The Rappaport Center for Law and Public Service is a privately endowed public interest

Public interest

The public interest refers to the "common well-being" or "general welfare." The public interest is central to policy debates, politics, democracy and the nature of government itself...

 law center administered by and located on the grounds of Suffolk University Law School

Suffolk University Law School

Suffolk University Law School, also known as Suffolk Law School or SULS, is one of the professional graduate schools of Suffolk University. Suffolk University Law School is a private, non-sectarian, law school located in downtown Boston, Massachusetts. Suffolk University Law School was founded in...

 in Boston, Massachusetts. The center, created in 2007, offers financial support and career counseling to individuals interested in public interest law and public policy work and provides a forum for discussion of such work. The center also occasionally commissions polls to gauge public attitudes on various public policy issues. Alasdair Roberts

Alasdair Roberts (academic)

Alasdair S. Roberts is a Canadian professor at Suffolk University Law School, Boston, Massachusetts, and author of articles and books on public policy issues, especially relating to government secrecy and the exercise of government authority.-Education:...

 currently holds the Jerome Lyle Rappaport

Jerome Lyle Rappaport

Jerome Lyle Rappaport was a lawyer, developer, political leader, and landlord. Today, he is best known for his philanthropy in Boston, Massachusetts, and as the general partner of one of the most successful and maligned developments of the urban renewal era, the West End Project from which he...

 Chair in Law and Public Policy at Suffolk Law.

Rappaport Fellows

The center was created in part for the purpose of "educating, supporting and mentoring students with an interest in public policy and public service." To this end, the center now manages the law student portion of the Rappaport Fellows program, which was created in 2000 to provide summer public interest fellowships to students from each of the six Boston-area law schools: Boston College Law School

Boston College Law School

Boston College Law School is one of the six professional graduate schools at Boston College. Located approximately 1.5 miles from the main Boston College campus in Chestnut Hill, Boston College Law School is situated on a wooded campus in Newton, Massachusetts.With approximately 800 students and...

, Boston University Law School, Harvard Law School

Harvard Law School

Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...

, New England School of Law

New England School of Law

New England School of Law is a private law school in Boston, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1908 as a law school for women.-History:...

, Northeastern University Law School, and Suffolk University Law School. Fellowships for graduate students in other public policy-related disciplines are offered by the Rappaport Center's sister institution, the Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston

Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston

The Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston is a research and policy center housed at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, located in Cambridge, Massachusetts...

 at the John F. Kennedy School of Government

John F. Kennedy School of Government

The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University is a public policy and public administration school, and one of Harvard's graduate and professional schools...

 at Harvard. Rappaport Fellows receive summer job placements that allow them to "work with top public policymakers and government officials on key issues that affect the citizens of Greater Boston and Massachusetts."

Public interest career development

The center also provides career development information for students who wish to work in public interest law, including roles with non-profit organizations and government entities. According to director Susan Prosnitz, "Any student or alumni or any lawyer anywhere in Boston who is in pursuit of a career in public service can come here and get help getting there."

Public interest events

Besides its student-oriented programs, the Rappaport Center also sponsors and organizes numerous public policy symposia, lectures, and other events designed to promote "engagement in public issues for faculty, students, government officials and policymakers." The center is located in Boston's downtown across the street from the Massachusetts State House

Massachusetts State House

The Massachusetts State House, also known as the Massachusetts Statehouse or the "New" State House, is the state capitol and house of government of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is located in Boston in the neighborhood Beacon Hill...

 on Beacon Hill

Beacon Hill, Boston, Massachusetts

Beacon Hill is a historic neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, that along with the neighboring Back Bay is home to about 26,000 people. It is a neighborhood of Federal-style rowhouses and is known for its narrow, gas-lit streets and brick sidewalks...

. Past programs have addressed such topics as government secrecy, child welfare, civil rights, professional ethics, managing the bailout and public accountability after the age of newspapers. A February 2009 event brought together leading government representatives to discuss the management of the federal "bailout" of the financial sector.

The Center also holds periodic roundtables that provide a forum for open conversation on critical issues. The roundtables include a broad range of stakeholders and conversations are conducted on an off-the-record basis unless all panelists would prefer to hold an open discussion. Roundtables are held in the Law School's faculty boardroom from noon to 1:30pm, and are accompanied by a casual lunch.

The first roundtable was held on October 3, 2008, and addressed the federal response to the financial crisis of 2007–2008. Speakers included Massachusetts Treasurer Timothy P. Cahill

Timothy P. Cahill

Timothy P. Cahill is a former Massachusetts Treasurer and Receiver-General and was an independent candidate in the 2010 Massachusetts Gubernatorial Election.-Early political career:...

. The second roundtable on the state's budget crisis was hosted by the Center on January 30, 2009.