Director, Price Professor of Public Interest Law, CPIL/Children's Advocacy Institute
Julie Fellmeth is the director of CPIL, the Center for Public Interest Law at the University of San Diego. Founded in 1980, the organization focuses on education, public-interest advocacy in the state, and reform through lobbying, litigation, and contributions including grants. The School of Law also supports it. Julie Fellmeth started as its administrative director before 1990, when she also edited its publication, the California Regulatory Law Reporter. Fellmeth got her start in the field after attending the University of San Diego as an undergraduate, and then graduating from the school's law school. She was the editor-in-chief of the USD Law Review, a prestigious position held by a top student. After graduating, she clerked for a federal district court in Phoenix, Arizona, and then worked for several years in Washington, D.C., at the Justice Department. After this early period in education and work, Julie Fellmeth soon went on to her current roles. At CPIL, she has been significantly involved in bar reform. The organization is now advocating state attorney discipline, and Medical Board enforcement of rights for patients. Through its research and advocacy work, the organization also uses its law interns and staff members to conduct in-depth research and to provide state recommendations, such as reviews of California occupational licensing. Alongside her current work, Fellmeth teaches at the university; she heads up policy clinics at USD’s Law School. Aside from this professional work, Fellmeth is married to CPIL’s founder, Robert Fellmeth, who leads the Children’s Advocacy Center. CPIL is also in charge of the Energy Policy Initiatives Center, which maintains the first review on the subject of global warming. Finally, she does her public interest advocacy work pro bono.