APIL, The Rutgers Association for Public Interest Law

What is Public Interest Law?
Founded in 1991 through student initiative, APIL is the Rutgers Chapter of Equal Justice Works, formerly known as NAPIL, the National Association for Public Interest Law, headquartered in Washington, DC.
APIL's mission is threefold:

• First, APIL seeks to raise awareness about the legal needs of the under served in our society and the role which the public interest lawyer plays in meeting those needs.
• Second, APIL acts as a clearinghouse for volunteer, summer and permanent public interest law opportunities for students which are sponsored by NAPIL and other organizations. You should subscribe and post to the Public Interest list serve based at Rutgers and the NAPIL list serve sponsored by the umbrella organization.
• Finally, APIL solicits funds to support the Public Interest Law Scholarship fund.The Scholarship Fund awards stipends  to students who want to take summer public interest law positions and would not be paid  in those positions. Since the Fund's inception, APIL has awarded over $100,000 to students who have worked in such organizations as Community Legal Services, AIDS Law Project, Camden Center for Law and Social Justice, Lambda Legal Defense Fund, Domestic Violence Unit/Gloucester County and the Child Advocate Office/Camden County.

Job Search Websites

• Community Career Centers (nonprofits)
• National Legal Aid & Defender Association
• Good Works
• HierosGamos Legal Research Center
• Idealist (nonprofits)
• Lawyers Weekly listings
• National Association for Law Placement (NALP)
• Opportunity Knocks.org (nonprofits)
• Public Interest Research Groups - Summer & Post-Graduate
• Public Service Law Network

Fellowships

Contact info for the program should be on the linked sites. Additional Fellowships can be found in hard copy form in the Career Services Office.

• Independence Foundation Public Interest Law Fellowship
• Skadden Fellowship
• Frederick B. Abramson Memorial Foundation Public Interest Fellowship
• Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program 18 Month Advocacy Program
• American Association for the Advancement of Science Public Policy Fellowships
• American Association of University Women Educational Foundation
• American Bar Foundation Fellowships
• American Political Science Association Congressional Fellowship
• The Center for Immigration Studies  - Mail them at: center@cis.orgfor Fellowship information.
• The Center for Law in the Public Interest - Contact them for info about their fellowship program
• The Center for Reproductive Law & Policy - Fellowships, Internships, Atty. positions
• Chesapeake Research Consortium Environmental Management Fellowship
• Earth Justice - Sutherland Environmental Law Fellowship
• The Ford Foundation funds many  individual programs
• Women's Law & Public Policy Fellowship
• Center for Applied Legal Studies Advocacy Fellowship (teaching & political asylum work)
• Prettyman/Stiller Fellowship (teaching & criminal defense)
• Legal Aid Society of San Francisco - Felix Velarde-Munoz Litigation Fellowship

Legal Service Providers (LSPs) that Need Our Help in the Local Communities

Camden, NJ

• Camden Center for Law and Social Justice
          509 State Street, Camden, NJ 08102
          ph: (856) 966-8896; fax:(856) 541-8826
• South Jersey Legal Services
          745 Market Street, Camden, NJ 08101
          ph: (856) 964-2010 or 1-800-496-4570;  Fax: (609) 338-9227
• Community Health Law Project
          Stationhouse Office Building
          900 Haddon Ave. Ste 400
          Collingswood, NJ 08108
          ph: (856) 858-9500

Other New Jersey

• Legal Services of New Jersey

Philadelphia, PA

• AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania
• American Civil Liberties Union
• Cancer Patient Legal Advocacy Network
           P.O. Box 0245, Merion, PA 19066
          (717) 341-9033 (phone)  (610) 668-4255 (phone)
          (610) 668-4295 (fax)
         &nbspe-mail: canplan@aol.com
• Community Legal Services of Philadelphia
• Consumer Bankruptcy Assistance Project
          42 S. 15th St.
          Philadelphia, PA 19102
          ph: (215)523-9511; fax: (215) 981-0435
• Disabilities Law Project
• Education Law Center of Pennsylvania
• HIAS and Council Migration Service of Philadelphia
• Homeless Advocacy Project
• Juvenile Law Center
• Pennsylvania Health Law Project
• Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts
• Philadelphia Legal Assistance
• Philadelphia Volunteers for the Indigent Program
• Women's Law Project

Washington, DC

• Environmental Law Institute Intern Program

National Organizations

• Lambda Legal Defense Fund

Click here for the 2013 Awards Facebook page.