LRAP dinner bigger than last year

Equal Justice Works at Indiana University School of Law – Indianapolis hosted a crowd of more than 180 guests at its second annual dinner to support the Loan Repayment Assistance Program, which helps to pay off loans of law school graduates who decide to work in public interest. The dinner was at the Indiana Historical Society in Indianapolis March 6.

Andrea Ciobanu, a 3L and president of Equal Justice Works for the law school, said they have yet to determine how much was raised based on expenses, but the organizers are optimistic.

Last year's dinner, which took place at the law school, was at capacity at 140 guests, which is why they moved the event to a bigger venue. That event raised enough for the program to reach its endowment of $100,000. The first round of loans will be awarded during the 2010-11 school year.

The dinner also recognized lawyers who do public interest work. This year, the featured keynote speaker was Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller. Featured honorees included Fran Quigley, class of 1987, director of operations for AMPATH and a co-founder of the Legal Aid Clinic of Eldoret, Kenya; Kerry Hyatt Blomquist, class of 1990, legal director of the Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence and director of the Protective Order Pro Bono Project of Indianapolis; and Lisa Koop, class of 2004, a managing attorney at National Immigrant Justice Center in Chicago, where she supervises in the asylum, trafficking, and immigrant legal defense projects.

This year's host committee members included Chief Justice Randall Shepard, Secretary of State Todd Rokita, Emily Benfer, John Maley, Gary Miller, Tiffany Murray, Carl Pebworth, Caroline Richardson, Florence Roisman, Robyn Rucker, Rafael Sanchez, and LaWanda Ward.

For those who'd like to support LRAP but were unable to attend the dinner, Ciobanu suggested contacting the school's Office of Development at (317) 278-7541.