Five Boyd Students Awarded PILA Grants
The Public Interest Law Association (PILA), after raising $29,000 at its annual auction held in February, awarded grants to five Boyd students. The law students will each receive $4,000 to work this summer at nonprofit or government agencies representing underserved or indigent populations.
One of the grants was provided by local law firm Mainor Eglet Cottle. The law firm's contribution is the single largest donation ever received by PILA.
"PILA is grateful to the law firm of Mainor Eglet Cottle for their incredibly generous donation of $4,000. As a token of our appreciation, we will be naming a grant of their choice in honor of their firm," said Nick Portz, president of PILA. "PILA will be providing the state of Nevada with over 2,400 hours of public legal services—free of charge—this summer."
All five of the 2010 PILA grant recipients are second-year students at the Boyd School of Law. Below is a summary of what each student will be doing over the summer.
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Taylor Hartline will be working with the Organized Crime Strike Force in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney’s office in Las Vegas. The Strike Force team prosecutes some of the most dangerous gang-related crimes committed in Nevada. Hartline will be writing motions, jury instruction, prosecution memos, and preparing evidence for trial as well as legal research. As a certified Student Practitioner, Hartline will also be permitted to make court room appearances on detention hearings. |
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Corey Roberts will be constructing the EPA’s Environmental Justice Resource Guide for Clark County, addressing local environmental issues like indoor air quality in schools, solid waste management, tribal assistance, childhood lead poisoning, and nonpoint source pollutants. He will also research and apply for federal grants for the local EPA that will finance environmentally sound programs in underrepresented communities in the Las Vegas Area. |
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Jeremy Thompson will be working at the Washoe County Public Defender’s office in Reno, Nevada. In addition to having the opportunity to represent indigent clients in the courtroom, Thompson will engage in legal research and pre- and post-arraignment interviews. He will also be constructing a pamphlet for the WCPD that will provide a felony impact analysis and explain how a felony can affect every aspect of an individual’s life. |
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Kathleen Wilde will be working in the child-abuse and neglect section of the Clark County District Attorney's office, with an emphasis on sexual assault. To help the understaffed division, her duties will include research, briefing, writing memos and replies, attending hearings, and appearing in court. She will also work alongside specialists at Child Haven and the Clark County Child Protection Services. |
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Sarah Zwintscher's work with the Citizenship Project will include legal research and writing on issues of immigration affecting many Nevada workers. The Citizenship Project works closely with Bellagio and the Culinary Union in helping employees who are Lawful Permanent Residents through the often convoluted and confusing legal path to citizenship. |
Taylor Hartline
Corey Roberts
Jeremy Thompson 
Kathleen Wilde 
Sarah Zwintscher