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It took the largest room in the law school to accommodate turnout for the most recent Rudman Summer Fellows information session, a meeting held every fall for students interested in seeking a summer fellowship.   “We had to move the session because we were at maximum capacity,” said Anna Brown, executive director of the Warren B. Rudman Center for Justice, Leadership, & Public Service. 

Brown joined The Legal Impact in March to discuss the record number of students pursuing public-interest law at the UNH

The Rudman Center's Anna Brown and Laura Knoy on the Legal Impact. 

 Franklin Pierce ����ֱ��, the impact of the Rudman Summer Fellowship program, and the importance of pro-bono work.   Visit here to hear the full interview. (Quotes in this piece have been edited for clarity and brevity.)

Rudman Center fellowships support students who work during the summer for government agencies or non-profit organizations that perform public-interest legal work.   Last summer, close to 70 students worked as Rudman Summer Fellows. Students receive $4800 for their summer work.

“Ultimately the work they were doing in the community had over $1,000,000 worth of impact,” Brown said. “That is the value of the hours they were putting in for legal services that would otherwise be provided by a lawyer.”

Students worked with the N.H. Public Defender and in almost every court in New Hampshire, as well as in government agencies, including the N.H. Dept. of Health and Human Services and the N.H. Dept. of Environmental Services, and nonprofit organizations, including 603 Legal Aid and the Disability Rights Center.  Students also worked in courts and organizations elsewhere in the country.  

“Nonprofits and government agencies work together to form that civil society fabric that binds us all together. So I'm really excited to support students who do that,”  Brown said.  “Students are getting their feet wet, getting out into the real world, but they’re also doing really important legal work, because in a lot of these different nonprofits, and some of these government agencies, there is a shortage of legal services.”

This summer, the program plans to fund 85 summer fellowships at 68 different organizations.

The fellowship experience can have profound effects. In one case, a student who was planning to be a prosecutor after law school decided he wanted instead to be a public defender after his fellowship experience, Brown said.   Another student had negative views of family law before her fellowship.  “She ended up working with victims of interpersonal violence on a domestic violence project, and it completely transformed her outlook,” she said. “And now she really wants to pursue that.”

Although many students enter law school with an interest in pursuing public service, by the time they graduate, that number tends to decline for several reasons, according to Brown.  “There's student loan forgiveness programs for public service, but you're looking at this mountain of debt and you're looking at the life you want to lead,” she said. “And so you’re going to go into the best-paying job where you’re paying off those loans.”

Still, recently, there's been a slight change in this trend, with more newly minted lawyers choosing careers in government and the nonprofit sector.

Pro Bono: An Important Piece of a Functioning Democracy

Although the American Bar Association recommends 50 hours of pro bono work a year for all lawyers, few reach that number.

“I view pro bono as not just something nice to do,” Brown said. “As an attorney, you are part of this larger justice system, and so you have an obligation to the public.  Being a lawyer isn't just a job. You are part of a very critical piece of our functioning civil society. It is a privilege and a duty, I would argue.” 

UNH Law students pitch in during the fall 2025 pro bono marathon. 

The law-school experience can play a major role in inculcating values of public service, Brown said.  “So that is partly where this Rudman Summer Fellows Program comes in. We're encouraging students to think about these values, think about what giving back looks like and why that's important.”

“Surveys ask incoming students why they want to be a lawyer, and many say:  ‘I want to do good in the world. I want to make a difference.’ So we just need to make sure that we're supporting and empowering that and giving them the tools they need to go out and do that.”

Civil Discussions and Senator Rudman’s Legacy

As a hub for public discourse, the Rudman Center presents discussions and debates that encourage civil conversation, which is particularly important during a time when too many people segregate themselves politically.  “We try to encourage students to really face both sides of this issue and have the community come in and face both sides of the issue.”

For students concerned about the current state of American democracy, Brown advises them:  “If you want this country to be the country you want to live in, then you need to get involved. And so I really encourage them in that direction.”

The Rudman Center is named after the late New Hampshire U.S. Senator Warren Rudman, who served in the U.S. Senate  from 1980 to 1993.

“Senator Rudman did pass on, but many people who worked with him are still alive, and they always talk about there was this value of principles over politics at all times,” Brown said. “In lending his name to the Rudman Center, Senator Rudman said that he could ‘think of no greater mission than to train our next generation of leaders to seek justice, serve their country, and work together for the common good.’”

“I really see us as becoming the launching pad for the next generation of public service leaders, not only in New Hampshire, but in the country,” she said.  “And I really see this ultimately as a mission that's not just about our law students, many of whom, as lawyers, are going to be leaders, but the larger university community, the larger community in Concord and the surrounding  areas, because I believe that these values and principles we're talking about are leadership lessons for anyone.”