Public Interest Corner
Alumni Aid Students
This spring, Public Interest staff members
Suzanne Hill, Anna Marshall, and Emily Shubkagel met with
11 alumni and three clinical faculty members at four local
lunches to strengthen communication between public interest
alumni and the Career Development Office. Topics of discussion
include how alumni can become career advisers and how
the office can connect alumni with students for special
legal projects. More lunches are planned for the summer,
and a breakfast will be held for public interest alumni
in the fall. If you have not been contacted in the past
and are interested in learning more about the CDO, please
contact Hill or Marshall at 202-994-7340 or e-mail shill@law.gwu.edu
or marshall@law.gwu.edu
Shapiro Fellowships
For the ninth year, 3L Shapiro Public
Service Fellowships have been awarded to GW Law students.
These fellowships are earmarked for 3Ls who perform public
interest work during the school year at local organizations.
Three students, Chris Laskowski, Jennifer McLaughlin,
and Maggie Gandy, were awarded fellowships in the form
of $10,000 in tuition remission each, for work done at
the Natural Resources Defense Council, The Children’s
Law Center, and Women Empowered Against Violence. There
are now sufficient funds to increase both the number of
fellowships awarded and the amount of each fellowship
for the next three years. In the fall, the committee will
award five fellowships annually, each for $15,000 in tuition
remission.
Summer Grants Program
Each year, the Law School offers numerous
summer grants to students engaged in public interest work;
this is additional funding above and beyond the Equal
Justice Foundation fundraising. This year, summer subsidies
increased more than 20 percent. Additionally, there were
a record number of applicants this year. GW Law’s
Equal Justice Foundation student group coordinated its
annual auction and hit a record total revenue and was
able to provide 10 students with funding for the summer.
Giving Back to LRAP
Many alumni are Loan Reimbursement Assistance
Program award recipients. The Class of 2005 focused its
class gift campaign on supporting LRAP. In past years,
there has been a slight shortfall in being able to fulfill
all the requests received for loan forgiveness. To that
end, GW Law’s Equal Justice Foundation student group
sponsored its second Race for Justice this March and raised
another $2,000 for LRAP.
Students up Pro Bono Work
The Law School’s Pro Bono Program
encourages students to engage in legal-related volunteer
services with public interest organizations in the D.C.
community. During the 2003-04 academic year, students
performed almost 3,000 hours of pro bono legal services.
Anna Marshall, pro bono liaison, is continually looking
to expand the number of opportunities and organizations
for students to perform volunteer legal services. If you
work at an organization that may be interested in student
assistance, please contact her at amarshall@law.gwu.edu
or 202-994-7340.
Working for Justice
Congratulations to Dena Sher, a recent
graduate who was selected to be an Equal Justice Works
Fellow.
