PILA Grant Recipients 2009

We are pleased to announce the 2009 PILA Grant Recipients!

Dean's Grant, Jihye Kim, Columbia Legal Services

Faculty and Staff Grant, Bess McKinney, ACLU

CHRJ Grant, Melanie Beckwith, U.N. Int'l Tribunial for Rwanda

Washington Law Review and PILA Grant, Noah Barish, Juvenile Rights Project

SHLO and PILA Grant, Jeffrey Lane, Health Alliance International

CHRJ and PILA Grant, Sandra Gresl, Women's Link Worldwide

PILA Grant, Michelle Grienauer, Northwest Health Law

PILA Grant, Alia Naoko Kaneko, Solid Ground Family Asisstance Program

PILA Grant, Emily Brice, Northwest Health Law

PILA Grant, Jane Boman, Team Child

PILA Grant, Adrienne Neff, Bay Area Legal Aid

PILA Grant, Nicholas Oakley, Team Child

PILA Grant, Timothy Richards, Unemployment Law Project

PILA Voted Student Organization of the Year

The Public Interest Law Association was awarded the Student Organization of the Year for the 2008-2009 academic year at the annual UWLS Gala on Saturday, April 25, 2009.  The Board thanks the UWLS student body and SBA for this honor!

PILA Donates $77,500 to Public Service Law Programs in 2009

With an additional whole and half grant donated by the UW Center for Human Rights and Justice, PILA will be giving a total of $72,500 in grants this year.  PILA will also be giving up to $5,000 in matching funds to all gifts to the UWLS LRAP endowment from members of the Class of 2009.

This is a tremendous cause for celebration, so we invite you to join us as we celebrate another fabulous year of public service law at the UW School of Law at our May 7 TGIT where we will announce this year's grantees!

PILA Allocates $65,000 to Grant Program!

The PILA Board of Directors are pleased to announce that $65,000 will be available for the 2009 Grants Program!  The total amount includes $24,000 in named grants and an additional $41,000 from PILA's funds raised at this year's charitable auction.  In addition to already established named grants from Gordon Derr (in honor of Peter Buck), the Gates Public Service Law Program, the Dean of UWLS, the Faculty and Staff of UWLS, the Student Health Law Organization, and the UW Center for Human Rights and Justice, PILA is pleased to announce an additional named half grant, courtesy of the Washington Law Review! 

Given the effects of the economic slowdown we are especially grateful to our donors, volunteers, and supporters for helping us match the amount that was available for the 2008 Grants Program!  Grant applications are due this Friday, April 17, and we will announce this year's grantees at our May 7 TGIT.

In addition to the $65,000 that will be distributed among this year's 2009 Grantees, PILA will also donate $5,000 in matching funds to donations made to the UWLS LRAP Endowment from this year's graduating class.  This has been a tremendous year for PILA and we our proud of our efforts in promoting public service law through our grants program, LRAP contributions and fundraising to support the Social Justice Tuesdays program at UWLS.

PILA will give over $100,000 to public service in 2008

PILA has committed to give $65,000 in summer grants this year and will match the Class of 2008's gift to LRAP up to an additional $10,000. When combined with the $27,000 raised for LRAP at our 2008 Auction, we're proud to announce that we will be giving over $100,000 to public service law this year! Thank you to all of our donors and volunteers for making our fundraising such a huge success!

GordonDerr LLP donates Peter L. Buck Grant   

GordonDerr LLP (formerly Buck & Gordon) has agreed that the grant will provide one PILA grant annually to a UWLS student focusing on environmental law. One grant will be awarded annually for 10 years and will provide a living stipend for a University of Washington Law School student pursuing public interest environmental work for a quarter-long internship.

Peter Buck has long been an enthusiastic PILA supporter. This new grant will recognize his commitment to the public interest. GordonDerr’s generosity will ensure that one dedicated student annually can afford to pursue their passion for the environment.  The award will be equal to other PILA summer grants, meaning that this gift will grow right along with PILA!

The student board members and volunteers of PILA thank Mr. Buck and GordonDerr for their ongoing commitment to public interest law. The grant will help expand PILA’s impact on the Law School and the legal community. We are excited about working with GordonDerr in the future.

Join PILA for Social Justice Tuesdays

This year, PILA is proud to join the Student Bar Association, the Gates Scholars Program, and a number of student organizations to present Social Justice Tuesdays, a new program series that will bring together our public interest community here at UWLS. Every Tuesday at the lunch hour, a student organization will offer a presentation that will inspire, educate, and provoke meaningful discussions on the issues that affect our communities. Programs may include presentations from local practitioners, debates, discussions facilitated by faculty and much more. The first Social Justice Tuesday will be presented by the Gates Scholars Program on October 9.

WA State funds UW LRAP in the 2007 Budget!

On May 15, Washington State Governor Christine Gregoire, signed 2007-09 budget. Included in the appropriations for fiscal year 2008 (July 1, 2007 to June 30, 2008) is $500,000 for the University of Washington Law School's Loan Repayment Assistance Program.  $250,000 will go into the LRAP endowment in July and the rest is available in matching funds.  The Legislature will match all money raised by the school for LRAP in FY 2008 up to $250,000.

This is the result of the hard work of many students over many years and is an amazing accomplishment.  The LRAP program will hopefully be operational in a year and will be available to graduates (from any year) who meet the income, employment and educational debt qualifications (which are yet to be decided).

Representative Jeannie Darneille championed this budget item and, on behalf of all present and future UW Law Students who hope to serve the public good, PILA thanks her profusely. The legislation also had the support of King County Prosecutor Norm Maleng, UW President Mark Emmert, Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna as well as local legal aid organizations and the UW Graduate Student Senate.

The school's press release can be found here. To find out more about the legislation please email Jason Sykes.

What is PILA?

PILA is a non-profit, student-run organization dedicated to promoting legal work that serves the public, and improves the quality of life for individuals in our community and elsewhere.

To this end, PILA...

• raises awareness about the need for and rewards of pro bono and full-time public interest legal work;
• advocates for the creation of a Loan Repayment Assistance Program;
• funds grants for UW law students doing unpaid public interest legal work through an annual auction.

Information on the 2008 grantees.