By Sydney MaHan, Virginia Sea Grant Correspondent
How does a town become a city? This fall, two Virginia Sea Grant Law Externs set out to find the answer for the Town of West Point. Through their research, the College of William and Mary law students helped to determine the costs associated with this transition and forming of the new government structure.
Kaylin Gaal
Kaylin Gaal is a third-year law student at the William and Mary Law School. Kaylin first got involved with the Virginia Sea Grant (VASG) after meeting VASG Director Troy Hartley at the William and Mary 2013 Environmental Law Symposium. She says her externship gave her a new perspective into law.
“I enjoyed working with the Virginia Sea Grant because of my interest in environmental law and I believe that the organization is an important asset to our local coastal community. Because of our work with local governments, I gained a better understanding of legislative history and local statutes, which will be helpful in my future work,” says Gaal.
Kaylin graduated from The College of Wooster in 2011 with a Bachelor of Arts double major in History and Classical Languages. She will receive her Juris Doctor from the William and Mary Law School this spring. Kaylin has also interned with Newport News Shipbuilding’s and NASA Langley Research Center’s Office of Chief Counsel’s. Kaylin currently writes for the William and Mary Environmental Law Policy Review and serves as the Women’s Law Society Treasurer.
Elizabeth Herron
Elizabeth Herron is a third-year law student at the William and Mary Law School. Elizabeth was searching for an externship that would help her to learn more about marine policy and its interaction with the law, and Virginia Sea Grant seemed like the perfect fit.
“I enjoyed working with the Virginia Sea Grant because it gave me a unique window into how organizations like this function and interact with different agencies. I gained useful skills about managing governments as clients,” says Herron.
Elizabeth graduated from Ohio University in 2011 with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a Certificate in Women and Gender Studies. She will also receive her Juris Doctor from William and Mary Law School this spring. Ms. Herron has been a Summer Associate with Jones Day Law Firm, a Research Assistant with Professor Jim Dwyer and a Legal Intern at the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. Elizabeth is a Graduate Research Fellow, writes for the William and Mary Law Review, and serves on the Career Services Student Advisory Board.
