PSLawNet has come a long way since its founding in 1989 at New York University School of Law as Pro Bono Students.  The idea behind PBS was simple: to create a database of organizations serving under-represented communities that could be searched by law students interested in volunteering.  Prior to this time, no easy way existed for law students to identify law-related volunteer opportunities.  The program was an instant success, and within a few years, PBS expanded first to law schools throughout the state of New York and then eventually to law schools all across the country.  By 1995, Pro Bono Students had become Pro Bono Students America (PBSA) and was collectively run by seven “regional centers.”  Each center represented member law schools in its designated geographic area by developing academic-year pro bono opportunities and helping ‘match’ students with those opportunities.  The regional centers were also expected to ‘upload’ their regional listings to the PBSA national database so that students from all member schools could search the database for summer legal internships.

PBSA’s innovative technology allowing students to search for academic year and summer internships by geographic location and subject matter was markedly different than any previous public interest resource, and it quickly became the primary research tool for students exploring public interest and government career options.  Eventually, the database was expanded to include post-graduate fellowship opportunities and full-time public interest job listings as well.  In 1998, PBSA’s name was changed to Public Service Law Network – PSLawNet – to reflect its broader scope as a comprehensive, public interest career resource and job search tool.

By 2000, PSLawNet’s membership had grown to more than 180 U.S. law schools and seven Canadian law schools.  This evolution from its inception at just one law school led NYU in 2003 to decide that it was time for PSLawNet to be housed with an organization serving a more national audience.  Many organizations were interested in acquiring PSLawNet, and NYU and PSLawNet’s Executive Council deliberated at some length before unanimously selecting NALP as its new home.  The strong consensus was that NALP had the unique resources and energy necessary to sustain the tradition of excellence embodied by PSLawNet.  Since that time, PSLawNet has continued to grow and improve.  It has undergone several enhancements to its website and database, including this most recent upgrade.  We hope you agree with us that the new and improved PSLawNet will be even better at assisting students in quickly and easily identifying public interest legal opportunities and -- most important -- in helping them realize their public interest career aspirations.

Best of luck in using PSLawNet - the resource for Public Service Legal Careers! 

                                                                                                                                  Barbara Moulton, Georgetown University Law Center
                                                                                                                                  Chair, PSLawNet Advisory Group