TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- University of Alabama School of Law student Stephen Stetson of Troy will spend this summer interning with a nonprofit public interest law organization as part of the Equal Justice Works' Summer Corps program.

Stetson will serve as an intern with the Equal Justice Center's Poultry Workers Project in Morton, Miss., and will receive a $1,000 education award voucher through this national AmeriCorps-funded program. He was among 505 applicants for 250 participant slots nationwide.

The 2005 Summer Corps participants are first-year and second-year law students from 113 law schools. They will each spend at least 300 hours at public interest internships, providing critically needed legal assistance to low-income or underserved communities in 39 states. The Summer Corps members will also gain first-hand experience in areas such as client intake, individual representation, and legal research and writing.

Equal Justice Works (formerly the National Association for Public Interest Law) was founded in 1986 by law students dedicated to working for equal justice on behalf of underserved communities and causes. Today, Equal Justice Works is the national leader in creating summer and postgraduate public interest opportunities for law students and lawyers.