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Pepperdine | Community

Advocates for Public Interest Law (APIL)

Pepperdine University campus seen from the Malibu lagoon

 

Contact

 

Faculty Advisor 

Purpose

APIL shall strive to enable and encourage student commitment to public interest and pro bono work, thereby seeking equal access to justice for traditionally underrepresented individuals.

APIL shall endeavor to:

  • Provide Pepperdine students with opportunities for community service and public interest volunteerism;
  • Work to provide funding for students who wish to pursue careers in public interest law;
  • Educate students with regard to the different career opportunities and different areas of public interest law and its importance in the legal field; and
  • Encourage students to commit to careers in public interest work or to make pro bono work a part of their careers.

Projects

Annual APIL Auction

This year APIL will be hosting its 15th Annual APIL Auction. The Annual Auction raises funds to support Pepperdine students participating in summer public interest internships.  The auction, held in the spring semester, consists of a live bidding auction in Pepperdine’s atrium as well as a silent auction at the Law School Dinner.  In order to be eligible for APIL funds raised from the auction, students must be APIL members and must help with the auction planning. 

Homeless Youth Rights Literacy Workshops

We partner with Public Counsel - the world’s largest public interest law firm - to provide arrest rights educational workshops for homeless youths in the Hollywood Business Improvement District. These youths are often victims of childhood abuse as part of the foster care system, and then they are harassed and arrested with excessive force by private security officers, in some instances resulting in serious injury. We provide these workshops to protect the youths from false arrest and to teach them how to seek legal redress when a false arrest has occurred. 

  • Teach youths about an exciting area of law– public and private arrest rights (Con Law & Torts)
  • You can do this even if you are a 1L! Undergraduates did it this past summer…
  • Conduct intake interviews after the workshops to help youths seek legal representation
  • Develop relationships with homeless youths, a needy and oppressed population that needs your help!