Legal Aid Society and Public Interest Stipend Fund
2009/2010 Officers
Executive Director: Shannon Fyfe Financial Director: Allison Davis PISF Director: Claire Ackerman Auction Co-Directors: Anne Gooch & Nicole Soussan Community Service Director: Jared Gardner Street Law Director: Nina Kumar Pro Bono Pledge Director: Renee Erickson Public Relations Director: Christine Hawes Fundraising Director: Claire Brown Special Projects Directors: Kathy Brown & Tricia Moye Faculty Advisor: Dean Susan Kay
The Vanderbilt Legal Aid Society organizes a number of activities designed to assist traditionally underrepresented groups in the Nashville area, such as residents of state prisons, mental health hospitals, and juvenile detention facilities. These activities are directed by law student members of the Society, assisted by members of the Law School's clinical faculty. Informal meetings are sponsored for law students to exchange ideas and experiences relating to public interest law practice. The Pro Bono Program, a recent addition to the Society's activities, allows students to assist local attorneys with pro bono cases. The Program is administered in coordination with the Nashville Bar Association, with the objective of encouraging current and future lawyers to undertake more pro bono work. The cases involve a variety of practice areas such as personal injury, social security benefits, and divorce. Participating students work one-on-one with attorneys and gain practical experience assisting in library research, legal writing, and client or witness interviews. Any student may participate on a voluntary basis; second-year and third-year students can earn one extracurricular credit per semester by completing certain requirements set by the Legal Aid Society.
The Legal Aid Society also administers the Law School's Public Interest Stipend Fund, that awards stipends to Vanderbilt Law Students who want to work in public interest legal positions during the summer. The main disbursement criterion is the desire to spend the summer in the public interest sector. Selection of recipients is made by a student committee.
Click here to visit the Street Law website. Street Law is a project of the Legal Aid Society.
