WilmerHale is proud to announce the recipients of the 2025 Payton and Pickering Fellowships.
Counsel Sonika Data has been selected as the firm's Payton fellow. The Payton Fellowship commemorates John A. Payton's commitment to justice, equality and opportunity. Data will spend her fellowship at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF) in Washington, DC. Founded in 1940 under the leadership of Thurgood Marshall, LDF is the nation's first and foremost civil and human rights law organization. LDF's mission is to achieve racial justice, equality and an inclusive society through litigation, advocacy and public education. Data brings to this fellowship her active pro bono practice in the areas of racial justice, criminal justice and immigration law. She has been named to the Capital Pro Bono Honor Roll, recognizing lawyers who dedicate significant pro bono service to expanding access to justice in the District of Columbia.
Counsel Tess Foley has been selected as the firm's Pickering fellow. The Pickering Fellowship, named in honor of founding partner John H. Pickering, commemorates his lifelong devotion to public interest and pro bono work. Foley will spend her fellowship at the Victim Rights Law Center (VRLC) in Boston. Established in 2003, VRLC is the first nonprofit law center in the nation dedicated to serving the legal needs of sexual assault survivors. Through free legal services, VRLC helps survivors rebuild their lives—protecting their privacy, preserving their employment and housing, safeguarding education records and securing immigration status and victim compensation. Foley brings to this fellowship her robust pro bono practice, with a focus on immigration, reproductive rights and the representation of survivors of domestic and sexual violence. She was a key member of the trial team honored as Litigation Team of the Year by the Human Trafficking Legal Center for their representation of a survivor of human trafficking in a precedential civil case. Foley also frequently represents survivors of domestic and sexual violence in Massachusetts state court to obtain protective orders.
WilmerHale commends Data and Foley as they embark on their fellowships and continue the firm's tradition of commitment to civil rights and public interest work.