Law auction raises $15,850

How much money would you pay for an afternoon with a great dog? How about a lesson in bow-tie knotting with Sen. Paul Simon? Maybe an architectural boat tour of Chicago, with tea at the Drake?

At the Law Students Association's fifth annual charity auction, bidders deemed the afternoon with Bear, beloved dog of Cass Sunstein, the Karl N. Llewellyn Distinguished Service Professor in the Law School, to be worth $75. The tie lesson -- complete with tie -- went for $105. The boat tour and tea with Elizabeth Garrett, Assistant Professor in the Law School, garnered $410.

The auction raised $15,850 to support The Woodlawn Organization (TWO). In the past four years, the LSA event has raised more than $55,000 to help South Side nonprofit organizations.

"Many law schools hold auctions to raise money to support classmates taking summer internships in public-interest law," said Ellen Cosgrove, Dean of Student Affairs in the Law School. "Chicago law students, on the other hand, voluntarily donate enough money to fund their public-interest fellows. Therefore, the proceeds of the auction can benefit outside community organizations. This is another example of the University of Chicago law students' commitment to community. That commitment is a tradition here -- Chicago was named the American Bar Association's Public Interest Law School of the Year in 1995."

Students, faculty members, law firms and local businesses contributed about 80 items for the auction. Bids ran from a low of $30, for an international dinner prepared by five third-year students, to a whopping $1,550, for a wine tasting for eight students with noted wine collector Joseph Isenbergh, the Seymour Logan Professor in the Law School. The quality of the wine, Isenbergh promised, will match the quality of the bid.

Coming in second was a $1,000 bid for "Rovin' With Wild Bill Landes," the Clifton R. Musser Professor in the Law School. What's worth $1,000? Landes will take three students to the Chicago Bulls game of their choice (courtside seats) in his Range Rover and provide dinner at the game.

The Woodlawn Organization helps more than 17,000 people each year on the South Side through job training and placement, counseling, and educational and medical programs. -- Catherine Behan