Cotton candy and top hats may be what’s beckoning the Rutgers Law–Camden community to this year’s upcoming Association for Public Interest Law (APIL) Auction, but the lighthearted law school tradition has for nearly two decades delivered some hefty funding for law students to pursue a range of unpaid public interest summer positions.
Last year, relying on the tax-deductible contributions from students, faculty, staff, alumni, law firms, and local businesses, APIL raised almost $50,000 that was used to fund 20 summer fellowships, making its law school auction one of the region’s most successful.
This year, two separate events will comprise the 19th annual Rutgers Law–Camden event: A carnival-themed day auction at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 5 and a swanky evening auction at 6:30 p.m. Friday, April 4. Both auctions will take place in the Clark Commons, located on the second floor of the law school.
Jacqueline DiRubbo, a Rutgers University–Camden JD/MBA candidate, is co-chairing the APIL auctions with fellow law students Amy Sobotka and Maureen Ingersoll.
“Rutgers Law has become a beacon for those pursuing a lifetime of commitment to public service in many forms,” says DiRubbo. “We hope to entertain and inspire guests at this year's auction, a flagship event for the law school.”
Last summer, fellowship recipients offered their services to a variety of local and national public interest entities.
Patrick MacAdams prepared briefs for the Fair Share Housing Center that contributed to ensuring $165 million in municipal housing trust fund money. Brian Block worked with the Environmental Protection Agency on legal issues surrounding a Superfund site. Evan Barker was involved in securing guardianship for a client to continue to sign on the behalf of a severely disabled child through the Legal Clinic for the Disabled in Philadelphia.
The Rutgers Law–Camden students’ summer work not only made a difference for their various employers and clients, but also in their own careers.
Students’ summer positions led to their successfully securing employment and clerkship positions. Robert “RJ” Norcia, who served as a legal intern for the Office of the New Jersey Attorney General’s Division of Banking and Insurance, was offered a law clerk position this spring with Cherry Hill law firm Connell Foley LLP, which specializes in health law and insurance fraud cases. Lauren Martinez’s legal intern position at the U.S. Attorney’s Office led to a clerkship with a presiding criminal judge and inspired her to work on criminal reform policies through her current Eagleton Fellowship at the New Jersey Senate.
Rutgers Law–Camden student Steven Salinger’s law clerk position at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District Pennsylvania exposed him to youth court, an initiative designed to respond to school disciplinary issues. Salinger has since built a successful youth court program into the law school’s existing Street Law Pro Bono Project at Urban Promise Academy.
“The opportunity I enjoyed was extraordinary, because my experience expanded my perception of the role of prosecutor,” says Salinger.
Proceeds from this year’s APIL auctions will fund stipends for rising second and third-year law students to work in even more meaningful summer positions. Rutgers Law–Camden continues to accept donations for this year’s auction, which currently features golf at private country clubs; tickets to theater, sports, and music events; BarBri (Bar exam prep) gift certificates; and much more.
To download a donor form, visit http://www.camden.rutgers.edu/pdf/DonorInfo.docx. For more information about the events, please contact the auction team at apilauction@gmail.com.
