John and Terry Levin Center for Public Service and Public Interest Law

Overview

The John and Terry Levin Center for Public Service and Public Interest Law at Stanford Law School provides a rich resource for students who are interested in exploring or already committed to advancing the public good and achieving social justice through the law.

Stanford Law School offers an array of classes and clinics that provide students with a solid foundation of theoretical knowledge and practical skills to support the pursuit of careers in public interest. It also supports students pursuing careers in the public interest and public sector, through its pro bono program, externships, mentorships, career services, speaker series, and opportunities for financial assistance.

The Center houses public service and career services programs, and coordinates events ranging from skills training to public interest symposia to career panels. It also oversees a variety of public interest funding programs that tangibly support public interest and public sector students and alumni.

The groundwork provided through classes and clinics, and the opportunities created by the Center enable our graduates to achieve the careers and advance the causes that first inspired them to earn a law degree.

Programs

Public Interest Program

Pro Bono Program

Career Development Program

Public Interest Mentoring Program

Externship Program

National Public Service and Miles L. Rubin Public Interest Awards

Student Organizations and Activities

Each year, a number of conferences are held at the Law School. In the fall, the student-run Shaking the Foundations: The West Coast Conference on Progressive Lawyering is held at Stanford. The conference brings together law students, practitioners, and academics from around the country who share a commitment to use the law for positive, progressive social change. Through panels, workshops and speakers, it is designed to provide a forum for advocates and law students to discuss innovative strategies and solutions to the world's most pressing social justice issues.

Student Organizations

Among the many Stanford student organizations, the following organizations are generally regarded as invaluable resources for public interest law students.

Public Interest Law Students Association

The Public Interest Law Students Association is a group of Stanford Law Students engaged in improving public interest opportunities and promoting a culture of public service work at Stanford Law School. PILSA works to bring students together to share information, experiences and ideas about pursuing study and work in public interest law.

PILSA also works to increase communication between public interest students and the faculty and administration, and throughout the year PILSA members advocate public interest issues in meetings with the faculty and administration.

Shaking the Foundations

Shaking the Foundations is an annual student-organized conference convened at Stanford that brings together law students, practitioners, and academics from around the country who share a commitment to use the law for positive social change. Through panels, workshops, and speakers, the conference provides a forum for advocates and law students to discuss innovative strategies and solutions to the world's most pressing social justice issues.

Stanford Public Interest Law Foundation

Founded in 1978, the Stanford Public Interest Law Foundation (SPILF) is a non-profit organization of Stanford law students and alumni/ae. SPILF was formed to fund public interest law projects providing services to groups that traditionally have not had adequate access to legal representation. SPILF hosts an annual student-organized auction to raise funds to support Stanford law students doing public interest summer law internships and to provide direct grants to legal public interest projects.

StreetLaw

Street Law's mission is to empower Bay Area incarcerated and at-risk youth by teaching classes about the law, focusing on criminal procedure and a juvenile's legal rights.

Street Law participants volunteer their time to team-teach youth once a week for 10 weeks.

Other Student Groups

Many other student organizations engage in activities to support public interest at the law school.

American Constitution Society sponsors events and workshops that highlight legal and social issues from a liberal perspective.
Asian Pacific Islander Law Students Association, in conjunction with several local organizations, assists with intake on immigration cases.
Black Law Student Association frequently brings speakers to the law school to address issues related to race and to the practice of law for minority attorneys. It also hosts an annual conference to celebrate African American History Month.
The Environmental Law Society sponsors film events, speakers and panels that address current environmental issues.
The Federalist Society hosts events and speakers that bring a libertarian and conservative perspective to contemporary social policy issues.
OUTLAW sponsors programs that promote the equality of the LGBT community within the law school and beyond.
Women of Stanford Law operates a pro bono program that provides support to survivors of domestic violence. Numerous additional student groups and law journals regularly sponsor conferences and other events that highlight issues of importance to public interest.

