The Association of American Law Schools (AALS) for the sixth year measured how much law schools contribute to the delivery of much-needed legal services through clinics, other experiential courses, and pro bono activities of law students.

In the fall of 2023, 83 law schools reported that 16,559 law students in the graduating class of 2023* contributed 3,289,714.63 hours in legal services as part of their legal education, an average of 198.6 hours per student. Independent Sector, a nonprofit organization coalition, estimates the value of volunteer time to be $31.80 an hour. Using this number, the total value of the students’ time at these schools is estimated to be in excess of $104.6 million. The schools represent approximately 47 percent of students in American Bar Association-accredited law schools in the class of 2023.

In the same survey, 85 schools reported that 50,493 law students in all class years (1L-3L) during the academic year 2022-23 contributed 4,066,690.69 hours in legal services, an average of approximately 80.5 hours per student. Using the Independent Sector value of volunteer time, the value of these services is estimated to be over $129.3 million.

Many schools indicated that some hours go uncounted or are difficult to track so actual contributions were likely higher. The project also did not include hours contributed by students in law school master’s degree programs such as an LL.M program.

Law students contributed hours through a variety of efforts, including externships at legal aid and community organizations, law school clinics, and law student organization led projects. These hands-on or experiential learning opportunities enabled students to apply classroom teachings to legal problems under the supervision of lawyers and professors. Students received practical experience in law and communities received critical legal services.

Law students contributed hours to hundreds of efforts serving thousands of clients, including the following examples:

• University of Arkansas School of Law – The Delta Initiative
• Baylor University School of Law – Family Law Clinic
• University of California, Los Angeles School of Law – Center on Reproductive Health, Law, and Policy
• Case Western Reserve University School of Law – Environmental Law Clinic
• The University of Chicago, The Law School – Employment Law Project
• University of Colorado Law School – American Indian Law Clinic
• University of Connecticut School of Law – Animal Law Clinic
• Drake University Law School – Middleton Center for Children’s Rights
• Florida State University College of Law – Farmworker & Immigration Rights Clinic (FIRC)
• Harvard Law School – Tenant Advocacy Project
• Howard University School of Law – Movement Lawyering Clinic
• University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa William S. Richardson School of Law – Ka Huli Ao Center for Excellence in Native Hawaiian Law
• Loyola University Chicago School of Law – Immigration Detention Project
• The University of Memphis, Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law – Mediation Clinic
• University of Minnesota Law School – Gun Violence Prevention Clinic
• Mitchell Hamline School of Law – Nonprofit Tax Planning Clinic
• New York University School of Law – Earth Rights Advocacy Clinic
• North Carolina Central University School of Law – Elder Law Project
• Northern Illinois University College of Law – Health Advocacy Clinic
• Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law – Appellate Advocacy Center
• University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School – Trans Empowerment & Advocacy Project (TEA)
• Roger Williams University School of Law – Veterans Disability Appeals Field Clinic
• Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law – COVID-19 Legal Helpline
• The University of Texas School of Law – Law and Religion Clinic
• University of Washington School of Law – Tribal Court Clinic: Criminal Defense and Family Advocacy

The following 104 schools contributed information for the survey:

• Albany Law School
• University of Arkansas School of Law
• University of Baltimore School of Law
• Baylor University School of Law
• Boston University School of Law
• Brooklyn Law School
• University at Buffalo School of Law, SUNY
• California Western School of Law
• Capital University Law School
• Case Western Reserve University School of Law
• University of California, Berkeley School of Law
• University of California, Irvine School of Law
• University of California, Los Angeles School of Law
• The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law
• The University of Chicago, The Law School
• Chicago-Kent College of Law, Illinois Institute of Technology
• University of Cincinnati College of Law
• University of Colorado Law School
• Columbia Law School
• University of Connecticut School of Law
• University of Dayton School of Law
• DePaul University College of Law
• University of Denver Sturm College of Law
• University of Detroit Mercy School of Law
• Drake University Law School
• Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law
• Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University
• Emory University School of Law
• Florida State University College of Law
• Fordham University School of Law
• The George Washington University Law School
• Georgetown University Law Center
• University of Georgia School of Law
• Georgia State University College of Law
• Harvard Law School
• University of Hawaii, William S. Richardson School of Law
• Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University
• Howard University School of Law
• Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law
• Indiana University Maurer School of Law
• University of Iowa College of Law
• University of Kansas School of Law
• Louisiana State University, Paul M. Hebert Law Center
• University of Louisville, Louis D. Brandeis School of Law
• Loyola Law School, Los Angeles
• Loyola University Chicago School of Law
• Marquette University Law School
• University of Maine School of Law
• University of Massachusetts School of Law – Dartmouth
• The University of Memphis, Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law
• University of Miami School of Law
• The University of Michigan Law School
• University of Minnesota Law School
• University of Mississippi School of Law
• University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law
• Mississippi College School of Law
• Mitchell Hamline School of Law
• University of Montana Alexander Blewett III School of Law
• University of New Hampshire School of Law
• New York University School of Law
• University of North Carolina School of Law
• North Carolina Central University School of Law
• University of North Dakota School of Law
• Northern Illinois University College of Law
• Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law|
• Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad College of Law
• Ohio Northern University, Pettit College of Law
• Oklahoma City University School of Law|
• University of Oregon School of Law
• Pace University Elisabeth Haub School of Law
• University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School
• Penn State Dickinson Law
• Penn State Law
• University of Pittsburgh School of Law
• University of Puerto Rico School of Law
• The University of Richmond School of Law
• St. John’s University School of Law
• St. Mary’s University School of Law
• St. Thomas University School of Law
• University of San Diego School of Law
• University of San Francisco School of Law
• Santa Clara University School of Law
• Seattle University School of Law
• South Texas College of Law Houston
• Southern Methodist University, Dedman School of Law
• Southwestern Law School
• Stetson University College of Law
• The University of Texas School of Law
• Texas A&M University School of Law
• Texas Tech University School of Law
• Tulane University Law School
• Vanderbilt University Law School
• Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law
• University of Virginia School of Law
• Wake Forest University School of Law
• University of Washington School of Law
• Wayne State University Law School
• West Virginia University College of Law
• Western New England University School of Law
• Willamette University College of Law
• William & Mary Law School

Reports for 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2022 are available on the AALS website. The survey was not conducted in 2020 or 2021 due to complications related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

*Class of 2023 numbers include all three years of law school in a J.D. program.