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A distinguished series of speakers took part in Northwestern Law's Ninth Annual Public Interest Law Week Nov. 5- 8, 2001. Abner Mikva (left), former White House counsel, congressman and chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, delivered the keynote address at noon on Monday, Nov. 5.

Several guest speakers from the Chicago legal community introduced students and legal professionals to the opportunities and challenges of public service through a series of seven panel discussions. The topics ranged from public interest careers to marginalized groups in the law to hate crimes in the wake of Sept. 11.

Speakers included Roslyn C. Lieb, executive director, Public Interest Law Initiative; Lawrence C. Marshall, professor of law and director, Center on Wrongful Convictions, Northwestern University; Betsy Shuman-Moore, director of the Project to Combat Bias Violence, Chicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights; Clyde Murphy, executive director, Chicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights; Dorothy Roberts, professor of law, Northwestern University; Luis Vera, litigation director, AIDS Legal Council of Chicago; Neera Walsh, supervisor, Cook County States Attorney's Office of Community Prosecutions.

The panel discussions were "Hate Crimes in the Wake of the September 11 Terrorist Attacks" (3:00 p.m. Nov. 5); "Doing Good While Doing Well" (11:45 a.m. Nov. 6); "Ms. Treatment: The Status of Women in the Law" (3:00 p.m. Nov. 6);

"Legal Aspects of Reparations" (11:45 a.m. Nov. 7); "Finding and Funding a Job in the Public Interest" (3:00 p.m. Nov. 7), "Marginalized Groups within the Law" (11:45 a.m. Nov.8), and "Representing a Death Row Inmate" (3:00 p.m. Nov. 8).

The week's activities ended with a silent auction and reception to honor Professor Len Rubinowitz and to benefit the Student Funded Public Interest Fellowships (SFPIF).