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Learning To Serve Appendix Examples of Law School Pro Bono Programs and Projects In response to our survey of pro bono programs at American law schools, the Commission received forms describing 426 projects. In this Appendix, we have drawn from the survey forms and from conversations with administrators to provide specific examples of projects currently in operation. We hope they provide guidance for schools seeking to develop additional public services opportunities for their students. The programs chosen represent only a few of the many possible public service programs. We make no representations about the quality of any program. Programs at schools where members of the Commission teach were not included. The focus is on programs that provide opportunities for law-related public service without academic credit. So, although many excellent programs provide much needed services for their communities through clinics or other for credit programs, for the most part, they are not included here. In assembling this Appendix, we are grateful to Tracy Gonos formerly of Pro Bono Students America. We are, of course, also grateful to all the administrators and faculty who responded to the AALS survey and to our requests for verification of the information that follows. I. Pro Bono Programs that Require Student Service Over a dozen American law schools require their students to perform public service work during their three years of law school. These schools include:
Columbia University School of Law The programs at the listed schools vary greatly in the numbers of hours required, in the timing during law school the work has to be performed, in what sorts of work the students may do to fulfill the requirement, and in the amount of staffing provided by the law school. Many of the placements that the schools make are of the sort elsewhere described in this Appendix- that is, some students are referred to outside organizations and some students work on subject-matter specialized projects developed within the law school. In two of these programs, Northeastern and Washington, students may receive compensation or academic credit for their service. Here are descriptions of three mandatory pro bono programs: At the University of Pennsylvania Law School, the faculty voted in 1989 to require that all law students perform 70 hours of law-related public service work as a condition of graduation and created the Public Service Program. Students can fulfill the requirement by working for a wide variety of organizations - government agencies, public schools, non-profit organizations, professors, and with student managed legal projects. They can also work for private practitioners on the practitioners' pro bono cases. Students can fulfill 35 hours of this requirement by participating in a clinic and accepting one less academic credit than the standard clinic credits. Each year the Program places as many as 500 students in more than 300 projects nationwide. The Program staff consists of a full-time executive director, assistant director and administrative assistant, as well as five part-time coordinators. In addition, local attorneys with public interest practice experience are retained as consultants to provide training and some of the supervision for the students. Students use the program's offices for calling clients, faxing documents, etc. In 1999, the Program received over $80,000 in grant money from various sources, which more than covered the operational expenses (non-inclusive of staff salaries) of the Program. The Program conducts annual review of sites to insure quality supervision and conducts individualized counseling for students to ensure appropriate placements. Program sponsors and the student participants indicate a high degree of satisfaction with the Program: 99% of the 1998-1999 sites selected to re-enroll in the Program for the following academic year and more than 90% of the student participants recommended their placement to future student participants. In a recent graduating class, over 50% of the students had performed service above and beyond the 70-hour requirement. A recent study of the Program graduates reveals that 77% of the school's graduates participate in pro bono work and that more than 90% believe that public service is an ethical obligation for all lawyers. Contact Susan Feathers at (215) 898-0459 or sfeather@oyez.law.upenn.edu. Northeastern University School of Law requires students to fulfill a public interest requirement. Students may do so in any of several ways. These include: completion of a term working in the public interest (public service co-op), completion of a public interest clinical course, 30 hours of pro bono work or an independent study for at least three credits. A committee at the law school administers the Pro Bono Requirement and consists of administrators, faculty and students. The Pro Bono Component to the Requirement involves students performing 30 hours of uncompensated legal work during their second or third year of law school in a public interest setting or in an approved public interest pro bono project with a private firm. The cost for print and on-line resources for the Pro Bono Component of the Requirement is approximately $1,100 which includes an annual subscription to the Pro Bono Students America (PBSA) database. First year students also participate in a program named Legal Culture and Difference/Legal Discourse on Difference. After spending a semester studying the impact of law on social issues such as race, poverty, gender, and sexual orientation, students must perform 20 hours of uncompensated work on community lawyering projects. The community lawyering project is conducted by an adjunct professor; 24 upper-class students serve as facilitators