3/25/04-Boston College Law School’s 16th Annual Public Interest Law Foundation (PILF) Auction will be held on Thursday, April 1st, 2004 in the Stuart House snack bar. This year’s auction includes such unique items as a two-night stay at Harrah’s in Las Vegas, “Dean-for-a-Day, ” an auction tradition donated by Dean Garvey, restaurant gift certificates, spa delights, theater and ball tickets, and gift baskets of all shapes and sizes.

"The PILF auction is something the whole community looks forward to each year," said BC Law Professor Mary Bilder, who will once again serve as a faculty auctioneer at the event. " PILF and its annual auction is a perfect example of everything BC Law stands for—a sense of community, and a commitment to funding public service law careers, while having fun in the process. "

The auction's proceeds go to help fund PILF's summer stipends and other PILF programs, such as the immigration law trips to Miami and Los Angeles. Last year’s auction raised nearly $35,000. This is PILF's major fundraiser for the program.

Other auctioneers in addition to Professor Bilder include Professor Ray Madoff, Professor Mike Cassidy, Professor Robert Bloom, Librarian Joan Shear, Professor Kent Greenfield, and Dean John Garvey.

Doors open at 2:45 p.m. this year. The Silent Auction and Blind Auction will begin at 3:00 p.m. The Live Auction begins at 3:30 p.m. There will also be a raffle. Refreshments are available throughout the auction.

PILF representatives have said they expect to reach 350 donations by the day of the auction. Other donations include Red Sox box seats and New England Revolution tickets, sailing, whale watching, and harbor cruises, language classes at the Boston Language Institute, and babysitting, pet walking, yard work and other services.

The Public Interest Law Foundation (PILF) is a student organization dedicated to providing public interest law opportunities to students at Boston College Law School. These opportunities including funding student projects that work to help the needy, sponsoring speakers' series throughout the year, and providing students with summer stipends so that they can afford to work at legal services centers and public interest law jobs after their first and second law school years. In addition, PILF works with faculty and administration to encourage the addition of public interest law classes at Boston College Law School, provide loan forgiveness funds to graduating law students who are committed to practicing public interest law, and ensure that the law school continues its commitment to public interest law.

PILF's greatest strength, however, is its many different student projects that look to give law students practical legal experience, while helping the poor and disadvantaged. These projects include the Miami/El Paso Immigration Asylum Projects, the Domestic Violence Outreach Project (DVOP), and the Children's Rights Project, BC Law Against the Death Penalty, the Criminal Law Group, the Civil Rights Group, PILF Work Weekends and the Community Economic Development Group- as well as projects like the Animal Rights Group and the Indian Law Group.