Hofstra Law Students Selected for Summer Public Interest Programs

Hofstra Law School, Hempstead, N.Y. — Three Hofstra Law students will spend the summer working at public interest organizations as a part of Equal Justice Works Summer Corps program. Summer Corps participants provide critically needed legal assistance to low-income and underserved communities in the U.S. on a broad range of issue areas.

Douglas Arnett ’11 of Westbury, New York will intern with The Innocence Project in New Orleans, Louisiana.  Shana Barone ’10 of New York, New York will work with the Center for Family Representation in Manhattan. Mary Ann Harvey ’10 of Lincoln, Nebraska will intern with the Nebraska Appleseed Center for Law in the Public Interest.

“It is a great honor to be a part of EJW Summer Corps Program.  We are very proud of our students and their demonstrated commitment to serving the public interest," said Amy E. Bedell, Hofstra Law’s Director of Public Sector Career Planning.

The EJW Summer Corps program engages law students around the country who are expanding the delivery of legal services to those who need it most.  Summer Corps is an AmeriCorps-funded program that in 2009 will provide 355 law students with the opportunity to earn a $1,000 education award voucher for dedicating their summer to a qualifying legal project at a nonprofit public interest organization.

In 2008, 333 Summer Corps members performed over 120,434 service hours at 234 nonprofit public interest organizations across the country.  The 2008 Summer Corps members assisted 42,237 individuals and families in need of legal assistance directly and though clinics, presentations and outreach.

Hofstra Law was named one of the country’s best public interest law schools by preLaw magazine, a national publication aimed at prospective law students.  Among the 75 law schools that made the list, Hofstra ranked 11th.