for the project. Student work is supervised by faculty and by lawyers at the outside organization. Contact Susan Maze-Rothstein at (617) 373-7609 about this first year program. For information about Northeastern's Public Service program contact Jeff Smith, Randi Friedman or Valerie Kapilow in the Office of Career Services, 617-373-2398. The Brandeis School of Law in Louisville, Kentucky has a mandatory 30-hour public service requirement for each graduating student. Students must perform their service after the first year of law school. The law school maintains a roster of almost 150 approved public service organizations, with over 300 placement opportunities, from which students can choose. Each year approximately 100 students participate in the program. The program is administered by one part-time director and another part-time person. Operating expenses and special project costs are paid for with grant funds and the proceeds of the Louisville Bar Association golf outing each year. Eighty-six percent of students say the experience has had a positive impact on their willingness to do pro bono work after they graduate. Contact Linda Sorenson Ewald, Associate Dean, Brandeis School of Law, Wilson W. Wyatt Hall, 2301 S. Third Street, Louisville, KY 40292 [(502) 852-7362]. II. Pro Bono Programs that Use a Community Referral System Many law schools use a referral system to match students with pro bono opportunities in the community. These referral-based programs may be mandatory or voluntary programs. They are usually run by a director/coordinator who develops a list of possible placements for students with local public service organizations and with local volunteer attorneys and who sometimes also develops inside legal projects. Three models of such programs are:
Public Service Law Network (PS LawNet) Programs New York University Law School is home to PSLawNet and relies on the PSLawNet database for placements. At the beginning of each semester the school's Public Interest Law Center advertises the program to students by stuffing student mailboxes, placing a notice in the school paper and placing signs at various locations around the law school. Interested students participate in small group orientation sessions, at which the coordinator discusses the benefits of pro bono work and demonstrates how the PSLawNet database is used to locate a public interest placement. After going through the orientation session, students search for opportunities on the PSLawNet database. They then bring a rank-ordered list of their top four choices, along with a copy of their resume, to the PSLawNet coordinator. The coordinator faxes a copy of the student's resume to the organization. The group then calls or emails the student directly. The coordinator makes himself or herself available to students for counseling regarding the internship search. At NYU, this process has resulted in over 150 students per semester participating in orientation sessions. Approximately half of these students locate and accept positions with public service organizations where they work anywhere from five to twenty hours per week throughout the semester. Many of these students continue to do pro bono work throughout their law school careers. Some of the students who go through the orientation process but not the placement process, opt to volunteer with student organizations or to re-enter the program and seek a placement in a subsequent semester. For more information on PSLawNet and on the program at NYU, contact Curt Crossley at (212) 998-6222 or crossleyc@turing.law.nyu.edu. Boston College Law School also relies heavily on the PSLawNet database and program. Students attend a PSLawNet training session in order to identify a local organization with which to volunteer. These students, including first years, participate in a wide variety of legal work on a pro bono basis at public service organizations, the courts, or government agencies during the semester and during the summer. The students are supervised by the attorneys and staff at the organizations where they are volunteering. Contact Rachel Sagan at (617) 552-4345.
Schools With Their Own Referral System University of Florida College of Law's Pro Bono Opportunities Project also places students with outside legal organizations through contacts largely developed by the law school staff. Approximately 55 students participate each year for an average of 35 hours per semester. Contact Kathy Urbach at (352) 392-0499.
A Joint Effort Among Several Law Schools
III. In-House and Collaborative Pro Bono Projects Providing Specialized Legal Services Here are some examples representing the diversity of subject and structure of law school pro bono projects:
Bankruptcy
Children's Rights Several law schools have partnerships with their local Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) or Guardian Ad Litem (GAL) programs. One example of such a partnership is at Marshall-Wythe School of Law at the College of William & Mary. About 25 students a year receive training and then are assigned by the Juvenile Court Judge to be an advocate/friend/voice for a child or children in the court - usually in a custody or related proceeding. No money is expended by the school. The reports from the CASA staff indicate that "law students are a valuable asset to the children and the court." Contact John Levy at 757-221-3824.
Civil Rights/Human Rights Through the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL) at Notre Dame Law School, students research and write legal briefs regarding human rights cases pending at the Inter-American Commission and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. The drafts of the briefs are reviewed and critiqued by a supervising faculty member. The project costs $300 annually. Contact Dinah Shelton at 219-631-8555.
