by Joe Wilhelm Jr.
Staff Writer
The Greater Jacksonville Fair wasn’t the only place to find an auctioneer last week.
A rapid-fire succession of words was heard in the atrium at the Florida Coastal School of Law Thursday and those words were used to raise money for the Coastal Association of Public Interest Law (CAPIL) scholarship fund. The association held live and silent auctions to start its new scholarship fund.
“It’s hard for students that have student loans to pay back to work in public interest law right out of school,” said Lynne Davis, CAPIL vice president. “We wanted to be able to offer students assistance because they aren’t going to make a lot of money if they get involved in public interest law.”
Public interest law includes immigration, family law (divorces and custody issues), foreclosures and consumer law. CAPIL’s mission is to “educate, prepare, encourage, and inspire future lawyers that will recognize inequities that exist in our legal system and dedicate their professional lives to the development of a more just society.”
Missy Davenport, the association’s president, hoped that the scholarship fund would help students who may have to decide on a job because of their financial responsibilities.
“We hope that it helps students do what they are passionate about,” said Davenport. “This event really exceeded our expectations.”
The early estimate from the auction was that around $5,000 was raised for the scholarship fund.
There was a wide range of live and silent auctions items including a “Dawn Patrol” surfing session at Jacksonville Beach with FCSL Assistant Professor David Pimentel. The surf time went for $130.
“I’d be willing to give some lessons if that’s what they want,” said Pimentel, wearing his wetsuit and carrying his surfboard. “But I think we are just going to go out and surf.”
FCSL Professor Jeff McFarland, formerly of Foley & Lardner, was the emcee of the event.
CAPIL is the local school chapter of Equal Justice Works, an organization that provides training and skills to help attorneys provide effective representation to vulnerable populations through its collaboration with and for nonprofit law communities.
The FCSL chapter consists of about 40 members and its executive officers include Davenport (president), Davis (vice president), Patrice Falzone (vice president), Tyler Murray (treasurer) and Candace Weeks (secretary).
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