Eric Johnson Receives Prestigious Skadden Fellowship
Eric Johnson ’26 has been awarded a Skadden Fellowship to work with Legal Aid of Southeast and Central Ohio (LASCO). During his two-year fellowship, he will help low-income tenants enforce their right to a safe and habitable home through rent escrow cases. Johnson is one of just 34 individuals from across the country to receive this honor this year, and the first from Ohio State Law since 2004.
Skadden Fellowships, one of the most prestigious public interest fellowships in the country, provide funding to recent law graduates to pursue the practice of public interest law on a full-time basis. The program funds work that addresses the unmet civil legal needs of people living in poverty in the U.S.
Receiving the fellowship is exceptionally meaningful to Johnson, whose dream job is to do housing work at a legal aid society. With the support of several professors, including Professors Sean Hill, Emily Brown, and Colleen Settineri, Johnson designed his job, submitted his application, and prepared with mock interviews.
When designing his position, Johnson wanted to provide legal support to tenants bringing rent escrow cases against their landlords when landlords haven’t made necessary repairs. Tenants don’t always fully know their rights or have the proper resources to succeed in these cases. Johnson’s position meaningfully fills a gap in service in this area.
“In my research, the majority of landlords have attorneys at rent escrow hearings, and the vast majority of tenants don't,” he said. “This project would help tenants who want to enforce their rights win those cases. Very few tenants know how to litigate a rent escrow case, or that they should be paying rent to the court instead of the landlord. I'm really excited at the prospect of helping tenants win their cases.”
The fellowship also affords Johnson the opportunity to serve clients from both LASCO’s offices in Columbus and Chillicothe.
“I wanted to be able to serve clients in urban and rural settings because they both have a high need for this work, but it looks different in those areas,” he said. “I am excited about getting to work from both offices, and I think that's a unique option for me because of the fellowship.”
Johnson hopes to remain in public interest law, doing anti-poverty casework, for the rest of his legal career.
To learn more about the Skadden Fellowship, click here.