The Association for Public Interest Law (APIL) raises funds to support Rutgers law students in summer public interest employment.  Every year, students pursue summer internships with organizations such as the Camden County Public Defender’s Office, Fair Share Housing Center, South Jersey Legal Services, and the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office.  

Law student interns provide important legal services to disadvantaged members of the community, provide support to underfunded legal service providers, acquire substantive and lawyering skills, and confirm their commitment to social justice.  Summer internships can also be a launch pad for law student's legal careers. 

However, public interest internships are often full-time and unpaid.  Lack of income can hinder students, particularly disadvantaged students, from pursuing their passions in the public interest and making a difference in underserved communities.

“The funding provided by APIL allowed me the opportunity to take on a non-paying public interest legal internship without finding a second job. I was able to focus on a field of law that I was passionate about, instead of having to choose an internship that paid the bills but did not fight for the greater good. This opportunity reinforced my desire to practice public interest law after graduating, and it gave me the experience necessary to gain internships for this spring and summer. If it weren’t for the APIL stipend, my dreams may never have been fully realized, and my career goals may not have been attainable.”

                                    Rutgers Law School student and grateful APIL stipend recipient

“…I worked in the Housing Unit helping clients with federally subsidized housing avoid eviction.  It was an amazing experience.  I drafted a successful motion to set aside an eviction for a client.  The client was a victim of domestic abuse and as result of the abuse did not even know that the rent was not being paid or much less have opportunity to receive notice that eviction proceedings had commenced against the client and her four children…”  

                                    Rutgers Law School student and grateful APIL stipend recipient

Interested in funding a full stipend for a Rutgers law student's summer internship?    Please contact Pamela Mertsock-Wolfe at pmertsoc@camden.rutgers.edu​