We are deeply involved in developing public interest careers through funding summer fellowships for law students who wish to accept unpaid positions working with nonprofit organizations.   On average, we are able to fund ten public interest projects that serve disadvantaged communities per summer. These summer grants have supported students doing projects related to a variety of issues, including child advocacy, women’s rights, HIV/AIDS issues, and affordable housing.   In light of Boalt’s limited financial means in comparison to other top schools, these grants provide an invaluable resource for law students who wish to explore and develop careers in public interest law.

ELIGIBILITY

Interested law students become eligible for summer funding by volunteering the requisite 25 hours for the BLF.  Of the 25 volunteer hours, students must complete 15 hours by volunteering for the BLF and 10 by volunteering for another public interest organization here at Boalt.  Of the 15 BLF hours, five of them must be supporting the auction.  (LINK THIS TO THE AUCTION PAGE).  Of the other 10 hours, five must be for a diversity group.  To complete an “other hour” by volunteering for another public interest group on campus, the volunteer activity must be something above and beyond the normal duties as a member of the student group.  Examples of acceptable “other hour” activities are the following: assisting in organizing a meeting, rehabilitating an interview room for asylum, taking notes for your organization for a Student Advisory Board meeting, etc.  Students are not required to become members of and pay dues to other public interest groups to complete “other hours.”

In summary, here’s the break down:

25 total hours

• 15 hours volunteering for the BLF (at least 5 of these must be for the auction)


• 10 hours volunteering for other organizations (at least 5 of these must be for a diversity group)

In a perfect world, we would be able to fund all eligible law students, but the demand for summer funding continuously outstrips our supply of funds.  Grantees are decided democratically by an anonymous vote by BLF members and other students who have donated to the BLF.  The voting process is one where voters rank brief descriptions of the projects by perceived merit.  The projects with the highest average rankings are awarded funding.


SPRING PLEDGE DRIVE

The source of our funds is our annual Spring Pledge Drive.  Every March, the Spring Pledge Drive solicits one day of pay from Boalt students who have accepted paid positions for the upcoming summer.  Very often, their employers will match or triple the day of pay donated by the student.  The faculty members here at Boalt are always very strong supporters of the Spring Pledge Drive, and individual faculty members will often sponsor a day of the drive during which they will match any donations. 

We take deep pride in our Spring Pledge Drive.  Because of the generosity of their fellow students, many public interest scholars are able to serve underprivileged communities directly over the summer.  We feel that that matching contributions of money and time from our student body demonstrates the shared recognition of our personal and professional obligation as lawyers to society.  Each year the Spring Pledge Drive makes us all proud to be a member of BLF and a student at Boalt Hall.

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