LPS Fellows at Alternative Spring Break

While PILA's Alternative Spring Break program was cut short for many due to COVID-19, our fellows still managed to have valuable experiences volunteering their time with participating organizations. Two of our fellows share their experiences. Caroline Elwig: One of the first things I did after arriving at the ACLU Capital Punishment Project in Durham, NC…

Child Advocacy in Action

I love law school, but at times it’s easy to feel isolated from the real world amid all of the studying. By the time March of my first year rolled around, more hands-on experience was exactly what I needed so I participated in Alternative Spring Break this year at the Council for Children’s Rights in…

Do UVA Law’s Alternative Spring Break, Just Not for the Reason I Did

I will admit it. I was not excited for UVA Law’s Alternative Spring Break (ASB). I had signed up for less than altruistic reasons. Namely, I had registered because it seemed like an efficient way to knock out the forty hours of pro bono needed to receive a Public Interest Law Association grant for the…

A Week at Public Defender Service in DC

I came into law school completely certain that I was going to be a public service lawyer. I had absolutely zero exposure or experience to public service lawyering, however. Though I had a large collection of community service hours, mostly centered around working with kids in impoverished, inner city communities (my motivation for attending law…

From “Serial” to Law School: A 1L’s Exploration of Innocence Work at UVA

One of my first introductions to UVA Law was in Fall 2014. I had gotten hooked on the popular podcast "Serial" during my commute to work. On episode seven, the Virginia Innocence Project Clinic at UVA Law partnered with the host, Sarah Koenig, to work on Adnan Syed's case. By the seventh episode I was…