Harvard Law School Public Interest Auction
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The Harvard Law School Public Interest Auction began in 1994 as a student-run fundraising event to support Harvard Law students working in full-time public interest positions during the summer. Since then, it has raised over $800,000 for students involved in public interest work. The donations received allow the school to provide stipends for students working in areas ranging from civil rights and child advocacy to securities regulation and antitrust law. The Auction helps all students interested in working in the public sector. Funds raised are distributed equally to eligible first- and second-year law students. In order to receive funding, a student must be working for a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization or a government entity. Every student who receives funding for the summer is required to contribute at least six hours of their time to help prepare for the Auction.
In 2005 alone, the Auction raised over $155,000 for students. Financial support from the Auction made volunteer summer work (in over 30 states and overseas) a viable option for students who otherwise could not have accepted these positions. Students worked for non-profit organizations, direct legal service providers, and government agencies to assist underrepresented clients and communities and to work on issues of social importance.
Each year, the Auction has a theme. Past themes include "Alice in Auctionland" (2004), "Auction 007" (2007), "Caution Auction!" (2009), and "Bright Lights, Bid City!" (2009). Solicitor General and former HLS Dean Elena Kagan was one of the auctioneers for several years, along with HLS Professor Jonathan Zittrain. In 2009, when Elena Kagan had to step out of her role as auctioneer to help out HLS Alum President Barack Obama in Washington, D.C., Elizabeth Warren graciously took her place.
Some more notable items for auction have included stays at vacation homes around the world, a copy of the Constitution signed by Supreme Court Justice Scalia, Red Sox tickets, the "Old Langdell - Toby Stock" brick, and home-cooked dinners and outings hosted by HLS professors. One popular item is the "Day of Service from the President of the Harvard Law Review," because, as the tagline goes, "you may never make it on the Law Review - but at least you can say the President of the Law Review did your laundry!"
