Our Summer Intern Program is built around a simple idea: the best criminal defense lawyers pair sharp legal minds with deep human empathy. That ideal came to life on July 11, 2025, when Amanda and Legend Tarver, co-founders of the nonprofit 300 Letters, took a seat at our conference table.
What Amanda and Legend Taught Us
- “Education is power.”
Amanda explained that she once felt adrift because no one decoded mandatory-minimums or federal sentencing points for her. Clear, patient explanations are a lawyer’s first act of service. - Prepare clients for realities beyond the courtroom.
From commissary budgets to childcare logistics, Legend urged interns to design holistic game plans, not just legal strategies. - Lead the reform you want to see.
The couple’s nonprofit was founded because they saw a gap; families were often invisible in most re-entry programs. Their grassroots action is now sparking similar initiatives across the nation.
Intern Reflections
Our interns have already watched trials, sat in strategy sessions, and assisted with live client intakes this summer. Hearing the Tarvers’ journey added a layer no statute book can provide: the human cost of every decision we make in (and out of) court.
“It drove home that first-time defendants often don’t even know the right questions to ask,” one intern said after the session.
Action Steps & Resources
- Healing Hearts Program – 12-16 weeks of free therapy, life-coaching & child-care for recently-released parents.
- 300 Heroes Support Series – an 8-week empowerment group for caregivers raising children while a parent is incarcerated
- Volunteer for 300 Letters’ next letter-writing night.
- Book a Complimentary Meet-&-Greet Call with 300 Letters
Working side-by-side with advocates like Amanda and Legend makes us better lawyers and, frankly, better people. Rossen Law Firm remains committed to defending tomorrow by listening to—and learning from—the voices of lived experience.
About 300 Letters & the Tarvers
300 Letters is a Florida-based 501(c)(3) founded by Amanda Tarver and her husband Legend Tarver, who were both incarcerated on the same federal case in 2015. During their 24-month sentences, the couple exchanged more than three hundred handwritten letters—hence the name. Today, their nonprofit “treats incarceration as a family affair,” offering free therapy, caregiver support, and practical resources to keep parents and children connected and thriving 300letters.org.
Since launching in 2021, 300 Letters has already served 400+ families and provided direct support to over 50 caregivers of minor children 300letters.org. Amanda, a marketing professional turned advocate, and Legend, a former FIU graduate who openly shares his re-entry journey, lead workshops nationwide to help lawyers, social service providers, and communities develop family-centered re-entry plans.