Auction Raises More Than $68,000 for Public Service Grants

A mountain biking trip with University of Virginia law professors, burgers and beer with a federal judge, a plane ride over Charlottesville and introductory Mandarin Chinese language lessons were just a few of the prizes UVA Law students bought Saturday night at the Public Interest Law Association's annual auction and dance.

The event at the Omni Charlottesville Hotel raised a total of $68,000 to $69,000, marking the second-highest sum in the event's history. Proceeds from the auction go toward public service grants for first- and second-year UVA Law students.

"The auction was a great success — everyone really enjoyed themselves and we raised a good deal of money for PILA," said Rebecca Cohn, a third-year law student and PILA auction director.

Roughly 580 people attended the auction and bid on more than 280 items and services.

Among the auction's big ticket items was a candlelight dinner for 10 with UVA President Teresa Sullivan and her husband, UVA Law Professor Douglas Laycock. It sold for $1,200.

Another top item was a graduation weekend stay at a home on Garth Road donated by Kate Gilman '12 and her family. It went for $2,300.

A beach week getaway at an Outer Banks, N.C., vacation stay donated by the Black Law Students Association Alumni Council was bought for $1,000. Free passes to get out of citation checks for journals such as the Virginia Journal of International Law and the Virginia Law Review sold for several hundred dollars each. And a number of students bought $1,500 vouchers for BarBri bar exam prep classes for $500 each.

Professors John Setear and Rich Schragger hosted the auction, which had a "Great Gatsby" theme.

"The PILA students always work very hard to make the auction a success, and this year was no exception," Setear said. "I couldn't have had a better co-auctioneer than Professor Schragger. The students at the party always bid very generously at the live auction, and this year was no exception."