Samantha Chacko

Samantha Chacko graduated from the University of Southern California (USC) in May 2024 with a major in philosophy, politics, and law, and two minors, one in law and public policy and another in opera.  It was through her interdisciplinary coursework that Samantha discovered her passion for law.  During her sophomore year, she spent a semester interning with the Esperanza Immigrant Rights Project, where she picked up an interest in advocacy.  Inspired by Esperanza’s mission, she spent the following year with JusticeCorps, an AmeriCorps program that provides legal assistance to self-representing litigants.  Her research experience includes a summer at Cambridge University comparing the legal aid frameworks of the U.S., India, and the UK.  Samantha spent her senior year with USC’s Center for Political Future, conducting multiple public policy research projects addressing political polarization and LA’s housing crisis.  She intends to build on these experiences and skills through her Fulbright program.  Ultimately, she hopes to attend law school and continue her work in increasing access to legal aid.  Samantha held several leadership positions on campus, including being the student ambassador for the Thornton School of Music.  She was also elected director of Mehfil for her South Asian fusion a cappella team, Asli Baat.  Outside of studies, Samantha enjoys singing and watching Bollywood movies. 

Although Indian citizens are constitutionally guaranteed access to legal aid, in the year 2023 only 61 per cent of those seeking legal assistance actually received it.  While little research has categorized the access to these services by demographic, one report from 2016 found that only 14 per cent of all litigants in India were women.  However, it remains unclear whether women actually receive the legal assistance they are entitled to and if they do, whether the quality of the service is of the required standard.  Samantha’s Fulbright-Nehru research project is identifying the factors perpetuating the gender gap in access to Indian courts and thus attempting to inform the universal development of legal aid frameworks.