Date Chartered: 5/31/1999

Purpose

The Section on Pro Bono & Access to Justice promotes the communication of ideas, interests and activities among members of the Section and makes recommendations to the Association on matters concerning Pro Bono & Access to Justice.

Leadership     Section Members

 

2023

Main Program
Award Ceremony

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 [email protected] 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 [email protected] 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