Date Chartered: 5/31/1999
Purpose
The Section on Pro Bono and Public Service Opportunities promotes the communication of ideas, interests and activities among members of the Section and makes recommendations to the Association on matters concerning Pro Bono and Public Service Opportunities.
AALS Pro Bono Section Newsletter (Summer 2020)
AALS Pro Bono Section Newsletter (Fall 2019) (PDF)
AALS Pro Bono Section Newsletter (Summer 2019) (PDF)
AALS Pro Bono Section Newsletter (Spring 2019) (PDF)
AALS Pro Bono Section Newsletter (Fall 2018) (PDF)
AALS Pro Bono Section Newsletter (Summer 2018) (PDF)
AALS Pro Bono Section Newsletter (March 2018) (PDF)
AALS Pro Bono Section Newsletter (December 2017) (PDF)
AALS Pro Bono Section Newsletter (July 2017) (PDF)
AALS Pro Bono Section Newsletter (April 2017) (PDF)
AALS Pro Bono Section Newsletter (December 2016) (PDF)
AALS Pro Bono Section Newsletter (August 2016) (PDF)
2022
Joint Program
AALS Open Source Program
Leadership (Co-Sponsored by Pro Bono & Public Service Opportunities)
Awards
2021
Main Program
Award Presentation
Leadership (Co-Sponsored by Pro Bono & Public Service Opportunities)
2020
Main Program
Service Project
Empirical study of Legal Education and the Legal Profession (Co-sponsored by Pro Bono & Public Service Opportunities)
Leadership (Co-sponsored by Pro Bono & Public Service Opportunities)
2019
Main Program
Service Project
Leadership (Co-sponsored by Pro Bono & Public Service Opportunities)
2022 Call for Section Award Nominations
The AALS Section on Pro Bono and Public Service Opportunities (PBPSO) seeks nominations for its newly redesigned annual awards that will be presented during the virtual AALS Annual Meeting in January 2022: a Lifetime Achievement Award, an Access to Justice Award, and an Emerging Leader Award. We look forward to this opportunity to recognize and celebrate our pro bono community’s invaluable contributions and inspirational work.
Nomination Guidance:
The nomination deadline is October 19, 2021.
- Nominations of others or oneself may be made by any member of AALS.
– Re‐nomination of persons who have been previously nominated but not selected is encouraged.
– See list of prior awardees. - Email a nomination letter (no longer than 5 pages) to Tonya Jupiter, Secretary of the AALSSection on Pro Bono and Public Service Opportunities, at tjupiter@tulane.edu. Nomination letters may be accompanied by no more than three letters of support.
– Please use a descriptive subject line such as “Nomination of xxx by xxx for the xxx Award,” or “Letter of support for nomination of xxx for xxx award from xxx.”
– Optimally the nomination and letters of support will be submitted together as one PDF. - Contact Tonya tjupiter@tulane.edu with questions.
Lifetime Achievement Award
The AALS Pro Bono & Public Service Opportunities Section Lifetime Achievement Award honors those who have significantly advanced pro bono and public service in the law school setting over the course of their career.
Who may be nominated: Any Dean, faculty, or staff at an AALS member school
Evaluation Factors:
Length of career/service in a law school setting
Nominators can discuss how the nominee has significantly advanced pro bono and public service in the law school setting through examples of some or all of the following:
- Leadership (How has the nominee inspired others to act?)
- Program design/management (How has the nominee created opportunities for others to serve?)
- Scholarship (How has the nominee advanced, deepened, or disseminated the discourse around pro bono and/or public service?)
- Innovation (How has the nominee changed the way pro bono and/or public service is taught, practiced, or treated?)
- Impact (How has the nominee impacted access to justice in the law school or broader community?)
- Personal pro bono service (How has the nominee set an example of pro bono service?)
Access to Justice Award
The AALS Pro Bono & Public Service Opportunities Section Access to Justice Award honors those who manage Pro Bono Programs and who have removed barriers to justice and/or improved legal services to individuals unable to pay for such services.
Who may be nominated: Any Dean, faculty, or staff at an AALS member school who has designed or managed a pro bono program.
Evaluation factors may include some or all of the following:
- If the nominee manages a Pro Bono Program, what has been the impact of the pro bono program on clients, the surrounding community, and law students/law school?
- How has the nominee increased awareness of the role law students and lawyers should play in addressing the justice gap?
- How has the nominee otherwise advanced the access to justice movement?
- How has the nominee addressed systemic access to justice issues?
Emerging Leader Award
The AALS Pro Bono & Public Service Opportunities Section Emerging Leader Award honors early‐to‐mid career staff or faculty who have made an outstanding contribution to pro bono and public service in the law school setting.
Who may be nominated: Faculty or staff at an AALS member school who have been working in a pro bono/public service role at a law school for approximately two to six years.
Evaluation factors may include some or all of the following:
- Leadership (How has the nominee inspired others to act?)
- Program design/management (How has the nominee created opportunities for others to serve?)
- Scholarship (How has the nominee advanced, deepened, or disseminated the discourse around pro bono and/or public service?)
- Innovation (How has the nominee changed the way pro bono and/or public service is taught, practiced, or treated?)
- Impact (How has the nominee impacted access to justice in the law school or broader community?)
- Personal pro bono service (How has the nominee set an example of pro bono service?)
Recipients
Year | Award Name | Recipient | Law School |
---|---|---|---|
2022 | Access to Justice Award | Ryan Sullivan | University of Nebraska, College of Law |
2022 | Emerging Leader Award | Allison Constance | University of North Carolina, School of Law |
2022 | Lifetime Achievement Award | Marjorie McDiarmid | West Virginia Univeristy College of Law |
2021 | Deborah L. Rhode Award | Erwin Chemerinsky | University of California, Berkeley School of Law |
2021 | Father Robert Drinan Award | Pamela Robinson | University of South Carolina, School of Law |
2020 | Deborah L. Rhode Award | Aviam Soifer | University of Hawaii, William S. Richardson School of Law |
2020 | Father Robert Drinian Award | Laurie Barron | Roger Williams University School of Law |
2019 | Deborah L. Rhode Award | Vivian Neptune Rivera | University of Puerto Rico School of Law |
2019 | Father Robert Drinian Award | Louis Rulli | University of Pennsylvania Law School |
2018 | Deborah L. Rhode Award | Angela Drake | University of Missouri School of Law |
2018 | Father Robert Drinian Award | Thomas Schoenherr | Fordham University School of Law |
2017 | Father Robert Drinian Award | Paolo Annino | Florida State University |
2016 | Deborah L. Rhode Award | James H. Rosenblatt | Mississippi College School of Law |
2016 | Father Robert Drinan Award | Janet Weinstein | California Western School of Law |
2015 | Deborah L. Rhode Award | Gerald Lopez | University of California, Los Angeles School of Law |
2015 | Father Robert Drinan Award | William P. Quigley | Loyola University New Orleans College of Law |
2014 | Deborah L. Rhode Award | Mathew Diller | Benjamin Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University |
2014 | Father Robert Drinan Award | Linda McGuire | University of Iowa College of Law |
2013 | Deborah L. Rhode Award | Douglas A. Blaze | University Tennessee College of Law |
2013 | Father Robert Drinan Award | J.P. “Sandy” Ogilvy | The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law |
2012 | Deborah L. Rhode Award | Claudio Grossman | American University Washington College of Law |
2012 | Father Robert Drinan Award | Christine Smith | University of Nevada, Las Vegas, William S. Boyd School of Law |