News & Announcements

Stanford Center On The Legal Profession - Now Open
January 30, 2009 National Post
Related: Deborah L. Rhode, Larry Kramer, Arthur and Toni Rembe Rock Center for Corporate Governance, John and Terry Levin Center for Public Service and Public Interest Law, Stanford Center on the Legal Profession
Leading Legal Educators Call For A Shakeup In How the Law Is Taught
December 20, 2007 The Chronicle Of Higher Education
Related: Lawrence C. Marshall, John and Terry Levin Center for Public Service and Public Interest Law
Rent Increases Hit East Palo Alto Tenants Hard; Property Owner Delays Rent Hikes To Feb. 1 To Comply With State Law
December 13, 2007 Palo Alto Online
Related: Jeanne Merino, John and Terry Levin Center for Public Service and Public Interest Law, Legal Research and Writing
Educating Needy Children Is His goal
November 01, 2007 California Bar Journal
Related: William Koski, John and Terry Levin Center for Public Service and Public Interest Law, Youth and Education Law Project
An Old Warhorse, Still Trying to Make a Difference
August 13, 2007 Washington Post
Related: John and Terry Levin Center for Public Service and Public Interest Law, Office of Financial Aid
Beyond the Big Firm
June 10, 2007 91.7 FM KALW (NPR - San Francisco)
Related: John and Terry Levin Center for Public Service and Public Interest Law
Susan Feathers Named Head Of Stanford Public Interest Law Center
May 30, 2007 Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal
Related: John and Terry Levin Center for Public Service and Public Interest Law
Susan Feathers Named Head of Stanford Public Interest Law Center
May 30, 2007 MSN Money
Related: John and Terry Levin Center for Public Service and Public Interest Law
UPenn Law Dean To Head Public Service Center
May 30, 2007 Stanford Daily
Related: Larry Kramer, John and Terry Levin Center for Public Service and Public Interest Law
Stanford Gets $3.75M Hand With Public Interest Law
March 19, 2007 The Recorder
Related: Lawrence C. Marshall, John and Terry Levin Center for Public Service and Public Interest Law
Stanford To Form Public Interest Law Center
March 15, 2007 Palo Alto Online
Related: Larry Kramer, John and Terry Levin Center for Public Service and Public Interest Law
$3.75M Pledge Funds Stanford Public Interest Law Center
March 14, 2007 Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal
Related: Larry Kramer, Lawrence C. Marshall, John and Terry Levin Center for Public Service and Public Interest Law
Stanford: Law School Receives $3.75 Million For Public Interest Center
March 14, 2007 CBS5 - KPIX TV
Related: Larry Kramer, John and Terry Levin Center for Public Service and Public Interest Law
Pro Bono Honors For Lawyers Dedicated To Helping Needy
November 10, 2006 California Bar Journal
Related: John and Terry Levin Center for Public Service and Public Interest Law
Publicly Interested: Anthony Romero, the Openly Gay ACLU Leader, Realizes His Lifelong Devotion to Standing up for People
December 05, 2003 San Francisco Daily Journal.
Related: John and Terry Levin Center for Public Service and Public Interest Law
ACLU Chief Wins New Law School Award
November 19, 2003 Stanford Report
Related: John and Terry Levin Center for Public Service and Public Interest Law

Program Contacts

Diane Chin: Executive Director; dchin@law.stanford.edu

Anna Wang: Deputy Director; annawang@law.stanford.edu; 650 723.2519; Anna Wang is the Deputy Director of the John and Terry Levin Center for Public Service and Public Interest Law. She directs four of the Center's five programs, which support law students interested in pursuing public interest careers through mentoring, financial support, co-curricular programs, and career counseling. Wang also oversees general operations and advises law students and alumni on public interest career strategies. She joined Stanford in 2004 after three years as the first Executive Director of Vision New America, a nonprofit civic leadership development organization in Silicon Valley. In addition to guiding the organization's development, she instituted new voter outreach efforts, launched leadership training programs, and developed a highly successful public policy internship program targeting high school and college students. Wang received her BA with honors from UCLA and a JD from UC Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall) in 2001. She is a member of the California Bar.

Danielle Cover: Pro Bono Coordinator; dcover@law.stanford.edu; 650 725.7909; As the Center's Pro Bono Coordinator, Danielle Cover provides training and support to student-run pro bono projects; assists in the cultivation of new pro bono partnerships; and develops programs to promote a culture of service at the law school and in the larger legal community. Danielle joins the Levin Center with nine years of public interest legal practice experience including work as a staff attorney for the House of Ruth Domestic Violence Legal Clinic, a senior staff attorney for YWCA Legal Services, and as an associate at Weinberg and Schwartz. Most recently, she served as the Justice in Divorce Project Director for the Women’s Law Center of Maryland. As the Project Director, Danielle trained, supervised, and mobilized statewide family law attorneys, private bar attorneys, and law students to work on various pro bono matters. Cover, a 1997 graduate of Tulane Law School, has also served as an adjunct professor for the Community College of Baltimore County’s Department of Women’s Studies and a participant in the Maryland Association of Non-Profits.

Joe W. "Chip" Pitts III: Lecturer; chip.pitts@att.net; Chip Pitts has taught courses on ethical globalization, corporate social responsibility and sustainable development, and international business and human rights at Stanford Law School, Oxford University, and elsewhere. Formerly an adjunct then full-time professor at Southern Methodist University Law School in Dallas, he has also been a partner at the global law firm Baker & McKenzie, then Chief Legal Officer of Nokia, Inc., and an investor, founding executive, and consultant to various start-up businesses in Austin, Texas and Silicon Valley.