Stephanie AkinfolarinCate SchoolClass of 2025Interned with Rebecca Bloch PLLC on a life-changing case.Collaborated with top law professors and experts to prepare an expert witness for trial.Advocated for an issue of national importance that directly affects the client and the criminal legal system on Capitol Hill congressmen, senators, and congressional officials.Learn more about Stephanie here.
Read more about Stephanie's achievements here.In the future, Stephanie aspires to be a lawyer. She loves to help people, especially those who cannot defend themselves. She also hopes to continue her environmental advocacy, as the world struggles with climate change, water pollution, air pollution, and other global environmental issues. Stephanie hopes to be able to write a book in the future.As a rising sophomore at Cate School, Stephanie has many interests. She is an artist, volleyball player, environmental activist and much more. In 2021, Stephanie won second place in the World of 7 Billion video contest, in which she competed against thousands of students across the globe to create a video addressing the issue of environmental racism. It gained the attention of the media and got recognition from the Mayor of Long Beach. Stephanie served as the youngest commissioner ever in the Human Relations Commission of Carson, California. She also served as a Youth Commissioner for the city. Her love for the environment motivated her to start a non-profit organization - Youth Ocean Advocates (YOA) - in order to shed light on these issues. At school, she is part of the orchestra and partakes in the school's weekly Public Service Nights. In her free time, Stephanie enjoys drawing, baking, playing volleyball, traveling, and community service.Stephanie Akinfolarin is extremely excited to take part in the Law & Trial Tier II Internship this summer. She looks forward to interacting with such highly motived people who have a passion for law and meeting such highly esteemed individuals in Capitol Hill.



My IRAA BriefAs part of an IRAA briefing, I sifted through legal documents, exhibits, and case precedent. I compiled pertinent information to put into a comprehensive briefing containing reasoned arguments about why my client deserved a sentence reduction under § D.C. Code 24-403.03.Rebecca Bloch of The Law Office of Rebecca Bloch walked me through how to write a proper briefing in legal formatting and include all relevant content.Throughout the internship, I learned about different aspects of being a lawyer and explored the importance of legal writing as a central part of the profession. As a legal intern, I wrote an Incarceration Reduction Amendment Act (IRAA) briefing to help support my client.


Expert Witness PreparationThe Basics of Witness PreparationThe expert will be able to testify to my client’s rehabilitation and ability to reenter society.I had the unique opportunity to work with a mitigation & social work expert who will testify on my client’s behalf at his compassionate release hearing later in the year.I learned about direct and cross-examinations from real lawyers and was able to work with my peers to develop strong lines of questioning.How We Prepared Our WitnessAt the end of the internship, I had the opportunity to prepare the expert witness for the compassionate release hearing by conducting my direct and cross-examination with my peers.I questioned the witness about different aspects of my client’s rehabilitation and educational background.This is important because now the witness is able to go to the hearing with an idea of the questions that will be asked and the best answers that he can provide.The witness will now go into the hearing with a better idea of the lines of questions asked by the counsel and the proper and most effective answers after our important witness preparation.


My Congressional AdvocacyRead my proposal here.My team and I worked to ensure we had facts, statistics, and compelling stories to share with our representatives in order to inform them of what is currently happening within the criminal legal system. We also presented possible solutions, in hopes that they would support our goals for reform.Throughout the internship, I developed skills to effectively advocate to congressional officials. To prepare for my meetings, I developed informative briefing materials, which focused on improving the criminal legal system with my team. We highlighted a pressing issue in the criminal legal system that affected our client and advocated for possible solutions to critical issues.
My Congressional AdvocacyLearn more about my proposal here.During our meetings, I spoke confidently about the issues our client is facing in incarceration and will face after his release. Meeting with multiple members of Congress allowed us to demonstrate the importance of the challenges our client and those in similar situations have to endure. Being able to meet with a congressional staff member was a unique opportunity for our team to broaden our perspective and learn how much we can accomplish together. It was also a great privilege to see and participate in the political process.I had the opportunity to work with advocacy experts such as Professor Heather Aryani of Northwestern University, Gerald “Chip” Kunde, Senior Vice President of Institutional Affairs & Corporate Communications at Ferrero North America, and Capitol Hill Interns to perfect my congressional advocacy presentation. We practiced our presentation multiple times to ensure that we were prepared to speak with members of Congress.


Internship Highlights

Rebecca Bloch is the managing attorney for the Law Office of Rebecca Bloch.

Ms. Bloch has worked in the legal field since 2007 as a public defender in Colorado and the District of Columbia. Ms. Bloch has defended the rights of individuals accused of virtually every type of crime, from petty offenses to the most serious of felonies.

Currently, Ms. Bloch is drafting briefs on behalf of individuals serving prison sentences who are seeking IRAA release due to outstanding behavior, rehabilitation, and other factors under D.C. Code § 24-403.03.

Rebecca Bloch

Momolu Stewart

Second Look

Free Minds

Prison & Justice Initiative

Momolu Stewart, a returning citizen who filed a successful IRAA motion, is an advocate for the use of IRAA. Mr. Stewart shared his emotional story about his return to society from a juvenile life sentence with me and my peers.

Mr. Stewart described his difficult experience of being behind bars for 23 years. He spent those years studying, mentoring others, and trying to improve himself as best he could. He showed us his dedication to helping others, music, and art during his incarceration and reentry, and his rehabilitation was featured in The Justice Project, a documentary highlighting injustice and mass incarceration with Kim Kardashian.

Through Mr. Stewart’s story, I saw the importance of reevaluating long prison sentences given to people at a young age and better understood the work that I am doing for the client.

Mr. James Zeigler, the founder and executive director of the Second Look Project, has dedicated his work to helping provide representation for those eligible for resentencing under the Incarceration Reduction Amendment Act.

Mr. Zeigler walked me and my fellow interns through the history of sentencing reduction in the District of Columbia and gave advice to me regarding the writing process of IRAA motions.

I learned more about the process of writing an IRAA motion and had the opportunity to ask thoughtful questions regarding the different parts of the IRAA statute in DC to write a comprehensive briefing.

Julia Mascioli, the Deputy Director at Free Minds Book Club & Writing Workshop, a DC-based nonprofit that uses literature and creative writing to build community with incarcerated youth and adults, and Gene Downing, one of the First IRRA recipients and Free Minds’ Congressman John Lewis Fellow, spoke with us about how Free Minds has an impact on currently incarceration and returning citizens.

I learned about the importance of support systems during the IRAA process and how Free Minds uses writing and book clubs as networks for people during and after incarceration.

Ms. Mascioli and Mr. Downing have created creative solutions to the issues that have ramifications of them and their communities which taught me to seek remedies for problems I identify.

Marc Howard is the founding director of the Prison and Justice Initiative at Georgetown University. Founded in 2016, the Prison and Justice Initiative has four programs that tackle criminal legal reform by focusing on incarceration and recidivism. Momolou Stewart was a part of one of these programs.

I learned about Dr. Howard’s passion for criminal legal reform and what inspired his work. Dr. Howard spoke with the group about the prison industrial complex and the impact private prisons have on mass incarceration.

I also learned that he truly believes that my generation is going to change the criminal legal system for the better.