ABSTRACT
Public interest advocates have won landmark court decisions. Freedom of Information and Administrative Procedure Act lawsuits have opened rulemaking processes to public scrutiny and enabled citizens to participate in agency decisionmaking. Through the leadership of public interest lawyers, a large number of attorneys in private practice take on pro bono public interest work. The public's continued support of the goals of environmental and consumer protection groups is another indication of public interest law's place in the mainstream. Through advocacy and public education, public interest lawyers have also armed voters with facts and information to elect politicians committed to consumer and environmental protection. Operating in an arena that is by definition contentious, public interest advocates will always be involved in confrontational situations. The coming of age of public interest lawyers and citizens' groups sometimes can mean that constituencies and causes conflict with each other. Clinical legal education is one of the enduring legacies of the public interest law movement.