Criminal Law At the University of Virginia School of Law, students operate the Pro Bono Criminal Assistance Project (P-CAP). P-CAP provides an array of legal assistance in the community, primarily in the area of criminal defense work. Students work in five groups: Appointed Cases, Bail Project, Capital Cases, Beaumont Juvenile Project, and Litigation. About 65 students participate each year. Their work is supervised mostly by outside lawyers and the school contributes $4500 a year to the project. The students report that "P-CAP offers the best hands-on pro bono opportunity in the Law School." Contact Kimberly Emery, Assistant Dean for Public Service, at 804-924-3883, kemery@law.virginia.edu, or call the P-CAP office at 804-924-3034. Several law schools have pro bono projects involving work on death penalty cases. One such project is located at the University of Iowa College of Law. The Death Penalty Project has partnered with local attorneys recruited by the Southern Center for Human Rights to represent death row inmates in Alabama. The students provide research, proofreading and other support for these attorneys. For more information on Iowa's project contact Linda McGuire, Assistant Dean, at 319-335-9094, linda-mcguire@uiowa.edu. For additional information on developing pro bono death penalty projects at your school, contact Elisabeth Semel, Director, ABA Death Penalty Representation Project, 740 15th Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20005, 202-662-1513 or 202-662-1995, esemel@aol.com.
Domestic Violence Wake Forest University School of Law's Domestic Violence Advocacy Center also provides legal representation for indigent victims of domestic violence. Each year over 50 students, including first years, participate in the project. The student participants are supervised by other students, members of the law school non-clinical faculty, and lawyers not on staff at the law school, with primary supervision provided by the local legal services office. Student participants perform the majority of their work at outside law offices and contribute approximately three hours per week to the project. All lawyer supervision is on a volunteer basis. The project provides representation annually to over 150 battered persons. Contact Suzanne Reynolds at sreynolds@law.wfu.edu. The University of Virginia School of Law's Domestic Violence Project involves students in domestic violence in a variety of ways. The Project educates the Law School about issues of domestic violence through discussion panels and films. It monitors the Juvenile and Domestic Relations courts to inform women about the services available to them if they are being abused, sends volunteers to the local domestic violence shelter, and sends students on ride-along with the Charlottesville police to get a first hand look at incidents of domestic violence. The project also tries to recruit attorneys to provide legal education sessions at the shelter. Participating students commit an average of two hours per week to the project and organize a yearly fundraiser. While the law school does provide some shared space to the project, the majority of the work takes place at the local domestic violence shelter. Except for the costs of the space it provides, this project operates at no cost to the law school. Contact Kimberly Emery, Assistant Dean for Public Service, at 804-924-3883, kemery@law.virginia.edu.
Elder Law The Drake University Law School Center for Public Service Attorneys' Professional Development operates the Iowa Elderlaw Legal Hotline for the elderly. Students interview elderly clients, investigate the client's problem, research the law, draft pleadings, and conduct settlement negotiations and trials. Students also conduct informational sessions for seniors. The school provides separate offices for: the Director of the Center, who is a professor; the Hotline's part-time staff attorney, who is funded by grant funds; and each of the 2-5 student participants, who volunteer for a semester. Students meet with their supervisors weekly and commit approximately 15 hours per week to the project. The majority of the project's funding comes from grants. Grants have been received from the AARP ($55,000), two local casinos ($145,000), and U.S. West ($5,000). Contact Daniel L. Power, Director of the Elderlaw Hotline Project and Director of the Center at (515) 271-3800.
Environmental Law Homelessness/Housing The Homeless Assistance Project at Albany Law School assists residents of a homeless shelter by preparing for, and representing them at, hearings to appeal home relief denials. Members of the law school's clinical and non-clinical faculty supervise the students. The school reports that the shelter's management and residents really appreciate the program. Contact Albany at 518-445-2311. At Emory University Law School, students volunteer their time to meet with homeless men and women and discuss their legal issues under the supervision of the Legal Clinic for the Homeless (an Atlanta non-profit organization). The program has had as many as 43 student volunteers in a school year. The school expends approximately $125 a year to assist the project. Contact Cindy Joffe at 404-727-6924. Touro College Law Center in New York City operates a housing rights project in conjunction with the local legal services program. A branch office of a large public interest housing program is located on campus within the suite housing the in-house clinical programs. Each year, 80-100 students represent clients in eviction and housing condition cases and in matters related to admission or removal from public housing. Each semester there is a 11/2 hour training session for incoming students. The law students are supervised by a staff attorney, who is not a member of the faculty. Students volunteer over twenty hours each to this program. They report that they have had a valuable learning experience, especially when they have had an opportunity for client contact and appear in court. Many students report a greater understanding of the legal difficulties faced by poor clients and the unresponsiveness of the legal system to their needs. Contact Rhonda Shepardson at (516) 421-2244 x339.
