Emory Law School's EPIC Program Raises Record $40,000 For Public Interest Law Summer Grants

The Emory Public Interest Committee (EPIC), a student organization at Emory University School of Law, has raised a record $40,000 from its annual Inspiration Awards ceremony, which will fund summer grants in public interest law for 12 Emory students.

"We are so pleased by the level of support from our donors this year, the majority of whom are law firms," says Beth Reimels, a second-year student and EPIC co-president. "Without their contributions, this event wouldn't be the success it is."

Founded by Emory law students in 1988, EPIC promotes public awareness and an increased commitment of lawyers and law students to the practice of public interest law. Each year the group raises money to fund law students who wish to pursue summer positions in public interest law, but may not be able to support themselves working for organizations that offer little or no pay.

For the past four years, EPIC's most successful fundraising effort has been its annual Inspiration Awards reception and ceremony, which was held in February this year. Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker presented awards to: Robert S. Bomar, deputy attorney general of the State of Georgia, who received the "Lifetime Commitment to Public Service" award; Mary Margaret Oliver, attorney in private practice and former state senator and representative, honored for "Outstanding Leadership in the Public Interest"; and Douglas B. Ammar, executive director of the Georgia Justice Project, for his "Unsung Devotion to Those Most in Need."

EPIC summer grant recipients, their employers and sponsors include: Jessica Boar, Kids in Need of Dreams/Truancy Intervention Project, Atlanta (Hunton & Williams grant recipient); Erin Englebrecht, Trustees for Alaska, Anchorage; Andrew Harris, Leonard Weinglass, Esq./public interest capital defense attorney, New York; Jill Hollander, DeKalb County District Attorney's Office/Crimes Against Children Unit, Decatur, Ga.; Marcus Keegan, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission/ADR Unit, Atlanta (King & Spalding grant recipient); Matthew McArthur, American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia, Atlanta; Kavita Patel, Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, Atlanta (Lynn and Jack Stahl grant recipient); David Paul, U.S. Attorney's Office/Criminal Division, Atlanta (Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue grant recipient); Christian Ricciardiello, Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund, Denver; Matthew Skolnik, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission/ADR Unit, Atlanta; Shalini Somayaji, Raksha, Atlanta (Robert Black Atwood grant recipient); and Chad Wilson, Turner Environmental Law Clinic, Atlanta.

Grant recipients are selected on a competitive basis. In past years, students have done everything from counseling refugees to dealing with housing discrimination and juvenile delinquency, thanks to support from EPIC. For more information on EPIC contact Sue McAvoy at 404-727-5503, smcavoy@law.emory.edu, or visit the group's website at www.law.emory.edu/LAW/ORGS/EPIC/epic5html.