To help law students take unpaid internships advocating for public interest, a College of Law organization will host an auction fundraiser this Friday.

The 21st annual Public Interest Auction will be held at the Palace Theatre. All proceeds benefit the Syracuse Public Interest Network, which sponsors fellowships for law students who intend to take unpaid summer internships. The night features both silent and live auctions, with law professors serving as auctioneers.

The auctions, which brought in more than $30,000 last year, are the network’s most lucrative funding source, said Riane Lafferty, a law student and SPIN’s executive director. While there is no set number of potential winners, each one earns an equal share of the funds. Most recently, she said, 14 recipients were awarded $3,500 each. In past years, anywhere between 35-60 applicants have competed for funding.  

Kasey Hildonen, a law student and SPIN’s auction coordinator, said some of the prizes at the auction include prep courses for the bar exam, wine tastings at the Finger Lakes and packages from popular local businesses such as Turning Stone Resort and Casino and Dinosaur Bar-B-Que.

GPA is disregarded in favor of resumes, which show a candidate’s willingness to seek out public interest on a professional level, Lafferty said, though applicants must be in good academic standing. While any law student can apply, those who have shown a demonstrated interest in working for government sectors, nonprofits and charities are preferred, Hildonen added.

“It’s a lot of working with people who wouldn’t be able to access the legal system without our help,” she said, adding that most candidates were involved in other campus initiatives such as journals or pro bono work. “They’re really our go-getters and we’re very proud of them.”

SPIN has helped SU law students, such as Meaghan Gallagher, establish important connections in the field.

From the moment she left Arizona — where she studied prelaw — for SU in 2009, Gallagher knew she would go back. In the summer of 2011, she used SPIN’s funding to intern with a public defender in Tucson, Ariz., where she was able to network with other lawyers, the 2012 graduate said in an email.

“I always wanted to be a criminal defense attorney, I did not have a preference as to private or public practice as long as I could help people,” she said. “SPIN helped enforce the desires that I already had, which was to help people navigate the legal system and deal with the collateral consequences of criminal charges.”

SPIN helped Gallagher pay for her travel and living expenses during her unpaid stay, enabling her to take on the internship full time instead of having to support herself through a part-time job, she said.

Gallagher, who now works at a law firm in Phoenix, said her SPIN-funded summer internship enabled her to “make invaluable connections” and gain professional experiences “most people do not get to experience until at least five years into practice.”

“I cannot express the gratitude I have to SPIN for giving me funding so that I could be in Tucson for that summer,” she said.

Published on November 14, 2013 at 1:39 am