By Staff Reports
(Oahu)– A 30-year-old law student organization at the William S. Richardson School of Law, Advocates for Public Interest Law (APIL), is sponsoring a fundraising gala from 5:30 to 9 p.m. on Friday, March 13, at the Laniakea YWCA at 1040 Richards Street. Tickets are $20 for students and $30 for members of the community at large.
All proceeds will help provide summer grants for Law School students doing pro bono (free) work for non-profit public interest law firms and agencies assisting underserved people throughout the state.
Since its founding in 1985, APIL has awarded 143 summer grants to law students doing free legal work in the community. These students have provided over 41,000 free hours of legal work to 30 organizations offering support to a wide variety of people in need, including immigrants, homeless individuals, and victims of elder abuse, domestic violence and sex trafficking.
2014 APIL Fundraising Gala
APIL President Bryan Chee ’16 said the organization remains dedicated to this important work in Hawai‘i. “APIL continues the public interest legacy of the Class of 1985,” said Chee. “This year has been a great success for APIL, and we are proud of the work our grantees will do this summer.”
Added Dean Avi Soifer, “The gala is a great deal of fun, but it also raises some serious funding to enable law students to give back by doing the kind of work that they so much want to do — helping the most vulnerable among us.”
Kelcie Nagata ’16, a gala coordinator, noted that 2015 is especially memorable because it is the 30th anniversary of the founding of APIL.
“The Class of 1985 envisioned a vehicle by which students interested in public interest work could gain experience in an essential area of law,” said Nagata. “The work and dedication of our students, community boards, organization members, and grantees exemplifies why APIL is one of the largest, most notable student organizations at Richardson.”
Tickets for the Gala include pupu, drinks, entertainment, and both a live and silent auction. Auction items include several special events offered by Law School deans and faculty, including dinner packages, as well as many other items such as jade jewelry, artworks, a golf package and Red Sox tickets.
Tickets are available at http://apilatuh.ticketleap.com/apilgala/ or from a Board member with no processing fee. Tickets also will be available at the door on a walk-in basis.