Public Interest Center

Public Interest Center

Northwestern Pritzker School of Law is a leader in preparing students for public interest careers and pro bono work that promotes advancement of social justice. The Public Interest Center provides strategic leadership of key public interest activities on campus and cultivates a strong public interest culture – one that encourages all students to develop a public service ethic.

Our staff is here to advise, support, and foster strong commitments to public interest and help shape the next generation of public interest attorneys and leaders. The Center provides financial support for students doing public interest work during and after law school; career programming and counseling; a wide range of pro bono and public service opportunities; and passionate student organization participation and leadership. The Center staff also works closely with faculty involved in the law school’s many public interest course offerings, including those in the Bluhm Legal Clinic and, the Law and Social Policy concentration. This collaboration helps ensure that students learn a public interest ethic inside and outside the classroom.

Recent Updates

Congratulations to Wafa Junaid (JD '22) and Eliza Quander (JD '22) who both received prestigious Skadden Foundation Fellowships!

Wafa will provide direct representation, impact litigation, public education, and policy advocacy to challenge Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (“ICE”) Intensive Supervision Appearance Program a highly invasive monitoring program used to expand ICE's surveillance and control of immigrant communities.

Eliza will provide direct representation and community education for students who have dropped out of school or are at risk of dropping out, in school discipline, special education, and enrollment disputes to enforce their educational rights.

Read more about the Skadden Fellows and their projects.


Congratulations to Northwestern Law’s Student Chapter of International Refugee Assistance Project! 

Last fall, a group of Northwestern Law students involved in the school's chapter of the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) helped a Ukrainian family of four, who arrived in the United States as refugees, apply to become lawful permanent residents of the United States. The students involved in this project included JD students (including a number of 1Ls), as well as International Human Rights LLMs. Under the supervision of IRAP attorneys, the students met biweekly with the family. The student team assisted the family with gathering information and documents needed for their case. For some students, this work deepened their commitment to work as immigration/human rights attorneys, and for others, it provided a first window into public interest legal work. All students involved dedicated significant time and attention to this project, and their work was recognized at IRAP's Pro Bono Appreciation Week in April.