Public Interest Grants 2022-23

In 2022, the CUNY Law Foundation provided over 80 grants totaling over $385,000 to students to advance their professional experience through intern positions and legal projects. In 2023, Public Interest Summer Grants will be $5,000 and will provide students with a living wage during an eight-week internship.

The program fulfills a dual purpose.

Students will explore career pathways, developing professional networks that open job opportunities. Passions and dreams are fortified. The reasons for attending law school are reinforced. For first-generation and BIPOC law students, the importance of a public interest internship is immeasurable.

Students fill an acute need for public service lawyers. This is especially true across New York City and State. Everyday, people who cannot afford to hire a lawyer appear in court without legal representation – even when the law obligates the State to provide them with a lawyer. These individuals face criminal charges, deportation, suspension of parental rights, eviction, and foreclosure – matters that have a direct dire effect upon the stability of families and communities.