The Maine Justice Foundation is pleased to announce that New York University School of Law Juris Doctor Graduate, Georgia Whitaker, has been selected as the 2025 Coffin Family Law Fellow.
The Frank M. Coffin Family Law Fellowship provides legal representation in family law matters to clients who have qualified for pro bono assistance through the Volunteer Lawyers Project. Named after Frank M. Coffin, Senior Judge on the First Circuit Court of Appeals, the project supports attorneys based in the Portland, Maine offices of Pine Tree Legal Assistance. Coffin Fellowship attorneys work for and are based at Pine Tree Legal Assistance’s Portland office for two years. To date, the Coffin Fellows have worked on a remarkable 2,151 cases on behalf of low-income individuals in Cumberland County who had no other legal aid resources available to them. Whitaker will be the 29th Coffin Fellow.
Originally from Vashon Island, Washington, Georgia first came to Maine in 2010 to attend Bowdoin College, where she majored in History and Latin American Studies. After receiving a PhD in Latin American History from Harvard University, Georgia pursued her J.D. at New York University School of Law and graduated with honors in 2024. She is currently a law clerk for Judge John A. Woodcock, Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine, and lives in Brunswick with her husband and young daughter. Georgia says, “I hope to spend my career advocating for the rights of individuals and families in Maine and am grateful for the opportunity to begin this work as a Coffin Fellow.”
The Fellowship was launched in 1998 with the generous support of Portland area Law Firms. There are 20 participating firms in the program including Berman & Simmons, P.A.; Bernstein, Shur, Sawyer & Nelson, P.A.; Cloutier, Conley & Duffett P.A.; Curtis Thaxter LLC; Drummond Woodsum; Eaton Peabody; Gideon Asen LLC; Jensen Baird Gardner & Henry; Marcus Clegg; McCloskey, Mina, Cunniff & Frawley, LLC; Murray Plumb & Murray; Norman, Hanson & DeTroy, LLC; Perkins Thompson, P.A.; Pierce Atwood LLP; Preti, Flaherty, Beliveau & Pachios, LLP; Roach Ruprecht Sanchez & Bischoff, PC; Robinson, Kriger & McCallum; Thistle Weaver & Morris; Thompson Bowie & Hatch LLC; and Verrill.
“Over the last 27 years, the Coffin Fellows and the law firms who support their work have made tremendous and lasting impact on the lives of thousands of Mainers in need. They have collectively ensured that the opportunity to seek justice is available to all, irrespective of income” says Michelle Draeger, Executive Director of the Maine Justice Foundation, and member of the Coffin Fellowship Hiring Committee. “This has been and will continue to be an invaluable partnership in support of the principle of access to justice and we are grateful for the breadth of contributions by all participants, including the Coffin Fellows and the supporting law firms,” adds Draeger. Other members of the Hiring Committee are Deirdre Smith, Executive Director of the Volunteer Lawyers Project; Caroline Y. Jova, Family Division Manager, Administrative Office of the Courts for the State of Maine Judicial Branch; and Lucia Chomeau Hunt, Directing Attorney at Pine Tree Legal Assistance. Ms. Whitaker will begin her two-year fellowship in the fall of 2025.
The Maine Justice Foundation, founded in 1983 as the Maine Bar Foundation, is the state’s leading funder of civil legal aid and is committed to ensuring access to justice for all Mainers. Find us online at www.justicemaine.org.
FMI: Contact Michelle G. Draeger, Executive Director: (207) 620-1351, mdraeger@justicemaine.org