The mission of Equal Justice Works is to create a just society by mobilizing the next generation of lawyers committed to equal justice.

We provide leadership to ensure a sustainable pipeline of talented and trained lawyers involved in public service. Equal Justice Works provides a continuum of programs that begin with incoming law school students and extend into later careers in the profession. We provide the nation’s leading public interest law fellowship program and offer more postgraduate, full-time legal positions in public service than any other organization.

For more than 20 years, Equal Justice Works has collaborated with the nation’s leading law schools, law firms, corporate legal departments and nonprofit organizations to provide the training and skills that enable attorneys to provide effective representation to vulnerable populations. We:

• Help law schools establish and strengthen public interest programs;
• Provide public service work experience, professional development and training for students and lawyers; and
• Build strong support in the legal profession for public service through pro bono work and financial support.

HISTORY

1986

• Law students from 14 law schools form a national association to expand legal services to under-represented people and increase opportunities for law students and graduates to work in the field of public interest.
• Equal Justice Works, then known as the National Association for Public Interest Law (NAPIL), is born, co-located with US PIRG at 215 Pennsylvania Avenue SE.
• Michael Caudell-Feagan becomes the first executive director and only employee.
• Organizational budget, $31,000.

1987

• Because educational debt presents a barrier to the pursuit of low-paying public interest careers, NAPIL advocates that law schools establish Loan Repayment Assistance Programs (LRAPs) to help graduates overcome this obstacle to public interest employment. NAPIL publishes its first report on LRAPs. Only three law schools have LRAPs.
• Student member groups at 29 law schools.
• Organizational budget: $46,000.

1988

• The Public Service Challenge, a fundraising campaign asking law firms to support summer public interest internships for law students, raises $100,000 in its first year. Proceeds are passed on to law student member groups.
• First career Fair held with conference; 475 students from 70 law schools attend.
• NAPIL has two full-time employees; offices co-located with National Association for Law Placement at 1666 Connecticut Avenue NW.
• Student member groups at 45 law schools.
• Organizational budget: $103,000.

1989

• NAPIL’s first National Awards Banquet, held at a Chinese restaurant, honors outstanding law student achievements in public interest law.
• Conference and career fair attended by 800 law students, 150 public interest employers.

1990

• Awards Banquet becomes a fundraising event, raises $3,300.
• NAPIL moves to 1118 22nd Street NW.

1991

• Kathleen Welch becomes executive director.
• Two cy pres awards, totaling $3.2 million, provide an endowment to launch the NAPIL postgraduate fellowship program, called NAPIL Fellowships for Equal Justice.
• Loan Repayment Assistance Report is published: 34 law schools have LRAPs.
• Organizational budget: $205,490.

1992

• David Stern becomes fellowship director of NAPIL.
• NAPIL has six employees.

1993

• NAPIL Fellowships inaugurated. First fellowship class begins with seven fellows.
• 1,000 students from 140 schools attend the career fair; 600 attend the conference.

1994

• NAPIL receives funding to begin another postgraduate program, the first national legal initiative supported by AmeriCorps; 49 legal advocates work full-time providing direct legal services to low-income people.
• There are now 14 fellows in the field in NAPIL’s fellowship program.
• Crowell & Moring becomes the first law firm to fund a NAPIL Fellowship.
• NAPIL has 127 member groups.

1995

• David Stern becomes executive director of NAPIL.
• Awards dinner raises $20,000.
• NAPIL launches Legal Services Corporation (LSC)-funded summer internship program for 50 law students to work at rural legal services organizations, providing direct legal services.

1996

• When LSC is cut, NAPIL launches a new summer internship program for law students to spend the summer engaged in capacity-building activities at legal services organizations; 57 law students participate.

1997

• NAPIL has nine employees.
• Organizational budget: $2 million.

1998

• Open Society Institute (OSI) awards NAPIL a multi-year, multi-million dollar challenge grant for fellowships, growing the program from 14 to 72 fellows in one year, making it the largest postgraduate legal fellowship program in the nation.
• 60 law students participate in NAPIL’s capacity-building summer internship inaugurated in 1997. An additional 82 law students participate in the Summer Corps, a new NAPIL summer program in which law students work full time at legal service offices providing direct legal services to low-income people.
• NAPIL office moves to 2120 L Street NW.

1999

• With 70 new fellowships awarded in the class of 1999, there are now 142 NAPIL Fellows in the field.
• Hillary Clinton is honored at the Awards Dinner, which raises $300,000.

2000

• A new report on LRAPs and public interest scholarship programs is published. 52 law schools have LRAPs.
• NAPIL has 27 employees.

2001

• Board votes to change NAPIL’s name to Equal Justice Works.

2002

• Report released documenting the impact of law school debt on career choice and how it prevents law graduates from pursuing public service positions.
• Membership structure changed from student groups to law schools. 178 law schools enrolled.

2003

• Equal Justice Works redesigns its AmeriCorps program and receives a three- year funding commitment from the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS).
• Awards dinner raises $734,000.

2004

• 81 law schools have LRAPs.
• Organizational budget: $8 million.

2005

• Equal Justice Works launches Katrina Initiative, raising $2 million and sending 19 lawyers to Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Texas.
• Summer Corps expanded to 250 students.

2006

• Equal Justice Works and Newsweek.com launch The E-Guide to Public Service at America’s Law Schools with 116 law schools participating.
• 194 law school members.
• 143 Equal Justice Works Lawyers working full-time across the country.
• 315 law students participate in the Equal Justice Works Summer Corps.
• 106 law schools have LRAPs.
• Organizational budget: $9.5 million.

2007

• 195 law school members
• 171 Equal Justice Work Fellows and AmeriCorps Legal Fellows working across America
• A record class for Summer Corps: 350 law students
• Nearly 1,000 students, 110 law school professionals and 160 employers attend the 2007 Conference and Career Fair
• A milestone in our work to reduce the debt barrier to public service with the approval of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act
• Participation in the second edition of The E-Guide to Public Service at America’s Law Schools jumps to 153 schools
• Organizational budget reaches 9.8 million

2008

• A record 198 law school members
• 173 Equal Justice Work Fellows and AmeriCorps Legal Fellows working across America
• More than 700 applicants for 350 Summer Corps slots
• Conference and Career Fair attracts 1,300 law students from around the country to meet with 157 employers offering over 2,000 full- and part-time opportunities
• The Katrina Initiative officially concludes in May; several Fellows continue their vital projects with their local organizations
• We launch a national outreach effort to educate law schools and students on the impact of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act that takes effect in July
• We honor the nearly 900 program Alumni at our Annual Awards Dinner with a video tribute tracing the career trajectories of three former Fellows: Ripples of Hope, Currents of Justice
• First office outside of Washington, DC, Equal Justice Works/West , opens in Oakland, California