PILA’s 26th Annual Silver State Auction Raises $22,000 for Public Interest Law Grants

The Public Interest Law Association (PILA) at the William S. Boyd School of Law is a student organization committed to promoting awareness of public interest legal work and the opportunities available to law students in this field. One of their primary annual events is the Silver State Auction, which is now in its 26th year. This year’s auction, held at the Strip View Pavilion at UNLV’s Thomas & Mack Event Center, was a tremendous success, raising $22,000 to support summer grants for students pursuing public interest work in our community. As many public interest summer intern positions are unpaid, numerous students would be unable to pursue such valuable opportunities without assistance from summer grant opportunities. 

Previous grant recipients have used the funds to support their roles as legal fellows, law clerks and interns at various government agencies and nonprofit organizations, including the Clark County Public Defender’s Office, the Clark County District Attorney’s Office, the City of Henderson, the American Bar Association, and the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada (LACSN).

In addition to their fundraising efforts, PILA honors community members who have served as mentors and role models. This year’s honorees included Bryan Scott for the Silver Staircase Award, Ellie Roohani for the Silver Service Award, Ozzie Fumo for the Silver Advocate Award, Professor Bret Birdsong for the Silver-Smith Award, the LACSN Pro Bono Project for the Silver Embrace Award, and Sydney Szostek for the Silver Student Award. Professor Mary Beth Beazley led a spirited live auction, which featured a Vegas Golden Knights Super Fan package, a signed Raiders helmet, a Huntington Jewelers diamond necklace, tickets to Hamilton at the Smith Center with hotel stays at the Golden Nugget and Sahara, a PGA Tour Superstore Golf package, and more! 

We extend special appreciation to our sponsors and a heartfelt thank you to all the silent auction donors and scholarship contributors who make this program and the summer grants possible for law students. Thank you, also, to our corporate sponsors including, the Thomas & Mack Company, Boyd Gaming, the City of Henderson Attorney’s Office, the City of Las Vegas, Morris Injury Law, Realty One Group, Public Lawyers Section of the State Bar of Nevada, Sagebrush Lawyers, Bailey Kennedy,  Gina Corena & Associates.