University of Wisconsin students, faculty and members of the Madison law community will run and walk this weekend to raise money for summer grants to benefit UW law students performing unpaid work for underrepresented clients.
The event, called “Race Judicata,” will be at Olin Park Saturday at 9 a.m.
Third-year law student Joel Mandelman, who helped organize the event, said last year the event raised approximately $6,000 with more than 300 people in attendance.
“This event is an opportunity for people to show support in public interest law,” Mandelman said, stressing the importance of public interest law to helping low-income and underrepresented people.
“I went to law school with an interest in helping people — the same as a lot of people in law school,” he said. “[Public interest law] offers a lot of opportunities you might not necessarily get at a [corporate law firm].”
The race is sponsored for the 15th consecutive year by the UW Public Interest Law Foundation, a law student organization that raises money for grants, brings speakers to campus and runs various activities at the law school, Mandelman said.
Greg Renden, third-year law student, also helped create the race.
“A lot of people want to do public interest law when they head to law school, but when they [are faced] with debt — an average of around $50,000 — they want to go to a large firm,” Renden said, adding he hopes the event and foundation tries to facilitate students with work in public interest law in hopes they will follow through with a career. Public interest law, he added, does not pay as well as big corporate law firms.
Law students who participate in summer work that would typically go unpaid can apply to receive grants from the foundation — which typically provides around $2,500 in stipends, according to Renden.
Renden added the race, the foundation’s largest fundraiser of the year, contributes between $200-300 per grant, with the UW Law School also adding a substantial amount.
Students who receive grants work for people who have troubles such as HIV, domestic violence and low income.
Renden said he hopes this year’s race will be as successful as in past years.
“We’ve done a good job advertising,” he said, adding several local businesses provided gift certificates that will serve as prizes to the top three men and women finishers.
Anyone interested in participating in the race may register in the Law School Atrium until 3 p.m. Friday or before the event Saturday morning.
