Published on May 1, 2026 Posted in Grantees

2025 Grantee Highlights: Programs Promoting and Supporting Public Interest Legal Representation

NC LEAF, NC IOLTA’s Public Interest Internship Program and North Carolina Office of Indigent Defense Services promote and support public interest roles including legal aid attorneys, district attorneys and public defenders, and those in the judiciary.

In 2025, NC IOLTA’s Board of Trustees awarded $12M in grants to more than 40 organizations dedicated to providing legal aid to low-income residents across the state and improving the administration of justice in North Carolina.

The organizations highlighted here — NC LEAF, NC IOLTA’s Public Interest Internship Program and North Carolina Office of Indigent Defense Services — received Administration of Justice grants, which seek to improve the administration of justice in North Carolina through a variety of programs that have a statewide impact or provide seed funding to pilot an innovative program in a local area.

These organizations received a total of $545,745 in NC IOLTA funding for their work promoting and supporting public interest legal representation, which includes legal aid attorneys, district attorneys, public defenders and roles in the judiciary. Read more about each grantee below.

NC LEAF (North Carolina Legal Education Assistance Foundation)

NC LEAF encourages attorneys across the state to pursue careers in public service through an educational loan repayment assistance program that makes it easier for them to remain in these critical roles without being encumbered by debt. This program in turn helps the delivery of justice in the court system and ensures justice for underrepresented residents across North Carolina.

In 2025, NC LEAF was awarded a $110,000 Administration of Justice grant to support the loan repayment assistance program.

NC LEAF’s promotion and support of public interest legal representation in 2025 resulted in:
NC IOLTA Public Interest Internship Program

NC IOLTA’s Public Interest Internship Program seeks to address the shortage of attorneys in nearly half of North Carolina’s counties, known as legal deserts, by funding summer opportunities for law students interested in practicing public interest law in these communities.

Through this program, each accredited law school in North Carolina — Campbell University, Duke University, Elon University, North Carolina Central University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Wake Forest University — was awarded an Administration of Justice grant of up to $50,000 to provide stipends for students interning in legal deserts across the state or in roles that have a statewide impact.

In 2025, the second year of the renewed program, these law schools were awarded a total of $241,945.

The Public Interest Internship Program’s promotion and support of public interest legal representation in 2025 resulted in:
North Carolina Office of Indigent Defense Services

North Carolina Office of Indigent Defense Services (IDS) oversees legal representation for indigent criminal defendants and others entitled to counsel in North Carolina. IDS trains, qualifies and sets performance standards for these attorneys and determines the most appropriate and cost-effective methods for delivering legal defense services in each of the state’s judicial districts.

In 2025, IDS was awarded a $160,000 Administration of Justice grant to support a Recruitment and Training Coordinator position aimed at improving the retention and effectiveness of attorneys providing public defense. This was the third year of funding to support this role, particularly necessary during a period when IDS added to the public defense system in North Carolina eight new public defender offices serving 22 counties.

IDS’s Office of the Juvenile Defender, which provides training and technical support to attorneys representing youths accused of committing crimes, was awarded a separate Administration of Justice grant in the amount of $33,800 to support the expansion of the roster of qualified juvenile attorneys.

IDS’s promotion and support of public interest legal representation in 2025 resulted in:

Find highlights of other 2025 NC IOLTA grantees on our Grantees page.
Explore the impact NC IOLTA grantees make for their clients and communities on our Stories page.
Learn about the importance of civil legal aid on our Media Resources page under “FAQs About Civil Legal Aid in NC.”

At top, members of the 2025 cohort of NC IOLTA’s Public Interest Internship Program gather at the State Bar.

Legislation passed by the North Carolina General Assembly on July 9, 2025, bars NC IOLTA from grantmaking from July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026. Consistent with the legislation, our 2026 funding cycle has not been opened.

Learn more about NC IOLTA and find our most recent updates on this issue on our Media Resources page.

The NC State Bar and NC IOLTA continue to seek a resolution to preserve funding for civil legal aid, which plays a critical role in building a legal system that works for everyone, breaking down barriers and creating strong communities across North Carolina.

2025 Grantee Highlights: Programs Promoting and Supporting Public Interest Legal Representation

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