The Syracuse Public Interest Network, SPIN, is a student-run organization that encourages and supports students seeking to do public interest work and community service. Formerly known as the Grant Opportunity Program (GO), the organization features service opportunities, as well as educational opportunities, both on and off campus. Through a variety of programming, SPIN seeks to instill a sense of passion for pro bono efforts and community service in the students at the Syracuse University College of Law, as well as create a public interest network for students to connect with alumni, practitioners and the community.
The SPIN Fellows Program provides a stipend to law students who obtain unpaid legal internships at public interest agencies for the summer. Fellows must participate in SPIN fundraising activities and complete a public service requirement during the academic year to be considered for a grant. Approximately
$38,000 was awarded for the summer of 2007 to students working throughout the country in legal service organizations, non-profit groups, and government entities.
In the past, students have found summer employment opportunities with the following organizations:
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (Washington, DC)
Bay Area Legal Aid (San Jose, CA)
Cabrini Green Legal Aid Clinic (Chicago, IL)
Citizen Advocacy Center (Elmurst, IL)
Frank H. Hiscock Legal Aid (Syracuse, NY)
GLBTT Sexual Diversity Subcommission of the National Human Rights Plan of Ecuador (Quito, Ecuador)
Justice at Stake Campaign (Washington, DC)
Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (Springfield, MA)
Legal Assistance of the Finger Lakes (Geneva, New York)
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (Syracuse, NY)
Office of the Cook County Public Guardian (Chicago, IL)
Project Safeguard (Denver, Colorado)
South Asian Human Rights Documentation Centre (SAHRDC)
Wisconsin Coalition for Advocacy (Milwaukee, WI)
Information for SPIN Members
For more information, please email SPIN@law.syr.edu.