Madison Shanahn grew up in Syracuse and left for John Carroll University in Cleveland, where she studied sociology and criminology, and graduated in 2024. 

Back home, she wasn’t sure what came next. 

Law school had crossed her mind, but nothing was certain. When she saw a job posting at Hiscock Legal Aid Society, she applied to be a law assistant. She got hired into the landlord-tenant program at Hiscock Legal Aid Society and has been there for about two years.

Every morning, Madison heads to Syracuse City Court for the 9:30 calendar. She goes with a team of attorneys, and her job there is intake. 

For any tenant showing up for their first appearance, she’ll ask if they’re interested in free legal representation. If interested in free legal representation, we can go through a prescreen to determine if we can assist that day. Madison walks them through the full intake process on the spot, collecting everything needed to open a file and get a clear picture of what the client is dealing with at their apartment.

It’s a part of the job she values deeply, because most law assistants don’t get that kind of direct client contact.

“A lot of law assistants do background stuff,” she says. “I get to actually go every day

and see them in person, which has been really great.” 

When I go every day, she adds, clients start to recognize you. Being a familiar face, that’s the part that feels most rewarding.

The team usually gets back to the office around lunchtime. Afternoons are spent opening files: entering new clients into the system, pulling court documents from Syracuse City Court, and creating physical folders for everyone taken on that morning. She also helps with intake calls,  reaching out to former or prospective clients to gather information so attorneys can move forward, and drafts and sends closing letters as cases wrap up, which happens frequently given how quickly landlord-tenant cases tend to move. 

The experience has shaped what she wants to do next. 

This fall, Madison is starting at Syracuse University College of Law. Working here, she says, showed her that she wants to do client-facing, public interest work, and that this kind of work matters. “I think the work that everybody does here is so important.” She says “Working here has shown me how important this office is to the community.”

The office itself has been part of what’s made the two years worthwhile. The staff ranges from people fresh out of college to long-tenured law assistants, and attorneys and law assistants work closely alongside each other. 

She’s found both peers and mentors in the same place.

For Madison, these two years spent with Hiscock Legal Aid have been extremely rewarding, and a clear signal of where she’s headed in her legal career.