The Harvard Law School (HLS) has awarded fellowships to 25 graduating students and recent alums pursuing careers in public service law, HLS announced last week.

The Kaufman Public Interest Fellowship grants students who receive the fellowship between $1,000 and $5,000 each year.

Kathryn C. Jones, a third-year law student who is one of the recipients, said the award is important because it acknowledges students who forgo the big money of corporate law firms to serve the public. Jones said she plans to become a public defender or get a policy job related to criminal justice.

"It is a nice recognition for people who want to do public service, because there aren't many people from the law school who go into public service," Jones said. "Most go and work for law firms."

Fellowship recipients will pursue a variety of forms of legal work in the public sector.

Recipient Sean Flynn, a third-year law student, plans to work at South Africa's Institute for Democracy and the South African Constitutional Court. He intends to study the practice of law in South Africa.

Jennifer Goldberg, a 1998 graduate of HLS, will be working as a women's law and public policy fellow at the Georgetown University Law Center's Domestic Violence Clinic in Washington, D.C. She will be helping to legally protect victims of domestic violence.

The fellowship was established in 1990 in honor of Irving R. Kaufman, a former judge on the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals.

Kaufman spent 40 years as a federal judge, and is known for several important opinions regarding the first amendment.