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A National Perspective on Shaping Future Leaders for Justice

A National Perspective on Shaping Future Leaders for Justice. Presented by:  Melanie Kushnir American Bar Association Center for Pro Bono www.abaprobono.org October 5, 2007 Columbus School of Law The Catholic University of America Washington D.C.

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A National Perspective on Shaping Future Leaders for Justice

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  1. A National Perspective on Shaping Future Leaders for Justice Presented by:  Melanie Kushnir American Bar Association Center for Pro Bono www.abaprobono.org October 5, 2007 Columbus School of Law The Catholic University of America Washington D.C.

  2. Major Initiatives Leading to Expansion of Law School Pro Bono • 1990 Pro Bono Students America • 1996 ABA Accreditation Law School Pro Bono Standard 302(e) • 1999 Learning to Serve: The Findings and Proposals of the AALS Commission on Pro Bono and Public Service Opportunities. • 2005 ABA Pro Bono Accreditation Standard 302(b)(2) • 2006 ABA Resolution 121B – Law School Support and Promotion of Pro Bono • ABA/NLADA Annual Equal Justice Conference • 2007 LSC Resolution in Support of Enhanced Private Attorney Involvement • NALP Directory of Legal Employers • EJW The E-Guide to Public Service at America’s Law Schools

  3. ABA Model Rule of Professional Conduct 6.1 PRO BONO 1.  Lawyers should provide 50 hours of pro bono work annually. 2.  A majority of that work should be direct representation of the poor or organizations which serve the poor with no expectation of remuneration. 3.  Direct representation of other individuals and organizations can also qualify, including representation at a substantially reduced rate, for certain kinds of public interest issues. PRO BONO PUBLIC SERVICE Providing law related public service (not direct representation) also counts as pro bono.

  4. Non-legal community service such as building a home for Habitat for Humanity, volunteering time at a soup kitchen, or painting a school, while valuable and worthwhile activities, are generally not considered “pro bono” within the meaning of Model Rule 6.1. 

  5. Models of Law School Volunteer Programs www.abaprobono.org/lawschools Graduation Requirement Programs: • Pro Bono Graduation Requirement Program • Public Service Graduation Requirement Program • Community Service Graduation Requirement Program Formal Voluntary Pro Bono Programs: • Formal Voluntary Pro Bono Program Characterized by a Referral System with a Coordinator • Formal Voluntary Pro Bono Program Characterized by Administrative Support for Student Group Projects Independent Student Pro Bono Group Projects with no school-wide pro bono program

  6. Why is NOW a great time to initiate or expand a law school pro bono program?

  7. PRACTICE SETTING % of lawyers in… 198019912000 • Private Practice 68% 73% 74% • Government 9% 8% 8% • Private Industry 10% 9% 8% • Retired/Inactive 5% 5% 5% • Judiciary 4% 3% 3% • Education 1% 1% 1% • Legal Aid/Public Defender2% 1% 1% • Private Association 1% 1% 1% Source: The Lawyer Statistical Report, American Bar Foundation, 1985,1994, 2004 editions

  8. Room for Improvement • Only 1% of the sample reported that pro bono issues received coverage in orientation programs or professional responsibility courses. • Only 3% of graduates observed visible faculty support for pro bono service, or felt that their schools provided adequate clinical opportunities for public interest work. • Only a third of graduates believed that the financial resources devoted to pro bono activities were adequate. Pro Bono In Principle and In Practice: Public Service and The Professions, Deborah Rhode,Vol. 15 No.9 (September 2005).

