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Florida Coastal School of Law’s Post-graduate Public Interest Employment program is preparing for its launch into a fourth year of service.
The program is designed to assist public service agencies in filling gaps for those who are underserved, underrepresented or have limited resources.
Coastal Law provides grants to public service organizations that employ its graduates in the program. Graduates are employees of the agency and eligible to participate in the program for up to five months.
During that time, they represent clients and gain practical experience working with seasoned attorneys.
“Training and experience are two of the hallmarks of participation in the program,” said Ellen Sefton, Coastal Law Career Services Department director.
“Not only are our graduates developing hands-on skills in actual legal environments, they are also acquiring the confidence and knowledge they need for their next career opportunities,” she said.
In the first year of the program, five graduates participated as part of a partnership with Jacksonville Area Legal Aid. Most recently, 39 Coastal Law graduates served in 17 offices in eight states, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, New Jersey, Indiana, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Washington.
Coastal Law has awarded $525,000 in grants to the program over the last three years.
Of the employed graduates, more than half have remained committed to the public sector, including serving in state attorney, public defender and legal aid positions.
“The school’s public interest program provides a graduate with a first step into the practice of law, but it is also an awakening to the importance of having access to justice for the poor,” said Michael Figgins, the executive director of Jacksonville Area Legal Aid.
Students who have been unable to secure a job in the challenging economy and who graduated in December 2009 or in May or July 2010 are being recruited now for participation in the program, which will start in February.