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SKILL SHARPENER
Columbia Law Students Free to Pursue Public Interest Through Comprehensive Programs [by Erica Winter] This summer, a remarkably high number of students (125) from Columbia Law School is working in the public interest and human rights fields in two programs that offer both financial and institutional support. These two main public interest programs at Columbia Law—the Public Service Fellowship and the Human Rights Internship Program—are administered by the Center for Public Interest Law.
We will take a look at both of these pro-
in part two of this article, requires additional
summer jobs can pay $25,000 to students
grams, as well as the Center’s plans for the
first-year training in human rights issues,
who could be facing a very high student loan
future, in this two-part series on Columbia
both domestically and abroad, and funds a
payment burden on graduation.
Law’s efforts to create a comprehensive sys-
law student’s work for the summer, including
tem allowing law students to pursue public
travel expenses if the student goes overseas.
In the face of this financial reality, the choice between a summer job at a law firm and a
interest work. Columbia’s Center for Public Interest Law
public interest job can be a struggle, says
The Public Service Fellowship (PSF) “invests
administers several programs during the
Katzman. Career counselors at the Center
in the student, rather than the job,” says Har-
academic year at the law school, not the
for Public Interest talk about this issue
lene Katzman, Dean of the Center for Public
least of which is Columbia Law’s pro bono
with law students “all the time,” she says.
Interest Law. Unlike some law school public
service requirement, which mandates each
A law firm can be a great experience, says
interest funding, the PSF does not require a
student complete at least 40 hours of pro
Katzman, but it is not for everyone. “It really
student to have the job before applying for
bono work in order to graduate. The center
depends on the student,” she says. For those
summer funding.
also runs public interest career program-
who know that the public interest path is the
ming and individual career counseling for
one for them, Columbia Law’s public interest
Both first- and second-year law students
law students who are looking for advice on
funding—both during and after law school—
must simply express “a commitment and
public interest careers.
is “a huge relief for them,” says Katzman.
a desire” to do public interest work, says Katzman, noting that a law student may
The law school’s commitment to students
be more likely to get a competitive public
who wish to pursue public interest work will
interest summer job if the employer knows
continue to grow in summer 2006, with new
from the start that the student is funded.
programs added to the roster and the start of
With added funding to the program in recent
a groundbreaking promise.
years, the 40-student summer roster has increased to about 60 students participating
Beginning next summer, Columbia Law
this year, says Katzman.
School will guarantee that any second-year student who wants to do unpaid public inter-
Because he is going into his second year at
est work over the summer will automatically
Columbia Law this fall, some fellow 1Ls from
receive $6,000 in law school funding, says
other schools are “amazed that I’m being
Katzman. For students who are pursuing
paid at all,” says Phil Selden, recipient of
public interest legal careers instead of going
a PSF doing a summer clerkship with the
the law firm route, this assistance is invalu-
Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office
able. “We don’t even want it to be a question”
(Maryland).
of whether or not a second-year will be able to have a public interest summer position,
The high level of support for public interest
says Katzman.
work was “one of the reasons I chose Columbia,” says Selden.
A Columbia Law student in his/her second summer is highly likely to get a summer as-
The Human Rights Internship Program
sociate position at a law firm should he/she
(HRIP), which we will look at in more detail
decide to pursue one. In New York City, these
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