Student Opportunities: Public Interest Law Society Summer Grants
Through the student fundraising efforts of the Public Interest Law Society (PILS) at the annual Public Service Auction, Loyola offers grants to support students who wish to do public interest legal work during the summer months. The Auction is the biggest student event of the year, raising $20,000 last year alone. Notably, the PILS Auction is a unique event for Loyola because it is entirely student run and student organized.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
How You can Help:
Loyola University Chicago School of Law
25 E. Pearson, 13th Floor
Chicago, IL 60611
If you have questions or wish to donate items to be auctioned, contact Auction Chair Melanie MacBride at mmacbri@luc.edu. Alumni donations at past auctions have included baseball tickets, art, jewelry, sports memorabilia, weekends at vacation homes, and rounds of golf.
If you would like to reserve a ticket to this year's PILS Auction, contact Melanie MacBride. Tickets are $20, or $25 at the door. Law-pilsauction@luc.edu.
2007 Public Interest Law Society Summer Grant Recipients
Mary Anne Emerick, Class of 2008
Mary Anne will be working with the Family Law Project at Cabrini Green Legal Aid (CGLA). CGLA employs a holistic approach to serving clients while maintaining its specialization in the provision of legal services. She will conduct initial intake interviews and present the client information at case acceptance meetings. She will also assist in drafting court documents, conducting legal research, and representing clients. www.cgla.net
David Holland, Class of 2008
David will be working for the Office of the State Appellate Defender, First Judicial District. This office represents indigent clients on appeal from their criminal convictions. He will draft reply briefs, petitions for rehearing, and petitions for leave to appeal. He will also research for opening briefs, developing this research into an argument. In the second half of the summer, he will be assigned his own record in which he will issue-spot and brief the case under the supervision of another attorney. http://state.il.us/defender
Carla Kupe, Class of 2008
Carla will be working for the District Attorney of Suffolk County, Massachusetts. She will be assisting prosecutors in the district and superior courts by conducing arraignments/bail arguments, handling pre-trial conferences, handling evidentiary and non-evidentiary motions and bench trials. She will also conduct research, assist in interviewing victims and witnesses, and preparing witnesses. The office also provides victims of abuse with assistance in obtaining restraining orders, welfare services, and referrals. http://www.mass.gov/dasuffolk
Laura Lacci, Class of 2008
Laura will be working in the Juvenile Division of the Cook County Office of the Public Guardian. She will work one-on-one under the supervision of experienced attorneys representing the best interest of children who have been abused or neglected. Her duties will include drafting motions and other court documents, interviewing clients, conducting legal research, case preparation, working with social workers and other professionals who work in the child welfare arena and advocating for children. www.publicguardian.org
Melanie MacBride, Class of 2008
Melanie will be working for the second summer at the Legal Aid Bureau, the legal services division of Metropolitan family services. She will have a variety of duties, including interviewing clients, attending and presenting cases at weekly case acceptance meetings, observing in court, drafting letters and pleadings, doing legal research, meeting with clients to complete discovery, and drafting discovery documents. She will also have the opportunity to appear in court for routine matters and to argue motions she has drafted. http://www.metrofamily.org/services/lab.asp
Leslee Nelson, Class of 2008
Leslee will continue working in the Domestic Relations Division of the Cook County Office of the Public Guardian. She will work closely with supervising attorneys in their representation of children whose parents are involved in custody or visitation disputes through either divorce or parentage litigation. Her duties will include interviewing clients and their parents, investigating the children’s home and school environments, researching legal issues, drafting legal documents communicating with teachers, doctors, therapists and other attorneys, recommending services for the parties and obtaining necessary documents. She will be assigned her own cases and will appear in court on a regular basis. www.publicguardian.org
Alison Stankus, Class of 2008
Alison will be working as a legal intern for the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) of the Department of Justice. She will be conducting legal research and writing on a variety of topics related to the exploitation of children and assisting in the investigation and prosecution of those who prey on marginalized children. She will have the opportunity to draft legal memoranda, motions, warrants, indictments and other court filings. Through her internship, she will participate in in-house training events regarding sentencing, grand jury, and other legal issues specific to child exploitation offenses. http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/ceos
Kelly Whalen, Class of 2008
Kelly will be working in the Domestic Relations Division of the Cook County Office of the Public Guardian. She will work closely with supervising attorneys in their representation of children whose parents are involved in custody or visitation disputes through either divorce or parentage litigation. Her duties will include interviewing clients and their parents, investigating the children’s home and school environments, researching legal issues, drafting legal documents communicating with teachers, doctors, therapists and other attorneys, recommending services for the parties and obtaining necessary documents. She will be assigned her own cases and will appear in court on a regular basis. www.publicguardian.org
Application Process
Any interested student may apply for a grant after obtaining a sponsoring organization. Applications are reviewed and recipients selected by a committee consisting of faculty members, students, and administrators. In recent years, PILS fundraising has supported 10-12 grants to first and second year students, who have worked in nonprofit and governmental law offices nationwide and even internationally. Applications will be available in early spring 2008.
