child Care Assistance Policies 2008:  Too Little Progress for Children and Families. Arlene also assisted her organization in responding to judicial nominations, attending meetings with the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR) and other members of the coalition on judicial nominations, as well as nominations to positions within the Obama Administration, such as Eric Holder’s nomination to be Attorney General.  As another example, she conducted substantial work on Dawn Johsen’s nomination to be Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel, and worked to support Johnsen’s nomination and prepare for her confirmation hearing this spring, and sent a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee detailing NWLC’s support.  Arlene wrote a blog for www.womenstake.org after the hearing.  Regarding other matters, Arlene researched Federal Reserve Board’s amendments to Regulation B of the Equal Opportunity Credit Act, the applicability of these changes to lenders, and how these changes affect lenders.  She also researched updates and statutory changes under federal and state law for the earned income tax credit, dependent care tax credit, and child tax credit.  In addition, Arlene researched Jane’s law which gives fines and jail time for failing to pay spousal support.  Furthermore, Arlene assisted the Education and Employment Team in preparing for the Senate Judiciary Committee’s hearing on Barriers to Justice:  Examining Equal Pay for Equal Work.  Lilly Ledbetter testified at this hearing and Arlene aiding in drafting her oral statement to the Committee.  She also wrote a blog after the hearing which discussed her thoughts on the hearing, and has continued to write for the blog throughout the fellowship year, such as one recently concerning the Iowa same-sex marriage decision.  One of her blog posts, entitled “Women in the Legal Profession: Underpaid and Underrepresented?”, appeared in the 69th Carnival of Feminists in “This is What a Feminist Blog Looks Like.”

Arlene is currently co-chairing the Washington Council of Lawyer’s Mentoring Program and is an Attorney-Advisor with the Social Security Administration.