About Us

Formed in 1984, Boston University School of Law’s Public Interest Project (PIP) is a student-run organization whose mission is to foster a commitment to non-profit, government, and pro bono work and promote community service for all interested BU Law students and alumni, whether they ultimately pursue a career in public interest or the private sector. To meet these goals, PIP organizes networking events, facilitates discussions and panels on various public interest topics, and coordinates community service and pro bono activities for current students. Recognizing the barrier that funding can pose for students considering public service positions, PIP also fundraises each year to provide grants to students who accept qualifying summer positions with non-profit, public interest, or government organizations.

In 2021, the BU Law administration recently agreed to take over the public interest summer grant application process starting in the 2021-22 academic year. The 2020-21 PIP Executive Board and Public Interest Retreat Committee have agreed, in light of this change, to merge into a new group: the Public Interest Law Society (PILS). PILS will have space to facilitate building a stronger community through events and programming that support students’ personal, professional, and academic public interest goals. This new focus will encourage more students to join this effort to strengthen the public interest community at BU, because we understand that the time required to administer the PIP Grant process has previously made E-Board membership inaccessible for most public interest students.