Wilf Impact Center for Public Interest Law

The Wilf Impact Center for Public Interest Law is committed to utilizing the law and legal education to advance social justice, promote the practice of public interest law, and expand the role of public interest law in the professional development of NYLS students.

Wilf Impact Center for Public Interest Law

Upcoming Impact Center for Public Interest Law Events

Current Month

Center Leadership

Richard Marsico
Professor of Law
Director, Wilf Impact Center for Public Interest Law

Yazmine Nichols
Associate Director

Samantha Pownall ’11
Faculty Leader
Assistant Professor of Law

Andrew Scherer
Policy Director
Professor of Law

The Center is New York Law School’s social justice hub, where accomplished faculty and law students engage in many types of legal practice for social justice. By social justice, we mean: the ability to engage in basic human relationships and activities without disadvantages based on factors such as race, immigration status, class/income, disability, gender, gender expression, or sexuality; access to resources necessary to human fulfillment and wellbeing, including education, housing, employment, healthcare, a safe, clean, and sustainable environment, and other essential resources; and freedom from oppression and freedom to participate fully in political, economic, social, and justice systems.

Students work with faculty on these issues, applying classroom theory to practice, through clinics, externships, project-based courses, and capstone projects. They also assist with organizing community events like conferences, know-your-rights workshops, and inviting speakers to campus.

All NYLS students are welcome to join the Center as Affiliates.  We encourage current students to register by reviewing our curricular description in Student Resources on the NYLS Portal and completing the Academic Center Affiliation Registration form.

See related courses

Events

The Center sponsors conferences, CLE programs, panel discussions, roundtable discussions, symposia, workshops, and much more. See past events the Center has organized in Digital Commons.

Publications

The Center offers several publications:

  • LGBT Law Notes, a publication of the Lesbian and Gay Law Association of Greater New York that reports on lesbian/gay and AIDS-related legal developments. Professor Arthur Leonard is Editor.
  • The Clinical Law Teaching & Practice eJournal, a part of the Social Science Research Network.
  • Family Law Quarterly, a scholarly journal published by the Family Law Section of the American Bar Association, in collaboration with NYLS
  • Journal of Legal Education, the peer-edited journal of record for the Association of American Law Schools (AALS), co-hosted by NYLS and the University of California, Irvine School of Law

Institutes and Projects

Wilf Impact Center for Public Interest Law •  T 212.431.2314  •  wilfimpactcenter@nyls.edu