Supporting Students with a Passion for Public Interest  

Karen Kielczewski ’09, and Justin Jose R.S. Lim ’06, like many other students, made the decision to attend Seton Hall Law because they wanted to pursue a career in public interest law. Both possessed a passion for assisting the most vulnerable members of society and knew that Seton Hall Law would help get them there.

As part of the Seton Hall Law Rising Campaign, the Law School is seeking to expand its Summer Public Interest Law Fellowship program. The fellowships support students who wish to pursue careers in public interest law while also exposing law students with other career interests to this important area of the law.

Between 20 and 35 students annually receive fellowships to take part in unpaid summer public interest opportunities. Such opportunities allow Seton Hall Law students to impact the lives of others while acquiring the skills needed to compete in the search for post-graduate employment.

Support for the fellowships currently comes from the annual Public Interest Auction and federal work-study funds, whose funding varies annually and is never guaranteed. To ensure that Seton Hall Law can continue to attract talented students with a heart for public interest, the Law School is seeking to establish a secure base of support for these summer fellowships.

“I’m grateful that I have had opportunities in my life to do service work. That’s what I’m passionate about,” says Kielczewski, who received a fellowship to work at Volunteer Lawyers for Justice while a student at Seton Hall Law.

Lim, who received a fellowship to work with the HIV Project in Newark, explains that without that support it would have been difficult for him to participate in a public interest internship. “Without such support,” he notes, “many students also would be unable to explore this area of the law.”

Today, Kielczewski is an attorney with Newark Reentry Legal Services (ReLeSe), which helps ex-offenders with reentry into the community. Lim is an attorney with the New York Legal Aid Society where he assists clients attempting to remain in their apartments.

To learn how you can support public interest opportunities at Seton Hall Law, please contact Andrea DeChellis, Development Officer, at 973-642-8092, or Andrea.DeChellis@shu.edu. Also, learn more about the online golf auctions taking place this month to raise funds for the public interest fellowship program.

Organizations Where Seton Hall Law Students Are Making an Impact

Seton Hall Law students awarded Summer Public Interest Law Fellowships work at a wide array of organizations committed to helping others. Following are some of the organizations that have benefited in recent years from the work of Seton Hall Law students.

1. American Friends Service Committee
2. Amnesty International
3. Catholic Charities
4. Community Health Law Project
5. Eastern Environmental Law Center
6. Education Law Center
7. Federal Public Defenders NJ
8. Human Rights First
9. Legal Aid Society New York
10. Legal Services of New Jersey
11. Newark Law Department
12. Newark Reentry Legal Services
13. NJ Department of the Public Advocate
14. NJ Law Education and Empowerment Project (NJLEEP)
15. NY Legal Assistance Group Domestic Violence Clinical Center
16. NYS Division of Human Rights
17. Pace Women’s Justice Center
18. Partners for Women and Justice
19. Seton Hall Law School Center for Social Justice
20. South Brooklyn Legal Services
21. Urban Justice Center
22. Volunteer Lawyers for Justice