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!

The most distinctive international offering at UVA is the External Studies Program, which allows 3Ls to spend a semester away from Virginia Law and complete an externship.  In doing so, students conduct research in a practice area or academic topic of their personal interest over a more extended period of time than a summer internship or clerkship allows.  Each extern is sponsored by a host organization that is educational, charitable, governmental or non-profit in nature, such as the War Crimes Chamber of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Balkans.  In addition to conducting research and externing for their chosen organization, External Studies Program participants also complete a substantial research paper on a legal topic rel­evant to their externship position.  External Studies externships are also available with domestic U.S. organizations.

Another international opportunity at Virginia Law is studying abroad at an institution with which UVA has an official exchange program.  There are seven such ex­change programs available to upper-level UVA Law students, in countries such as Germany, Japan and Israel, at which all courses are conducted in English.  Students who are selected to participate in these programs generally go abroad during the fall of their third year. Those who plan to study in Tel Aviv, however, must do so during the spring of their second year.   Most pro­grams are worth 12 Virginia credits and are treated as equivalent to a semester of residence at Virginia Law.  Students can earn additional credit by completing an in­dependent research project abroad.

Third-year students who are interested in study­ing abroad at an institution with which Virginia Law does not have a formal partnership can apply to the Student-Initiated Study Abroad program, through which they can create their own course of study with any approved law faculty outside the United States.  Successful completion of the Student-Initiated Study Abroad program, which includes performing satisfactorily on coursework and writing an independent research paper that will be graded by a Virginia Law professor se­lected by the student, is worth 15 credits. Only 3Ls are eligible to participate.

Finally, a limited number of Virginia Law students have the opportunity to travel to Paris and take a course on French pub­lic and private law at the Université Panthéon- Assas Paris II during UVA’s January term.  This one-credit course, taught in English by a Panthéon-Assas faculty member, is capped at 20 students and lasts for 11 days.  In addition to the course, students attend a series of speeches by French legal practitioners and judges and tour various legal institutions in Paris, including the Conseil d’État and the Palais de Justice.

For more information about international study and externship programs at Virginia Law, or other special programs, be sure to read the Clear Admit Guide to University of Virginia School of Law – available for immediate download!

Virginia Law professor Mila Versteeg, the organizer of the conference stated:  ”Obviously, the Arab Spring is just a major unfolding event. So we were interested in exploring to what extent the Arab Spring gets a constitutional forum. We’re bringing together some of the main people in the field, who have been there on the ground, and we’re asking them: What do you think the problems are? What do you think the issues will be?”

The conference will bring together experts from all over the nation and England and will also explore how past history will influence the future of the Arab Spring.

For the full press release, go here.

Director of the College and a George Washington University Law School professor, Stephen A. Saltzburg states:  ”It’s a bit like spring training for lawyers. Trial lawyers get together and they remind themselves what makes them good. And they share that with other lawyers and law students. There’s an incredible amount of learning and energy that takes place.”

The Trial Advocacy College was co-founded by Saltzburg and Herbert J. Stern, a former federal judge, in 1981. They worked together with the Law School and Virginia Continuing Legal Education. The college continues to attract trial lawyers from all over the country and serves as an invaluable resource year after year.

For the full press release, go here.

Virginia Law sponsors international ex­change programs at law schools including University of Auckland in New Zealand, Tel Aviv University in Israel, Bucerius Law School in Germany, Melbourne Law School in Australia, and Waseda University in Japan.  Second- and third-year UVA law students can opt to spend a semester at one of these law schools to take law-related courses focused on the host country’s legal system.  All international study programs are conducted in English.  Students who are selected to participate in these programs generally go abroad during the fall of their third year; those who plan to study in Tel Aviv, however, must do so during the spring of their second year.  To maximize the chance that they are given a place at a foreign law school, students may apply for more than one international exchange program, although they are only permitted to complete one during their time at Virginia Law.  Most pro­grams are worth 12 Virginia credits, excepting the 13-credit program at Bucerius Law School in Germany, and are treated as equivalent to a semester of residence at Virginia Law.  Students can earn additional credit by completing an in­dependent research project abroad.