Immigration/Asylum At Emory University Law School, the Immigrant Assistance Project is a student-run association dedicated to meeting the need for greater awareness, support and dissemination of timely information that relates to current federal immigration laws and policies to members of the Emory University community and those individuals seeking asylum, temporary or permanent residency or citizenship in the United States. Contact Raquel Gayle at (404) 727-6924. The University of Washington's Immigrant Families Advocacy Project works in conjunction with the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NIRP) to serve battered women seeking to immigrate to the United States. The project provides students with opportunities to engage in direct representation, research, administrative tasks and fundraising. Students interested in direct representation meet with domestic violence victims and assist them in petitioning the INS to obtain legal residency without the help or knowledge of their abusive parent or spouse. Approximately 50 students participate in the project and are supervised by members of the law school non-clinical faculty and local attorneys from NIRP. To date, all student-prepared petitions have been approved by the INS. Students not interested in direct representation have opportunities to do legal research, coordinate and participate in fundraising, and organizing volunteer training. Contact Berneta Walraven at (206) 543-4550.
Income Tax Assistance About 75 students each year volunteer at American University's Washington College of Law to help Washington area residents with their tax forms on a walk-in basis. An initial training is conducted in the school's library by local area practitioners. Advice is given at a downtown library convenient to the people who need the service. Members of the law school's clinical and nonclinical faculty provide supervision for the students. For more information, contact David Jaffe at (202) 274-4030, djaffe@wcl.american.edu At the University of Nebraska College of Law, about 30 students a year participate in the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. The students receive training on tax return requirements. They then provide help on filling out federal and state income tax returns at various sites around Lincoln, including retirement homes, community centers, and shopping malls. Both students and clients have been enthusiastic about the program. Contact Professor William H. Lyons at (402) 472-1246.
Labor Law
Law Reform and Public Policy St. Louis University School of Law's Public Policy Project also works with five law students each year. These students perform research on public policy issues such as campaign finance reform, militia regulation, and health care reform. The students participate approximately 5 hours per week and are supervised by lawyers not on the faculty and by directors of public interest organizations. This project is evaluated by supervisors at the organizations and regular feedback is provided between the students and the school. Students have helped to draft state legislation on important issues. Contact Assistant Professor John Ammann, (314) 977-2796, ammannjj@slu.edu.
Mediation
Prisoner's Issues The Indiana University School of Law in Bloomington has an Inmate Legal Assistance Clinic. Approximately 40 students give 7 hours per month to work on intra-institutional problems at the federal penitentiary at Terre Haute, Indiana. ILAC has shared student office space within the law school and the school provides $1800 a year in financial assistance. Student work is supervised by non-clinical faculty. The school reports that the program is "very successful in terms of student interest and the ability to expose them to real life situations and to increase their understanding of the penal systems." For additional information on this project, log on to http://www.law.indiana.edu/aca/pubint/probono.html. Contact Jan Turner, Assistant to the Dean, at 812-855-7995, turnerj@indiana.edu. At the New England School of Law, the 25 students on the N.E. Journal on Civil and Criminal Confinement organize and run the Prison Outreach Program (POP). Students meet weekly with pre-trial detainees in local jails to discuss Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth amendment issues, bail issues, evidentiary issues and post-conviction relief alternatives. POP has a coordinator who reviews the work of students and gives suggestions for improvement. Feedback is also given by prison officials and pre-trial detainees. Contact New England at 617-451-0010. IV. Pro Bono Projects Teaching about the Law
