Get Going: PILF’s Annual Auction

Funds benefit public interest scholarships for Summer 2010

- By Maria Iacobo

Working in South Africa at the Legal Resources Centre last summer, allowed Shannon Raj ’11 to assist the organization’s representation of the nearly 5,000 informal traders displaced by the City of Durban in an attempt to make the city more tourist-friendly.

Parfait Mwez ’10 worked for the New Orleans City Attorney’s Office last summer, assisting the federal and police litigation unit try the cases of police officers who abandoned their posts during Hurricane Katrina.

These USC Law students – and 25 others – were able to dedicate last summer to work in the public interest sector because of scholarships provided by USC Law’s Public Interest Law Foundation (PILF). 

How does PILF raise these funds?

The annual PILF Auction is the organization’s premiere event allowing the greater Los Angeles community to socialize at a fun gala event and contribute money to a great cause:  advancing the educational interests of students while fostering an ethic of public service. 

“Students engage in efforts that promote social justice, equal access to the law and the empowerment of marginalized or underrepresented communities,” says PILF President Alison Gomer ’11.

This year’s theme is “Gatsby Gives Back” and will be held at Union Station on Saturday, February 27 from 6:30 – 9:00 p.m.  Listed in the National Register for Historic Places, the station’s grand mission and colonial revival architecture is a beautiful location to hold PILF’s 20th auction.

Tickets are $30; $20 for students, in advance; and $25 at the door.  Ticket prices include two drinks and unlimited hors d’oeuvres.

All proceeds from the event will fund summer grants for law students working in public interest opportunities this summer.  For inquiries about making a donation or buying a ticket, visit:  http://law.usc.edu/pilfauction.