About SPIN

The Student Public Interest Network (SPIN) at Columbia Law School was founded in 2014 to provide a social community, support resources, and a student and alumni network for students interested in pursuing public interest law, whether it is immediately after law school or later in their careers. SPIN defines “public interest law” broadly to include work in non-profit, government, and international organizations as well as for-profit institutions that focus on public interest areas of law.

SPIN appreciates that public service can take different forms and welcomes students who intend to solely pursue a career in public interest, students who intend to pursue a career at a private firm with an interest in volunteer legal work, and everyone in between. SPIN is deliberately a cross-issue student group, one that welcomes students who are interested in all issues within public interest law.

SPIN advocates on behalf of the public interest community at Columbia, and works with other student organizations to  support a vibrant, engaging, and meaningful experience for students during their time at Columbia.

SPIN strives to strengthen the public interest community at Columbia through various activities, including social events with fellow public interest students, lunchtime talks with public interest lawyers about their professional work and personal lives, and trips to public interest law conferences.

SPIN also coordinates both a mentorship program, which is a public interest peer mentoring program for current students, and an admissions outreach program to prospective public interest-oriented students.

Become a member of SPIN to receive information about all of these events, participate in membership-wide conversations and connect to the network of other Columbia Law students that are thinking about working in public interest law. 

Besides coordinating its own social and substantive events and programs, SPIN takes seriously its role as a network. The SPIN Network is a forum for student groups connected to public interest to coordinate and collaborate. Comprised of “SPIN representatives” from other Columbia Law School student groups with a commitment to public interest, the SPIN Network meets each month to co-organize public interest-related events, set priorities for the public interest community, and advocate for those issues to the administration and the student body.