It’s time once again for Trivia Tuesday, our regular exploration of the special programs and opportunities available at leading law schools. This week we take a peek into Virginia Law’s robust pro bono program.
Managed by the Mortimer Caplin Public Service Center, Virginia Law’s Pro Bono Program offers its students the opportunity to gain professional skills and serve their communities through pro bono work. The Public Service Center administers a variety of pro bono projects, most of which require three to five hours of service per week over the course of a semester or academic year. Admission to these projects tends to be very competitive, and students must therefore apply to be selected. Participants are frequently asked to interview and screen clients, conduct research and write legal briefs as part of their pro bono work. As with the Virginia clinical program, certified third-year students may also participate in courtroom advocacy and trial work.
The center also works to connect students with outside pro bono opportunities, most of which are short-term commitments offered on a first-come, first-served basis by faculty members and outside attorneys. Among these are the Winter Break Pro Bono Projects, which typically entail 20 hours of work at a non-profit organization or law firm’s pro bono practice, and the Spring Break Pro Bono Projects, week-long trips to underserved communities organized in conjunction with the Public Interest Law Association. In 2010, 34 students donated their time to Spring Break Pro Bono Projects with the Orleans Public Defenders in New Orleans, the Fair Child Initiative in North Carolina, and the Appalachian Research and Defense Fund of Kentucky, Inc., as well as legal aid organizations in the Charlottesville area.
Students are also welcome to create their own pro-bono projects by establishing contact with a public interest law organization and finding a Virginia Law professor to sponsor the project. Recently, student-initiated pro bono projects have had great success in attracting interest among other students and have started to impact their partner organizations. For example, a project associated with the National Veterans Legal Services Program (NVLSP) that was developed in 2008 by a group of students and Virginia professor Chris Sprigman has won the admiration of the NVLSP lawyers who trained and supervise the students, and has had some modest success in helping veterans begin to navigate the Department of Veteran’s Affairs disability claims process.
To continue reading about Virginia Law’s pro bono program, and to find out about the school’s Pro Bono Challenge as well as other UVA Law-specific experiential learning opportunities, such as Virginia Law’s Clinical and External Studies Programs, be sure to check out the Clear Admit Guide to University of Virginia School of Law!
