FAQs

What is PILP, in a nutshell?

In a nutshell, Public Interest Law Project (PILP) is a student-run organization founded by Lewis & Clark law students in 1990 to help fill the justice gap between those who need attorneys and those who can afford attorneys. PILP helps fill this gap by providing students ways to afford to take on this work both as students and as lawyers. For students, PILP provides stipends for otherwise unpaid summer legal work at nonprofit legal advocacy organizations, legal aid clinics, public defender’s offices, and other public interest organizations. For graduates, PILP supports Lewis & Clark’s Loan Repayment Assistance Program, which helps low-paid public interest attorneys afford to pay their student loans. Both of these programs help make public interest work an economic reality for students and alumni.

 Although most law schools in the U.S. now have an on-campus group that promotes public interest work, PILP is proud to be among the first such student groups in the United States. Over its 22-year history, PILP has granted stipends to more than 250 students.

What is public interest law?

Public interest law is legal work that is not centered on profit, but on advancing justice, enhancing the public good, and protecting the rights of individuals.

Aren’t there too many lawyers already? And don’t they make a lot of money?

A 2000 study by the Oregon State Bar estimated that approximately 250,000 Oregonians each year need a lawyer but cannot afford one. Lawyers working for public interest organizations on average are paid $42,000—not nearly enough to repay law school loans, which reach more than $100,000 for the typical law student. For there to be enough public interest lawyers to meet the current need, law students need the inspiration, experience, and determination necessary for this career path, and they also need financial help. PILP’s mission is to provide Lewis & Clark students with all the ingredients for a long and successful career in public interest law.

What’s the average stipend amount?

PILP’s maximum summer stipend currently is $5000, but applicants are encouraged to assess their actual need when requesting funds.

How long does a stipend recipient’s summer job last?

PILP stipend recipients work either full-time (400 hours or more over the summer break) or part-time (200 hours or more).

How does PILP spend its funds?

Because of PILP’s affiliation with Lewis & Clark Law School (it is organized as the school’s daughter organization), PILP can afford economies of scale that keep costs low, compared with other nonprofit organizations that raise the majority of their funds through an auction. Additionally, there are no paid PILP employees—PILP is entirely run by student volunteers. Of course, holding an auction does cost money, but overall PILP has a higher efficiency rate than other similar nonprofits that raise money through annual auction events.

Who is eligible for a stipend?

In order to apply for a PILP stipend, Lewis & Clark 1Ls and 2Ls (first- and second-year law students) must fulfill a certain number of community volunteer hours as well as a certain number of hours volunteering for the PILP auction. (The hour requirements change every year, but 2010 applicants had to complete 20 hours of community volunteer work and 15 hours of volunteering for the PILP auction.) They must also have a summer internship with a qualifying public interest organization, at which they are required to work for a minimum of 200 hours (part time) or 400 hours (full time) during the summer.

How many students get stipends each year?

In PILP’s recent history, we’ve been able to grant stipends to about twelve students each year. Stipend amounts vary, depending on how much money we’ve raised through our auction and other fundraising efforts. In a typical year, about half of all students who apply are granted a PILP stipend.

What’s all this about LRAP (Loan Repayment Assistance Program)?

In addition to summer stipends, PILP funds go toward loan repayment assistance for Lewis & Clark graduates who work in public interest careers that pay less than $45,000 (adjusted income) per year. A law school education is very expensive, and most law students have to take out more than $100,000 in loans. Without repayment plans such as LRAP, a low-paying public interest job simply is not a possibility for most lawyers.

Will my donation go to help local public interest organizations?

Most PILP stipend recipients work in Oregon and Pacific Northwest. Since PILP’s founding in 1990, we’ve had 260 PILP stipend recipients. About half of these students worked in Portland organizations, and most worked in organizations within the Pacific Northwest. But our stipend recipients have worked in Denver, Washington, D.C., New Orleans, and even as far away as Geneva, Switzerland, and Yap, Micronesia!

In short, PILP helps the Portland community the most, but provides experience and assistance wherever public interest legal work is needed.

What kinds of organizations do PILP stipend recipients work for?

Generally speaking, PILP recipients work for three different kinds of legal organizations: Nonprofits (including environmental and civil rights organizations), legal aid clinics, and public defender’s offices. Over the past five years, some of the organizations PILP stipend recipients have worked for include:

• Legal Aid Services of Oregon
• Oregon Law Center
• Oceana
• Columbia Riverkeeper
• The Defender Association
• Center for Food Safety
• Youth Rights Justice
• BLM Action Center – The Wilderness
• WaterWatch of Oregon
• Oregon Natural Desert Association
• Sponsors Organized to Assist Refugees
• Trustees for Alaska
• Mercy Corps
• Friends of the Columbia Gorge
• Disability Rights Oregon
• In Defense of Animals
• Appalachian Voices

What kinds of organizations do PILP stipend recipients not work for?

