Senior Associates Clarion Johnson and Gosia Spangenberg have been named WilmerHale’s 2012 Pickering fellows. Johnson is a member of the Securities Litigation & Enforcement Practice, and Spangenberg is a member of the Investigations & Criminal Litigation and Government & Regulatory Litigation Practices.

Johnson, who is based in the firm’s New York office, will begin his six-month fellowship at the National Center for Law and Economic Justice (NCLEJ) in January. The NCLEJ, formerly the Welfare Law Center, is committed to using the law to improve the lives of low-income people. The organization works nationally to achieve its goals through a combination of litigation, policy advocacy and grassroots organization, and has an ambitious class-action litigation program.

Spangenberg, who is based in the firm’s Washington DC office, will begin her six-month fellowship at the Legal Counsel for the Elderly (LCE) in July. LCE is the main provider of free legal services and advocacy for older people in the District of Columbia. Primary areas of service include protective services such as guardianships and powers of attorney, economic security and government benefits, consumer fraud, housing preservation and domestic violence.

The Pickering Fellowship, established in honor of WilmerHale founding partner John H. Pickering, allows associates and senior associates in the firm’s US offices to spend six months at a public interest organization, where they participate as lawyers in the organization.