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Professor McGrath was the auctioneer for the Fellowship Auction and Fools Night event that raised the most money to date.

More than 100 law school students, faculty and staff attended the Fellowship Auction and Fools Night on Friday, Oct. 16 and helped the event raise $58,190 for the Wesleyan Law Fellowship.

The Wesleyan Law Fellowship provides stipends for students who wish to practice public interest law during the summer with organizations including the Dallas County Public Defender’s Office, Legal Aid of Northwest Texas and the Legal Hospice of Texas. This year’s auction raised the most money to date, $29,095, and will be matched by a donation from Dean Frederic White.

Professor James McGrath was the auctioneer for the event that included items such as bar review courses, a reserved parking space and a dinner with one of the professors. Two of the big ticket items included a bowling night with the 1L section 1 professors that went for $2,100 and a 7-day stay at a house in Hawaii that went for $3,000.

“In these difficult financial times, the law fellowship will be able to place more students in the community to assist public interest attorneys. Nonprofit organizations and government entities are facing budget crunches that prevent them from expanding services to a community whose needs have increased,” Patti Gearhart Turner, assistant dean of student affairs said. “Our students can bridge that gap at no cost to the organizations and can further deliver legal services to people in need.”

Fools night performances, various skits presented by students and faculty, were also a part of the evening’s events. Students and faculty acted out parodies ranging from how the world views law school to interesting takes on negotiation techniques. Staff member Matt Pellegrino also provided musical accompaniment during the night.