Public Interest
The Big Picture
The First. The Biggest. The Best. Long considered the leader in training lawyers for public interest work, the Law School has pioneered programs that are now pro forma in the nation’s other top law schools. Today, NYU offers the most comprehensive public service infrastructure of any law school in the nation, including the Public Interest Law Center, a national model for the promotion of public service. Beginning with one-on-one sessions for 1Ls, PILC staff attorneys like Rachel Peckerman ’04 and Sara Rakita ’98 are active career counselors during a student’s time at school––and after.
The Law School's commitment to producing lawyers with a real service ethos extends beyond curriculum, training opportunities and career counseling. NYU has been at the forefront of creating and funding programs to address the difficult economic reality facing prospective public interest lawyers. Since 2003, through Public Interest Summer Funding Grants, the Law School has guaranteed funding for all first- and second-year J.D. candidates who work in public interest and government positions; almost 300 students participate in the program each summer. Through the Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP), NYU Law encourages students to pursue careers in public service. Graduates who choose work in public service or with nonprofit organizations following graduation will, provided their income is below a designated level, have their debt burden paid in full or part by NYU.
Public interest training is also supported by an array of public interest scholarship programs: the Root-Tilden-Kern Scholarship Program, the Filomen M. D’Agostino Scholarship Program, the Arthur Garfield Hays Civil Liberties Program, the Black, Latino, Asian Pacific American (BLAPA) Law Alumni Association Public Service Scholarship, the Reynolds Fellowship in Social Entrepreneurship, and the Bickel & Brewer Latino Institute for Human Rights Scholarship.
Stories From Washington SquareIn the New York Times, Richard Pildes argues that we need a broader approach to voting rights
The New York Times spotlights the Bronx Defenders, a legal aid group led by Robin Steinberg '82
Lieutenant General (ret.) David Barno speaks about the future of civil-military relations (VIDEO)
19th annual Public Service Auction raises funds for public interest summer jobs
Judge Pauline Newman ’58 honored by NYU Law Women as Alumna of the Year
Panelists at the Milbank Tweed Forum discuss the state of U.S. reproductive rights in the wake of the 2012 election (VIDEO)
In the Press
"Justice Department can be smarter about sequester"
The Hill
Author:
Inimai Chettiar, Brennan Center for Justice
"Election Opponents Team Up on Panel to Fix Voting System"
New York Times
Featured:
Robert Bauer
"If we don’t fix voting problems, ‘we are betraying our ideals’"
MSNBC
Featured:
Bob Bauer, Brennan Center for Justice
"Lippman Lauds Bronx Group's Nonprofit Approach to Bail Defenders"
New York Law Journal
Featured:
Robin Steinberg '82, Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman '68
"Lawmakers Confirm Rivera to State’s Highest Court"
Wall Street Journal
Featured:
Jenny Rivera '85
"Report Outlines Plan To Fix Long Lines On Election Day"
Huffington Post
Featured:
Brennan Center for Justice
Learn more about Public Interest Law at NYU:
Faculty
Curriculum
Videos
Contact Information
Public Interest Law Center
Furman Hall
245 Sullivan Street, Room 430
New York, New York 10012-1301
Telephone: (212) 998-6686
Email: Pilc.info@nyu.edu