Dr. G: Engaging Minds The Podcast - Julie A. Werner-Simon

Special Guest Julie A. Werner-SimonMs. Julie A. Werner-Simon is often referred to by her colleagues by the acronym “JAWS”– her initials.  In response to the historic overturn of Roe v. Wade, Ms. Werner-Simon leads the Overground Reproductive Law Project (ORLP), aka the “Harriet Project”, with Los Angeles Women Lawyers (WLALA) and the Southwestern Law School Women Law Student group. Their focus is to assist lawyers from Reproductive Access Yes (R.A.Y.) states who wish to provide reproductive assistance to women in “No-choice” states. Ms. Werner-Simon served a federal prosecutor for almost 30 years in Los Angeles and Alaska. She has also served as an Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) and held positions as:  Deputy Chief of the Organized Crime Strike Force and Senior Litigation Counsel of White Collar Crimes. Before her federal career, she was an Assistant District Attorney (state prosecutor) in Alaska primarily prosecuting sex crime cases. Werner-Simon has been recognized as a crime-victim advocate and lectures here and abroad on the American legal system, constitutional history, and the importance of civic literacy and engagement in democracies.On these shores, Werner-Simon advises, and at times, mentors lawyers and others on messaging, strategy and persuasion. She is also a pro bono lawyer for the national organization Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) representing minors from Central America facing deportation proceedings in the U.S.  And through May 2020, Werner-Simon is a Post-JD (juris-doctorate) Research Fellow in Constitutional Studies at Southwestern Law School.