Public Interest Law
According to Edwin Rekosh, Executive Director of PILnet: The Global Network for Public Interest Law (www.pilnet.org), "public interest law does not describe a body of law or a legal field; the term was adopted to describe whom the public interest lawyers were representing, rather than what matters they would work on. Instead of representing powerful economic interests, they chose to be advocates for those living in poverty. The term has grown, however, to encompass a broader range of activities of lawyers and non-lawyers working toward civil rights, civil liberties, women's rights, consumer rights, environmental protection, and 'fighting for the little guy'; - that is, representing vulnerable segments of society."
Public interest law is widely understood as including at least civil representation through legal aid organizations and indigent criminal defense provided either by legal aid or the public defender (depending on the country). Other non-profit organizations that provide legal advice and representation to poor people also fall under the umbrella of public interest law.
Read more about this topic: Public Interest
Famous quotes containing the words public, interest and/or law:
“This our life, exempt from public haunt,
Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks,
Sermons in stones, and good in every thing.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“The most ingenious men continually pretend to condemn tricking—but this is often done that they may use it more conveniently themselves, when some great occasion or interest offers itself to them.”
—François, Duc De La Rochefoucauld (1613–1680)
“Just as the constant increase of entropy is the basic law of the universe, so it is the basic law of life to be ever more highly structured and to struggle against entropy.”
—Václav Havel (b. 1936)