The Public Interest Law Initiative (PILI) will grant $306,000 to fund 59 law student interns at 28 public interest law agencies across Illinois in the coming year. This amount includes the implementation of the second phase of our planned funding increase, as well as three new Internship placements.

In 2016, PILI raised the summer stipend from $5,000 to $5,500, the first increase in over ten years. As called for in its current long range plan, the summer stipend has been raised another $500 starting in 2018 for a total summer stipend amount of $6,000 for 400 hours of work. PILI’s board of directors voted to also increase the school-year Internship stipend by $500 for a total stipend of $3,000 for 200 hours of work over the semester.

This funding plan also reflects three new summer Internship allocations, including one each at Domestic Violence Legal Clinic in Chicago, Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation in East St. Louis, and Prairie State Legal Services in Bloomington. With the addition of these three new Interns, PILI has increased the number of Interns it funds by 15 percent under its current long range plan. PILI has grown the number of Internship placements by 51 percent  since 2011, based on goals set by its board of directors. See a full list of agencies in Illinois approved to host PILI interns.

PILI has operated its Law Student Internship Program since 1977, and it is the only program of its kind that attracts law students from across the country to serve at public interest law agencies in Illinois. In addition to providing the funding for Intern stipends, PILI also offers robust educational programming and networking opportunities for Interns. The program helps PILI’s participating legal service agencies serve more clients and increase their impact while also helping law students develop their legal and client interaction skills, build their professional networks, and strengthen their commitment to public interest law and service.

Learn more about PILI’s Law Student Internship Program.

About PILI: PILI's mission is to cultivate a lifelong commitment to public interest law and pro bono service within the Illinois legal community to expand the availability of legal services for people, families and communities in need. PILI envisions a legal community with a deeply rooted culture of service, where law students, lawyers and legal professionals at all stages of their careers engage in public interest law or pro bono work, and remain committed to addressing the unmet legal needs of the poor and underrepresented.