The Rudman Center has received an $8,000 Justice Grant from the New Hampshire Bar Foundation’s William F. Batchelder Fund. This two-year grant will support fellowships this summer and the next, providing two students with $4,000 stipends.
2021 Rudman Summer Fellows
The Rudman Center, through its Summer Fellows Program, provides $4,000 stipends to students who devote their summer employment without pay to non-profits and government agencies that need legal help. Fellowships are funded by donations to the Center, grants, and federal work-study dollars.
The Rudman Center also has received a $3,000 grant from the UNH Alumni Association Student Grant committee. This grant, matched by $9,000 in federal work-study funds, will permit the Rudman Center to fund three additional fellowships this summer.
“We deeply appreciate the Bar Foundation’s $8,000 Justice Grant, and the $3,000 gift from the UNH Alumni Association,” said John M. Greabe, UNH Law professor and director of the Rudman Center. “The continued generosity of these organizations helps to cover living expenses so students can work pro bono for organizations that provide legal help to underserved populations. Most of these organizations are in the Granite State.
“This summer, we will fund 64 Rudman Summer Fellows – the largest group ever,” noted Greabe. “We will not turn any student away.” Placements include New Hampshire Legal Assistance, Catholic Charities of New Hampshire, the New Hampshire Public Defender Office, the New Hampshire Circuit Courts, the New Hampshire Disability Rights Center, 603 Legal Aid, Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of New Hampshire, and many other organizations that deliver critical services.
Closing the Justice Gap
“The summer fellows program increases the resources available to public-service organizations, and helps more New Hampshire residents, especially those challenged by income and disabilities, to gain access to justice,” continued Greabe. “All of our fellows have basic legal skills. Many have hands-on experience from working during the academic year in legal residencies or in one of our law school’s legal clinics. The fellows work directly with underserved clients and provide much-needed assistance to legal-service providers and overburdened courts. The program also inculcates in our students, many of whom will practice in New Hampshire, the deep need for attorneys to provide pro bono services,” he stated.
$2.5 Million Dollar Impact
In the past two years, Rudman Summer Fellows contributed more than 41,000 hours, or nearly $2.5 million worth of pro bono (free) legal services, to non-profits and government agencies located largely in New Hampshire.
“We are very proud of our contributions to the Granite State, and grateful to donors like the New Hampshire Bar Foundation and the UNH Alumni Association Student Grant committee,” said Greabe.
For more information about the Rudman Summer Fellowship program, visit https://law.unh.edu/rudman/fellowships-scholarships. To donate to the Rudman Summer Fellows program online, visit www.unh.edu/give/law and select Rudman Summer Fellowship.
About the Warren B. Rudman Center
The Warren B. Rudman Center for Justice, Leadership & Public Service at the UNH Franklin Pierce School of Law serves as a hub for public discourse on the policies and current events that shape our society. It provides programmatic and financial support for students interested in exploring careers in public service while supporting public programming and academic inquiry that align with its mission. The Center honors former U.S. Senator Warren B. Rudman, also the state’s attorney general, who was widely admired for his integrity and willingness to work with politicians across the aisle to advance the public interest.