Street Law At the University of Southern California, fifty students participate each year in a street law program. Students work at several nearby local high schools (the law school is located in a diverse area of Los Angeles). Most of the coordination of the program is performed by a law student who is paid through a grant. The work is supervised by high school teachers, other law students, and ultimately by members of the law school's administration. Contact Associate Dean Karen Lash, (213) 740-9415, klash@law.usc.edu At Case Western Reserve School of Law, fifty law students work 6 hours per week in their street law program. Through this program students teach torts, criminal justice, juvenile law, civil rights, and substance abuse law to high school students. The law students are supervised by members of the law school faculty. Each law student receives training on teaching methods and substantive subject area. The law school expends approximately $800 each year to support this program. Students receive feedback and evaluation from the on-site high school teachers, their own self evaluations, and the law school faculty who conduct the training. The street law program has been successful from the perspective of both the law students and the high schools. Contact Assistant Dean Bryan Adamson, (216) 368-5136, bla@po.cwru.edu. The University of Pennsylvania Law School participates with Temple University School of Law in a Street Law program called the Philadelphia Urban Law Student Experience (PULSE) that places students teaching law related education in urban classrooms. Each student contributes at least 35 hours and the minority student organizations are heavily involved. The program seeks to increase school safety of K-12 students by pairing cooperating teachers with law students to teach a law-related and civic education curriculum focused on conflict resolution. Students are supervised by a part-time attorney and by members of the administration. The program is extremely popular with Penn students, with over 100 students on its waiting list. In one survey, 50% of the participating law students reported that participation in PULSE influenced their viewpoint that the obligation of an attorney to perform public services was extremely important (another substantial number noted they already held that position). In addition, the public schools report that disciplinary problems have significantly declined since the program's inception. Penn contact is Susan Feathers (215) 898-0459, sfeather@oyez.law.upenn.edu. Emory University Law School has a specialized street law program called the Street Law Capital Punishment Project. Through this project, students arrange seminars, brown bag discussions, workshops on administration of capital punishment, and Fourth and Fifth Amendment-based constitutional nights with area middle school, high school and college students. There is also some ad hoc legal support provided in appellate cases. The project is operated out of the office of the school's National Lawyers Guild Chapter. The cost of the program is about $75 a year. Contact Heather Poisson at (404) 727-6924.
Advocacy Training
Legal Careers Students at the University of Kansas School of Law run a similar program called "Thurgood Marshall Law Days". While many law students participate in the program, the prime movers have been members of the KU's black law student organization. The students have planned and implemented a two day program at the law school on the law and law-related careers for students from all local junior high schools. The school reports that the program's costs are minimal and that law student enthusiasm and comments from participants (including members of the local legal community and law enforcement officials) have been highly favorable. Contact Shelley Hickman Clark, Associate Dean for Administration, 785-864-4550. V. Pro Bono Work in Conjunction with Clinical Programs Many law schools offer some sort of clinical education opportunity, either on-campus or off-campus in cooperation with legal services programs or other public interest organizations. Often schools use volunteer students who are receiving no credit for their work to supplement the work of the clinical students. The volunteer students may have never taken the clinic and perform functions other than direct representation of clients or these students may have completed the clinic and choose to continue their representation pro bono. One of the largest of these clinical supplement programs is at the East San Jose Community Law Center, a community-based clinical program of the Santa Clara University School of Law. About 115 students each year work in the clinic to provide free legal services to approximately 1500 low-income clients in employment, immigration, consumer and small business matters. About 65 of these students are volunteer, non-clinical students. These students counsel individuals at drop-in clinics where they interview clients, consult with a supervising attorney, and then relay advice to the clients. These students may also present community workshops and prepare public education materials. Pro bono attorneys provide substantial help in supervising and training students at the Center. In 1998, 55 attorneys volunteered with the Center. Information regarding the Center's work, law students, clients, and staff appears at www.scu.edu/law/ESJCLC. Words of appreciation from clients can be found on the web site in the Center's newsletters. Positive comments from students appear in the "People" section of the web site. For more information, contact Peggy Stevenson, Director of the Community Law Center, at Mstevenson@scu.edu.
List of Law Schools Reporting (with names of contact persons, where available)
University of Akron, C. Blake McDowell Law Center- Judith Corrente, Director, Law Career Planning and Placement, 330.972.7331 |