3/6 PILS March General Meeting with the IPNO

PILS MARCH GENERAL MEETING

MONDAY, MARCH 6 at 12:40 P.M. IN ROOM 110! Come by to PILS’ March General Meeting where there will be LUNCH PROVIDED. Hear about all things PILS and also hear from our special guest speakers from the Innocence Project of New Orleans who will be talking about their organization and about the panel that PILS has helped organized for them on Thursday, March 23 at 12:40 p.m. in Room 106! Speakers include Richard Davis, the legal director of IPNO, and Kirschelle McGowan, adjunct professor of WCC. Link to view PowerPoint here. 

PILS Updates & Relevant Links Below

SUBSCRIBE TO PILS UPDATES HERE to get email updates and newsletters from PILS  PILS’ email updates or check out PILS’ latest newsletter to stay updated on all things public interest.

LOG YOUR HOURS HERE. Pro Bono and Community Service hours contribute to the 8-hour volunteer requirement to be invited to the PILS’ EOY Crawfish Banquet.

IMPORTANT UPCOMING DATES & EVENTS:

• PILS March General Meeting with the IPNO: TODAY, MONDAY,  March 6 at 12:40 p.m. in Room 110! Come by to our March General Meeting where there will be LUNCH PROVIDED. Hear about all things PILS and also hear from our SPECIAL GUEST SPEAKER, Richard Davis, the legal director of the Innocence Project of New Orleans (IPNO) who will be talking about their organization and about the panel that PILS has helped organized for them on Thursday, March 23 at 12:40 p.m. in Room 106!  Learn more about the upcoming panel below.
  • Link to view PowerPoint here. 
• PILS Elections: Deadline to vote: THIS SUNDAY, MARCH 4^TH AT 5 P.M.! Click here to learn more about the candidates. LINK TO VOTE HERE.
  • Congratulations to the incoming PILS 2023-24 Board Members:
    • President: Grey Fitzgerald, 2L
    • Pro Bono Chair: Kay Davis, 2L
    • Pro Bono Vice Chair: Matthew Broussard, 1L
    • Careers & Fellowships: Ryan McNeil, 2L
    • Education & Youth Outreach: Meg Bertrand, 2L
  • Positions requiring a vote include the following:
    • Community Service Chair: Randi Williford (1L) & Alaina Lacey (1L)
    • Community Service Vice Chair: Alaina Lacey (1L), Brooke Smith (2L), & Courtney Fowler (1L)
    • Philanthropy: Courtney Fowler (1L) & Katie Day (1L)
    • IT/Publicity: Kayla Meyers (1L) & Summer Knight (1L)
    • Secretary/Treasurer: Kayla Meyers (1L) & Hannah Hummel (1L)
• Freedom for the Wrongfully Imprisoned: A Panel with the IPNO & Raymond Flanks, A Recently Freed Exoneree: Thursday, March 23^rd at 12:40 p.m. in Room 106! Link to RSVP here. PILS is collaborating with the Innocence Project of New Orleans (IPNO) to host a panel where you will hear from recently exonerated IPNO client, Raymond Flanks, who served 38 years in prison for a crime he did not commit and was freed November 17, 2022. Attendees will hear about his experiences and story of never giving up.  The panel also includes Jee Park, the Executive Director of IPNO, and Kirschelle McGowan, a supervising attorney and adjunct at LSU Law. They will talk about IPNO’s history and re-entry work with clients in their Unjust Punishment Project. We strongly encourage you RSVP!
• PILS Summer Fellowships: Applications now open! Deadline to apply April 1, 2023. Get paid for unpaid public interest work this summer! To learn more about the fellowship or to send in your application, click here.
• Bake Sale for Big Buddy: Monday, March 20 – Tuesday, March 21^st! Volunteer to bake for the bake sale. Baking is worth 1 hour of community service towards your 8-hour minimum to attend PILS’ EOY Crawfish Banquet! Link to sign up to bake here.
• Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Donation Drive: ACCEPTING DONATIONS UNTIL END OF THE SPRING SEMESTER. PILS is hosting a donation drive for Grandparents Raising Grandchildren. We are collecting the following items: towels, washcloths, and sheet sets of all sizes. Donating to the drive is worth 1 hour of community service towards your 8-hour minimum to attend PILS’ EOY Crawfish Banquet! Location of Donation Drop Off: PILS Atrium (Outside Room 105)
• Justice for Survivors: A Panel of Criminalized Survivors of Abuse & Victims’ Loved Ones: Thank you all who attended the panel last Tuesday! It was a great success. To learn more about the Justice for Survivors Act and its progress through the legislative session, check out the website here and follow the Louisiana Survivors for Reform (LSR) Instagram & Twitter @lsreform. Upcoming Dates: LSR’s Annual Survivors of Violence Lobby Day on April 25th at the Capital. RSVP here to get updates about lobby day and other LSR activities at the Capital.
• Committee Updates – To check out the opportunities going on with our board, click on the links below!
  • Pro Bono:
    • Parole Project’s Frederick Douglass Project for Justice –Next upcoming visit: 3/24/2023. Learn more about how to get involved on the webpage linked.
    • Name Change Assistance Project – Check out our webpage linked to learn more about how to get involved!
    • Ongoing: Southeast Louisiana Legal Services (SLLS), New Orleans Pro Bono Project
  • Education/Youth: Teen Court, Street Law, Front Yard Bikes, Volunteers in Public Schools (VIPS)
  • Careers/Fellowships:
    • PILS Summer 2023 Fellowships – Information above!
    • CSO Public Interest OCI – Bidding now open on Symplicity! Career opportunities include: Dallas County District Attorney’s Office, Lakeshore Legal Aid, Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office, Orleans Public Defenders, & Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, Inc. If you have questions or need more information, send Kinzie Hall an email: kinzie@lsu.edu.
    • Public Interest Career Opportunities – Career opportunities include: A Better Balance Legal Fellow, La. Dept. of Corrections Law Clerk, &Capital Appeals Project Summer 2023 Intern
  • Community Service:
    • Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Donation Drive: Information above!
    • PILS Peeps Easter Egg Hunt: Time/Location TBA. PILS is in the works on hosting an Easter Egg Hunt with Grandparents Raising Grandchildren. Date and location are TBA.
    • PILS/SBA Spring Day of Service: Check out LSU Law’s News Article on the Spring Day of Service (linked here).
    • Ongoing: Baton Rouge Animal Shelters (Cat Haven, CAA, & FOTA), BREC, CASA, Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank, Habitat for Humanity, USS KIDD Veterans Museum, & More!
  • Philanthropy: Bake Sale for Big Buddy: Information above!