The Maine Justice Foundation is pleased to announce that Saint Louis University School of Law Juris Doctor Candidate, Zoe Evans, has been selected as the 2026 Frank M. Coffin Family Law Public Interest Fellow.
The Frank M. Coffin Family Law Public Interest 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 2,277 cases on behalf of low-income individuals in Cumberland County who had no other legal aid resources available to them. Evans will be the 30th Coffin Fellow.
Originally from California, Zoe fell in love with Maine during her first visit in 2019. She graduated from Bryn Mawr College with a B.A. in both French and History. She then spent a year teaching English as a Second Language in rural France and leading bicycling tours along the Brittany and Normandy coasts. She is currently one semester away from earning her J.D. from Saint Louis University School of Law in Missouri. While her studies and interests have led her all over the world, Maine forever held a piece of her heart, and she is ecstatic about planting roots in Portland in 2026. Zoe says, “My service to the Maine community will always be about empowering those whose power was wrongly taken. This is the beginning of my life’s work, and I am immensely enthusiastic and grateful to carry on the Coffin Fellow legacy.”
The Fellowship was launched in 1998 with the generous support of Portland area Law Firms. There are 17 participating firms in the program including Berman & Simmons, P.A.; Bernstein, Shur; Cloutier, Conley & Duffett P.A.; Curtis Thaxter LLC; Drummond Woodsum; 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 Sanchez Law, LLP; Robinson, Kriger & McCallum; and Verrill.
“We are thrilled to welcome Zoe as the 30th Coffin Fellow. We are confident that her commitment to public service and justice for all will ensure the continued positive impact of the fellowship,” says Michelle Draeger, Executive Director of the Maine Justice Foundation, and member of the Coffin Fellowship Hiring Committee. Other members of the Hiring Committee are Katherine Reid, Assistant Executive Director at the Volunteer Lawyers Project, Caroline Y. Jova, Family Division Manager, Administrative Office of the Courts, State of Maine Judicial Branch, Deirdre Smith, Director of Litigation at Pine Tree Legal Assistance, and Lucia Chomeau Hunt, Directing Attorney at Pine Tree Legal Assistance. Ms. Evans will begin her two-year fellowship in the fall of 2026.