Programs: Understanding our Community Better

The Career Planning and Professionalism Office and the Toll Public Interest Center collaborate on a variety of public service activities, panels, and workshops that are intended to increase our students' understanding and appreciation of public interest law and the issues that this field faces.

Below are several examples of Penn Law public interest events and programs:

• Public Interest Week – a full week of events showcasing public interest scholars, practitioners, alumni, and the Honorary Fellow-in-Residence. Events include lectures on topical matters relating to public interest law, panels relating to careers in public interest and public service, networking opportunities, community service projects, and social events. View pdf.
• Pro Bono Fair - an annual event, sponsored by the Toll Public Interest Center, provides law students with the opportunity to learn about local and national legal opportunities with legal organizations.
• Public Interest Speaker Series - a series of presentations by nationally renowned public interest lawyers on a broad range of topics including death penalty practice, international human rights, civil rights litigation, and environmental law.
• Graduate Mentors in Residence - Penn Law graduates offer individualized counseling to law students on pro bono work and public interest careers.
• Annual Public Service Recognition Event - The Toll Public Interest Center and the Career Planning and Professionalism Office honor Penn Law students who have made outstanding contributions to public interest and public service.
• Edward V. Sparer Symposium - sponsored by the Toll Public Interest Center, Public Governance Group, the Toll Public Interest Scholars Program, the Alliance for Justice and the National Lawyers Guild. The Edward V. Sparer Symposium is one of the most prominent public symposia in the country.
• Equal Justice Foundation (EJF) Auction - an annual auction -- run by Penn Law students with the assistance of the Toll Public Interest Center and many other offices at Penn Law -- that raises money to fund summer Public Interest Fellowships.
• University Collaboration - The Toll Public Interest Center sponsors a wide range of public service events in collaboration with the broader university. For example, the Center has co-sponsored a Speakers Series with Civic House, symposia with the School of Social Policy & Practice, and service learning projects with the Graduate School of Education.
• The Public Interest Film Series provides a unique opportunity for Penn Law students to discuss contemporary films within the context of their pro bono work.

Edward V. Sparer Symposium: Overview

In 1984, Penn Law organized the Sparer Symposium to commemorate the life and work of the late Edward V. Sparer who was a Professor of Law and Social Policy at the Law School. Sparer's work combined a passionate concern about the poor with intellectual rigor and a profound conviction that the problems of poverty are solvable. In 1983 he founded Mobilization for Youth Services, the first neighborhood legal services program and then the Columbia Center on Social Welfare and Policy and Law, the first national support center for legal services. Each year, the Symposium brings together legal academics and practitioners to provide insight into the dynamic relationship between scholarship and practice in the area of poverty law, merging theory and practice.

2009 EDWARD V. SPARER SYMPOSIUM

For more information on past programs, please click here.