Private support helps WVU College of Law students explore public interest law, serve state’s residents

When Woodrow A. Potesta Professor of LawCharles DiSalvo was sorting out the idea of a Center for Law and Public Service at the West Virginia UniversityCollege of Law, he was swinging for the fences.

"Students would come to my office who wanted to work in the public interest," DiSalvo, founder and longtime director of the center, said. "They would express frustration because they said the salaries they would be paid in that work wouldn't even meet their monthly loan obligations. So, I thought, 'We've got to do something about this.'"

DiSalvo drafted a plan, identifying the need for fellowships to support students working in summer jobs at legal agencies and organizations across the state. The pitch would require unwavering commitment, hard work and generous private support.

By the summer of 1988, the College of Law awarded paid fellowships to two students to work in public interest law. To date, the College has been able to offer nearly 600 summer fellowships and add more than 30 post-graduate fellowships.

"They get to see the law practiced for people who otherwise would have no representation," DiSalvo said. "That brings them a new view of law, of the world, that is just so valuable to them. But, in addition to that, working for a public interest organization over the summer is like being in the minor leagues of a baseball organization. You're on the farm team. The major league club gets to take a look at you. If they like you, they are going to promote you to the big leagues."

Public interest law doesn't come with big-league salaries, and many of those agencies have little or no budget for law students eager to step up to the plate while they are still in school. Fellowships support students working at places such as Legal Aid of West Virginia, Mountain State Justice, West Virginia Senior Legal Aid and a dozen or more others.

"They get great work experience," Jennifer Powell, assistant dean for student services and engagement, said. "They get great networking experience. They get terrific opportunities to build skills in client counseling, advocacy negotiation, legal research and writing. They get to do that on behalf of issues and agencies they really care about in places where the needs are so dire."

Student fellows are in roles where they assist children and adult victims of violence, work for people with disabilities, protect civil liberties and even assist in public defenders' offices across West Virginia.

Jessica Bleigh, a third-year law student from Marion County, has completed two fellowships with Disability Rights of West Virginia.

"The fellowships really give students the opportunity to focus 100% on learning, on producing good legal work in the summer without having to worry about financial stress or balancing multiple jobs," Bleigh said.

An undergraduate degree in social work, diligence in law school, and those two fellowships opened her path to the big leagues. Bleigh will join Disability Rights of West Virginia as an attorney following law school.

"Without the fellowship, I think I would still be questioning what I'm doing after graduation right now," Bleigh said. "There's a huge difference between knowing what you're going to do after graduation and having that dedication in mind, knowing what you're working towards."

The home run is when job offers are made in public interest law and positions are filled, College of Law alumna Kate Roberts White said.

"Rural areas are struggling, and they need more attorneys," White said. "Anything we can do to incentivize students to stay and look at practicing in those rural areas is something that we really need to do."

DiSalvo's game plan for the Center for Law and Public Interest ultimately led to an out-of-the-park grand slam for the College, state residents served by public interest attorneys and students like White.

"I was actually a fellow after my first year," White said. "I worked at Legal Aid of West Virginia in our Clarksburg office and had an incredible experience working directly with clients, calling them, interacting with them. It was a meaningful experience and really solidified for me that this was the work I wanted to do."

White graduated in 2007. She was named the executive director of Legal Aid of West Virginia in 2025.

The Center for Law and Public Service offers a wide variety of externships in nonprofit, government and judicial settings, locally and around the country, to help students with valuable career-building experience while serving the community. Those interested in supporting the Center can make a gift online through the WVU Foundation, the nonprofit organization that receives and administers private donations on behalf of the University.