By Andrew Cohen
The 15th annual Berkeley Law Foundation (BLF) auction will be held on Saturday, November 6th, at the David Brower Center in downtown Berkeley. Tickets are currently on sale and available here.
The auction serves as BLF’s main fundraiser for the Phoenix Fellowship, a scholarship that provides major support to first-year Berkeley Law students. Phoenix Fellows are selected for their diverse backgrounds, record of exceptional academic and professional accomplishment, leadership in community service, and commitment to diversity in law school and the legal profession.
The auction will feature live music, dancing, a DJ, food, drinks, as well as both a silent and live auction. Since the inaugural auction in 1996, it has become one of Berkeley Law’s largest and most popular events, drawing hundreds of current students, alumni, professors, Bay Area legal practitioners, and supporters.
BLF is a 501(c)(3) organization founded by Berkeley Law students and faculty in 1976. The nation’s oldest public interest law foundation, it strives to promote diversity in legal education and support innovative public interest law projects.
In addition to the Phoenix Fellowship, BLF raises funds from hundreds of students and alumni to provide grants for summer public interest projects by Berkeley Law students, and post-graduate year-long public interest grants for new lawyers nationwide.
Past grants have funded fellowships at organizations such as the Center for Constitutional Rights, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, California Rural Legal Assistance, New Orleans Legal Assistance, and Homeless Action Center.