PUBLIC SERVICE
VIRGINIA UPHOLDS THOMAS JEFFERSON’S CONVICTION that lawyers have a
special obligation to serve the public interest.
We are committed to nurturing the civic virtues that support his ideal of
public responsibility: integrity, civility and service.
The Law School offers hundreds of thousands of dollars in fellowships to
students pursuing public service careers, and its loan forgiveness program
removes the burden of debt repayment from students who choose lower-paying
public service careers, making virtually any career a practical possibility.
As the 14TH POWELL FELLOW IN LEGAL SERVICES, CAT MARTIN ’15
[pictured with daughter Evie] will help Philadelphia homeowners
avoid foreclosure due to back taxes. The Law School’s
POWELL FELLOWSHIP awards $45,000 and benefits for two years
to a graduate who plans to enhance the delivery of legal services to the poor
under the sponsorship of a host public interest organization.
“EACH TIME A MAN STANDS UP FOR AN IDEAL or acts to
improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he
sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other
from a million different centers, those ripples build a current
which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression
and resistance.” —ROBERT F. KENNEDY ’51
MORTIMER CAPLIN PUBLIC SERVICE CENTER The center is the Law School’s focal point for public service
programming and outreach. Its efforts include the Pro Bono Project and career counseling for students and alumni.
VIRGINIA LOAN FORGIVENESS PROGRAM The Law School’s loan forgiveness program helps
repay the loans of graduates who earn less than $75,000 annually in public service positions.
Participants in the program who earn less than $55,000 annually receive benefits covering 100 percent
of their qualifying law school loans. PROGRAM DETAILS: WWW.LAW.VIRGINIA.EDU/LOANFORGIVE
PRO BONO PROGRAM Virginia is committed to the ideal that all students will fulfill their professional obligation to
provide free legal services to the indigent and underrepresented. The Pro Bono Program encourages all students to
voluntarily complete at least 75 hours of pro bono service during law school. Opportunities are available with local
attorneys and organizations, as well as throughout the nation. The program also organizes pro bono projects focusing on
areas such as domestic violence, family law, veterans disability claims and children’s health.
MEGAN WATKINS ’16 recently received a
Public Interest Law Association fellowship
to work in the CHARLOTTESVILLEALBEMARLE PUBLIC DEFENDER’S OFFICE.
PILA, a student-run organization, distributed
more than $357,900 to 84 students
working in public service jobs over the
summer of 2015.
Class of 2015 graduates WILL MONTAGUE, ALISON VICKS, SEAN WELSH and SAM SHIRAZI are joining
the U.S. Justice Department’s criminal, civil and tax divisions through the ATTORNEY GENERAL’S HONORS
PROGRAM. The program is the largest and most prestigious federal entry-level attorney hiring program of
its kind, and the only way for newly minted lawyers to join the department in an attorney position.
Welsh, for example, will work for the Criminal Division on cases involving asset forfeiture and money
laundering. Part of his job will be prosecuting white-collar criminals who facilitate illicit enterprises. “I will
be handling complex asset forfeiture investigations and bringing cases which focus on professional money
launderers, or the ‘gatekeepers’ to the financial system, such as attorneys and accountants,” he said.
UVA Law students
DAVID MARTIN ’15,
TAYLOR STEFFAN ’15
and MATT BROOKER ’15,
along with attorney
JACQUI MERRILL
[second from left],
volunteered for the relief
organization NO MORE
DEATHS during the
2015 ALTERNATIVE
SPRING BREAK.
The Arizona nonprofit
was one of seven groups
students helped.
PUBLIC SERVICE 2014-15
• 12,276 pro bono hours logged by students
• More than $357,900 in fellowships
awarded to 84 students working
in summer public service jobs
• 29 Students participated in the Alternative
Spring Break Pro Bono Program
with 7 organizations
PUBLIC SERVICE FELLOWSHIPS
POWELL
FELLOWSHIP
The School’s Powell
Fellowship in Legal
Services, honoring
former Supreme
Court Justice
Lewis F. Powell,
awards $40,000
to a graduating
student or judicial
clerk. The fellowship
enables him or her
to work under the
sponsorship of
a public interest
organization to
enhance the delivery
of civil legal services
to the poor. The
award is made for
one year with the
expectation that
it will be renewed
for a second year.
Recipients also are
eligible to participate
in the Virginia Loan
Forgiveness Program.
ROBERT F.
KENNEDY ’51
PUBLIC SERVICE
FELLOWSHIPS
The Kennedy
Fellowships enable
recent graduates
to work in public
service positions
while exploring
career options
and building a
professional
network. Funded
by alumni and
friends of the Law
School, the program
provides a salary to
graduates working
in qualifying public
service employment.
PILA SUMMER
FELLOWSHIPS
PILA provides
grants of $3,500
and $6,000 to
law students who
accept low-paying
or unpaid public
service summer
internships.
NATIONAL
FELLOWSHIPS
Counselors from
the Public Service
Center advise and
prepare students
seeking prestigious
national fellowships,
such as Skadden,
Independence
Foundation and
Equal Justice Works
fellowships.
MONROE LEIGH
FELLOWSHIP IN
INTERNATIONAL
LAW
This award provides
a total of $10,000 for
one or more students
to pursue a public
international law
project.
PUBLIC SERVICE
www.law.virginia.edu/publicservice
CONTACT
Annie Kim
(434) 924-3883
publicservicelaw@virginia.edu
PRO BONO CONTACT
Kimberly Emery
(434) 924-3883
lawprobono@virginia.edu
PROGRAM IN LAW AND PUBLIC SERVICE
THE PROGRAM IN
LAW AND PUBLIC
SERVICE offers a
select group of
students the chance
to receive special-
ized training that
will prepare them for
careers in public
service, including in
prosecution, public
defense, government,
legal aid, international human rights
and nonprofit
organizations. Each
year, up to 20
first-year students
are admitted to the
program, along with
up to five secondyear students. The
program also
recently launched a
board of student
advisers [pictured]
who lead
networking efforts.