PILP does not grant stipends to students for summer work with corporations, for-profit law firms, military service positions, judicial clerkships, and government agencies that do not provide services to underrepresented clients and causes.

Do the public interest groups that PILP stipend recipients work for have to pay anything to the students or to PILP?

The only thing organizations have to pay is unemployment insurance.

How does PILP get its funds?

PILP’s biggest fundraiser is the annual PILP auction, held each year in March. It is a gala event, with a silent auction, live auction, and raffle. PILP also holds two annual, beloved student events—Karaoke Night and Poker Night, which are both successful and a lot of fun, due to the enthusiastic participation of Lewis & Clark Law School professors.

PILP also gets some money through law student annual tuition assessments, and through the financial assistance of Lewis & Clark Law School. PILP does not receive outside funding, except through donations and bidding at its annual auction.

I won’t be in Portland, Oregon, in March. Can I still contribute to PILP?

Yes! PILP gratefully accepts donations of auction items and cash year-round. If you would like to make a cash donation, please send your check to: Public Interest Law Project, Lewis & Clark Law School, 10015 SW Terwilliger Boulevard, Portland, Oregon 97219.  For auction item donations, an online donation form is available here.

For more information, please email auction@lclark.edu or call our office at 503-768-6782.

I won’t be in Portland, Oregon, in March. Can I still participate in PILP’s auction?

We are working on this! We would like for all of our biggest supporters to be able to bid on our wonderful auction packages, and we hope to have an online component to our auction soon.

We also hope to have additional photos and information about the event online for our long-distance fans this year. We hope our supporters will feel like a part of our event, whether able to attend or not.

I will be in Portland, Oregon, in March, and I’d love to attend your auction. How do I do that?

To reserve your tickets for the PILP auction in March, please email PILP at auction@lclark.edu. A PILP volunteer will respond promptly with more information.

If I sign up to donate, will PILP put me on a mailing list?

PILP retains donors’ information and sends out letters annually to past donors. If you would like to be removed from this list, please contact us by mail (10015 SW Terwilliger Blvd., Portland, OR 97219), email (auction@lclark.edu), or telephone (503-768-6782). PILP does not sell or share donor information.

I’d like to donate an item for your auction. What do I get in return?

PILP donors get publicity through our auction catalog, at the auction itself, and on our auction website. PILP volunteers will write a glowing description of your product, to go alongside your business name. Some donors will also be highlighted on our Facebook page. The PILP auction historically has drawn 400-450 attendees, and the auction program and our website are viewed by many members of the legal community in Oregon and across the globe. PILP supporters will know that your business shares their passion for helping the community.

PILP is a part of Lewis & Clark Law School, a 503(c)(3) organization. All donations of cash and auction items are tax-deductible. Our tax I.D. number is 93-0386858.

Donors also receive the deep-felt gratitude of PILP’s board, volunteers, and stipend recipients, along with the knowledge that their gift has helped make legal assistance available to a population or cause that otherwise would not be able to afford it. We could not do our work without our fantastic donors!

I attended one of your auctions or made a donation, and something bad happened that made me not want to attend/donate again.

We’re so sorry that you had a bad experience with PILP! Please know that this is not the experience of the typical PILP donor/auction attendee. As a volunteer student organization, PILP is run efficiently (and saves a lot of money), but every once in a while a detail falls through the cracks. We would love to hear about your experiences with PILP, good and bad, so we can learn and grow from them. Please, please email us at auction@lclark.edu, and let us know how we can improve upon your experiences and help remedy any problems.

I attended one of your auctions/made a donation, and I absolutely loved it. I love PILP!

Thank you! We love you too.

This is the typical response to the PILP auction. People love it! We have longtime supporters around the globe—law professors, alumni, public interest lawyers, and more—and it is our goal to keep them happy with what we do, as well as expand our support base to reach new public interest law fans. If we can ever make any improvements, or if you’d like to be added to our database for save-the-date mailings, please email us at auction@lclark.edu.

Is Lewis & Clark Law School really good at public interest law or something?

Absolutely! Lewis & Clark Law School graduates pursue public interest and public service positions at a rate far exceeding the national average for law schools. PILP is pleased to help Lewis & Clark maintain its position among leading public interest law schools and proud of all our talented scholars who reach out to the community through pro bono and volunteer hours.