Third-year students who are interested in study­ing abroad at an institution with which Virginia Law does not have a formal partnership can apply to the Student-Initiated Study Abroad program, through which they can create their own course of study at any approved law faculty outside the United States.  To be approved to study abroad, students are required to submit a detailed summary of their proposed curriculum and a research project they plan to complete at the host institution.  Successful completion of the Student-Initiated Study Abroad program, which includes performing satisfactorily on coursework and writing an independent research paper that will be graded by a Virginia Law professor se­lected by the student, is worth 15 credits.

During January Term, a limited number of Virginia Law students have the opportunity to travel to Paris and take a course on French pub­lic and private law at the Université Panthéon- Assas Paris II.  This one-credit course, taught in English by a Panthéon-Assas faculty member, is capped at 20 students and lasts for 11 days. In addition to the course, students attend a series of speeches by French legal practitioners and judges and tour various legal institutions in Paris, including the Conseil d’État and the Palais de Justice.

For more information about special programs at Virginia Law, be sure to read the Clear Admit Guide to University of Virginia School of Law – available for immediate download!

Director of judicial clerkships at UVA Law School, Ruth Payne ’02 states that “What I’ve found is that once we’ve put a UVA student in a clerkship, the judge will frequently come back and hire from us every year. Our students are known for just going in and getting the job done — being workmanlike, taking the work seriously, putting their nose to the grindstone, doing the research and producing high-quality writing. I hear from judges all the time who say, ‘I’m really glad I hired this student. Can you make sure applicants are looking at me next year from Virginia?’”

Although there are many factors behind the raise in numbers, one being more graduates being interested in becoming public defenders, UVA Law School’s reputation should serve it well for future students interested in clerking after graduation.
For the original press release, go here.

U.S. Law schools profiles include:
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Whether you’re a college junior considering applying to law school next fall, an experienced professional looking to enter the legal field or an applicant who’s in the throes of drafting his or her applications for admission in fall 2012, our free guides are the best place to turn for easy-to-read school-specific information.

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Alex Johnson, moderator of the discussion and former chair of the Board of Trustees of the Law School Admissions Council, said: “At least today the LSAT allows a student with a [good] score to say, ‘I can compete, no matter what I majored in, no matter what school I went to, no matter what background I have. It levels the playing field and at least gives you an opportunity.”

Johnson feels that eliminating the standardized exam would lead to admissions committees to weigh other subjective factors more heavily, such as alumni connections, college prestige and what applicants majored in. Others, however, feel that law schools’ emphasis on the LSAT discourages potential lawyers from even applying. Furthermore, school rankings may create pressure on admissions committees to uphold high ratings and may thereby decrease the diversity of the incoming student body.

The discussion stemmed from the fact that median LSAT scores of African American and Hispanic applicants are lower than those of Caucasian applicants. This trend, however, is also seen in other major standardized tests across the board, such as the SAT and GMAT.

For the full press release, go here.

On Friday, the event will start with a discourse by Cleo Powell, a Virginia Supreme Court Justice, entitlted “Justice? Unlikely!” Cleo Powell is a ’82 graduate and the first African-American woman to be elected to the Virginia Supreme Court. The events following the conversation will include panels focused on increasing diversity and discussions centered on whether or not to remove the LSAT as a key part of admissions materials. There will also be discussions on the effect of the state bar exam on potential legal professionals of color and the experience of law school in general. The keynote speech “Pro Bono and Professionalism: Keys to a Winning Career” will be given by general counsel of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Kim Keenan.

Law professor and organizer of the conference, Alex M. Johnson Jr. stated: “Although most all would agree with Justice O’Connor’s opinion in Grutter that having a diverse law school and bar is beneficial for both the profession and our society, in the years since the opinion, significant progress in increasing diversity in law schools and the bar has not been achieved. This conference addresses the impediments to diversification and what can be done to lessen or remove them.”

To view the schedule and for the full press release, go here.