  9. Benefits of a Law School Pro Bono Program for Students • Provide much needed legal services to persons of limited means • Connect legal theory with practical issues faced by low-income individuals • Develop and enhance legal practice skills • Build relationship with practicing attorneys • Gain exposure to practice areas • Obtain professional experience and enhance resume • Make legal education more interesting, relevant and meaningful • Acquire leadership skills • Achieve personal fulfillment

  10. Benefits of a Law School Pro Bono Program for Law Schools • Enhance law school’s ties, relationship, reputation and stature within the local community • Enhance and strengthen relationships with alumni • Assist law school in recruitment efforts • Enables school to demonstrate its commitment to public service and needs of low-income person in the community. • Foster institution’s education mission • Enhance law school’s ties to local legal community, including bar associations, judiciary, etc. • Increase opportunities for faculty research and scholarship

  11. Findings from the 2005 ABA Data Collection Report • 66% of lawyers provide pro bono services to people of limited means and/or to organizations serving the poor • They provide approximately 39 hours of pro bono service annually to persons of limited means or organizations serving the poor • Lawyers provide an additional 38 hours annually of free pro bono service toward securing or protecting civil rights and improving the legal system.

  12. PRO BONO ISEVERYWHERE!

  13. ABA Pro Bono Accreditation Standard 302(b)(2) “A law school shall offer substantial opportunities for . . . student participation in pro bono activities . . .”

  14. Interpretation 302-10 of the ABA Pro Bono Accreditation Standard Pro bono opportunities should at a minimum involve the rendering of meaningful law-related service to persons of limited means or to organizations that serve such persons. Standard 302(b)(2) does not preclude the inclusion of credit-granting activities within a law school’s overall program of pro bono opportunities so long as law-related non-credit bearing initiatives are also part of that program.

  15. Pro Bono Quiz! • A law student interviews families living in FEMA trailers in Louisiana on issues such as health insurance, school attendance by school-age children, unemployment levels, plans and options for other housing as part of an extensive survey to match these residents with social and legal service providers. Pro Bono?

  16. Pro Bono Quiz! • A student attends a law school with a Public Service Graduation Requirement that requires students to perform law-related public service but is flexible in the form of the service allowing pro bono placements, internships, externships, and a poverty law course to count toward fulfillment of the school’s requirement. The student chooses to take the poverty law course and graduates law school without having participated in a traditional non-credit bearing pro bono opportunity. Pro Bono? Public Service?

  17. Pro Bono Quiz! • Student volunteers for 10 weeks over summer at a legal services office and is not paid by the program (nor are clients paying for services) but receives a $4,000 stipend from a non-profit organization to cover expenses. A $1,000 education voucher? A $250 award from the law school public interest organization?

  18. A Baker’s Dozen Tips for Building An Effective Law School Pro Bono Program TIP # 1 Establish a Formal Policy that Includes a Definition of Pro Bono

  19. A Baker’s Dozen Tips for Building An Effective Law School Pro Bono Program TIP # 2 Provide Institutional Support

  20. A Baker’s Dozen Tips for Building An Effective Law School Pro Bono Program TIP # 3 Assure Adequate Staffing and Support

  21. A Baker’s Dozen Tips for Building An Effective Law School Pro Bono Program TIP # 4 Establish a Location and Identity

  22. A Baker’s Dozen Tips for Building An Effective Law School Pro Bono Program TIP # 5 Develop a Range of Recruitment Strategies

  23. A Baker’s Dozen Tips for Building An Effective Law School Pro Bono Program TIP # 6 Broad Range of Placements

  24. A Baker’s Dozen Tips for Building An Effective Law School Pro Bono Program TIP # 7 Build Structures for Appropriate Supervision and Quality Control

  25. A Baker’s Dozen Tips for Building An Effective Law School Pro Bono Program TIP # 8 Track Pro Bono

  26. A Baker’s Dozen Tips for Building An Effective Law School Pro Bono Program TIP # 9 Build Pro Bono into the Law School Curriculum

  27. A Baker’s Dozen Tips for Building An Effective Law School Pro Bono Program TIP # 10 Involve Students in Program Development and Administration

  28. A Baker’s Dozen Tips for Building An Effective Law School Pro Bono Program TIP # 11 Collaborate with Legal Community, Legal Service Providersand Community-at-Large

  29. A Baker’s Dozen Tips for Building An Effective Law School Pro Bono Program TIP # 12 Conduct Outreach to and Collaborate with Alumni

  30. A Baker’s Dozen Tips for Building An Effective Law School Pro Bono Program TIP # 13 Recognize Students and Faculty

  31. www.abaprobono.org

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