One Day’s Work is Harvard’s student funded fellowship program. You may not have heard of it because, despite a strong start (http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2007/06/21/big-law-summer-associates-asked-to-give-back/), in the past few years it has been less than successful. We have energetically revamped the program this year, because we are confident that it will be a meaningful addition to the Harvard Law School community! As you may know, Yale, Berkeley, and other top law schools have similar programs that have in fact been successful. And, we think this program can and should be a thriving initiative at Harvard too!
The basic idea is that students working at a law firm or other private employer their 2L summer donate one day’s pay (approximately $600) to a fellowship, which will be awarded to a fellow student entering the public sector upon graduation in 2013. Do the math: over 80% of our class will enter the private sector this summer. If each of those students donates one day’s worth of their pay we can raise nearly $300,000, enough to fund 10 graduates’ salaries for their post-graduation year!
One Day’s Work has already had a solid measure of success: we have raised more than $20,000! Students, professors, and law firms have graciously donated their money, time, and effort to the initiative. However, much work is to be done, and we look forward to continuing our efforts on campus this spring! Please visit our website, www.onedayswork.org, for more information. And, look out for our upcoming events this spring, showcasing Dean Minow and Professors Rubenstein, Steiker and Wilkins.
Should you have any questions about One Day’s Work, feel free to email the program’s co-chairs Shelley Rosenberg and Samantha Goldstein at onedayswork@gmail.com.
