MSU Law 3L students enjoy Peggy Browning Fellow/Summer Associate labor law externships

Sophia Ruff ’23 and Frank Harrison ’23 were recipients of 2022 Peggy Browning Fund Summer Fellowships.

The ten-week Summer Fellowships— named for Margaret A. ‘Peggy’ Browning, a prominent labor attorney in Philadelphia who was the first labor lawyer appointed to the National Labor Relations Board in 1993—provide stipends to 1^st and 2^nd year law students who dedicate their summer to advancing the cause of workers' rights by working for labor unions, worker centers, labor-related not-for-profit organizations, union-side law firms and other nonprofit organizations.

Ruff spent the summer working with the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) in New York City.

“I’m very proud I got a Peggy Browning Fellowship—and even better, it was with the MLBPA,” Ruff said “I’ve really enjoyed working with the MLBPA—it’s been a great experience for me to learn about advocating for players and to learn about international baseball operations. I had the chance to work in person in the New York City office and be mentored by the exceptional team of labor lawyers.”

Ruff noted that last year’s 6-month internship with the Michigan Association of Governmental Employees (MAGE) Local 2002 in Lansing, mentored by Labor Relations Counsel Peter Neu, and learning about labor law, union law, and arbitration, provided experience and knowledge that helped opened the door for the MLBPA work.

A member of the MSU Law Sports and Entertainment Law Society, and an associate editor on the MSU Law Review, Ruff has been passionate about baseball since childhood. In 2019 she taught English for a little league baseball team in Colombia, for the nonprofit, “More Than a Game” that establishes youth baseball and English programs around the world.

Harrison, who in his 1L summer interned at the National Labor Relations Board, interviewed at 8 places through the Peggy Browning Fund, ultimately landing at his No. 1 choice, the Satter Ruhlen Law Firm in Syracuse, NY.

“Working at Satter Ruhlen has been an honor,” he said. “I’ve been able to get more experience in doing both labor and employment law, getting experience in trial prep, arbitration hearings, and a swath of New York specific administrative hearings. It’s been an interesting challenge of coming into New York with no real knowledge of New York State law but I’ve been brought along well by all the attorneys.”

“The attorneys are also incredibly mindful of what kinds of experiences I’ve been wanting to have or build upon, and they’ve gone out of their way to get me involved in those kinds of experiences. I asked to be part of any kind of trial or witness prep and I’m always getting invites.”