Brigham Young University J. Reuben Clark Law School
Brigham Young University
J. Reuben Clark Law School
Provo, UT 84602
www.law.byu.edu
Law School Pro Bono Programs
Contact Information
Ms. Debbi Myers CSO Public Interest/Pro Bono Coordinator
myersd@lawgate.byu.edu
801-422-1857
Professor James Backman
Public Interest/Pro Bono Faculty Advisor
backmanj@lawgate.byu.edu
801-422-2221
Professor Steven E. Averett
Associate Law Librarian and Assistant Director of Externships
averetts@lawgate.byu.edu
801-422-9023
Professor Susan Griffith
Assistant Director, Externships
griffiths@lawgate.byu.edu
801-422-3947
Professor Susan Bradshaw
Director of Schooley Mediation Program
bradshaws@lawgate.byu.edu
801-422-2159
Professor Tamara Fackrell
Director of Community Dispute Resolution Services
fackrellt@lawgate.byu.edu
(801) 422-9310
Category Type
Formal Voluntary Program Characterized by Administrative Support for in-house and Collaborative Student Group Projects.
Description of Program
Many non-clinical public service opportunities are offered through "Law Help" seminars on topics including elder law, street/poverty law, mediation, domestic relations, and child advocacy. The seminars have service learning components. Several other courses also have service learning components. The law school also offers opportunities for students to volunteer as community mediators. The law school's Pro Bono Alliance matches volunteer students with volunteer attorneys to work on pro bono cases provided by a local legal services organization.
Location of Program
Staffing/Management/Oversight
Debbi Myers oversees the Pro Bono Alliance and all public interest and pro bono projects affiliated with the school's Career Services Office.
There is no paid pro bono coordinator overseeing the several faculty incorporating service learning in their courses.
Students may be involved as research assistants to supervising faculty members within the various programs.
Funding
Student Run Pro Bono Groups/Specialized Law Education Projects
The law school's student-developed and student-run Pro Bono Alliance matches volunteer students with volunteer attorneys to work on pro bono cases provided by a local legal services organization.
The student-run Community Law Help for Immigrants program does regular intake and screening of legal problems for local immigrant populations.
The student-run LawHelp phone line allows people in need of legal assistance to schedule appointments for the local bar association's Tuesday Night Bar program.
Faculty and Administrative Pro Bono
Awards/Recognition
The law school gives Distinguished Service Awards to recognize outstanding public interest, community and pro bono service by students and faculty.
The Utah Bar Foundation also gives one or more Public Interest Awards on an annual basis to deserving law students.
The law school's student-run Public Interest Law Foundation gives three annual awards (one to a 1L, one to a 2L, one to a 3L) for public interest involvement.
The law school gives a Public Service Award to each student that completes 100 hours of pro bono work during law school.
Community Service
- Women's Law Forum: Annual "Stump the Professor" event raises funds to support the Center for Women and Children in Crisis.
- Phi Alpha Delta: Read Across America Book Drive collects and/or purchases about 100 books. In addition, members read to students in local classrooms. Not
- Sunset View Elementary School Sixth Grade Mentoring Program: Over 70 law students meet each week at the law school with sixth grade students to mentor them and help them with homework.
- Phi Delta Phi: Canned Immunity Project collects food for the Utah Food Bank. Rex E. Lee Run: Law students participate in this race, which raises funds for the American Cancer Society.
- Boy Scout PowWow: Law students serve as merit badge counselors for this annual event, which is held at BYU.
Law School Public Interest Programs
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Contact Information
Debbi Myers 239C JRCB, BYU J. Reuben Clark Law School
Public Interest/Pro Bono Coordinator
Phone: (801)422-1857
Fax: (801)422-0378
myersd@lawgate.byu.edu
Professor James H. Backman
Public Interest/Pro Bono Faculty Advisor
801-422-2221
Email: backmanj@lawgate.byu.edu
Certificate/Curriculum Programs
Public Interest Centers
- Schooley Mediation Program: Funded by a private endowment of $600,000, the mediation program trains students in mediation skills through courses, workshops, externships and simulation laboratories. Students perform mediations in small claims court, with school truancy programs and juvenile court victim-offender mediations, in landlord-tenant disputes, etc. Director: Susan Bradshaw, bradshaws@lawgate.byu.edu (801) 422-2159.
- Community Dispute Resolution Services: The center was founded in 2000 as a joint venture of the BYU Law School and Utah Valley State College. Students and volunteers provide free or low-cost mediations to assist in resolving disputes. The center promotes mediation and conducts training workshops for mediators. Director: Tamara Fackrell, fackrellt@lawgate.byu.edu (801) 422-9310; Community Dispute Resolution Services, 817 S. Freedom Blvd., Provo, UT 84601.
- World Family Policy Center: The center advocates for family values in United Nations conferences and through international NGOs. Director: Professor Richard Wilkins, wilkinsr@lawgate.byu.edu (801) 422-3278.
- The BYU International Center for Law and Religion Studies: Founded in 2000, the Center promotes freedom of religion by studying and disseminating information on the laws, principles, and institutions affecting the interaction of state and religion throughout the world. Director: Professor W. Cole Durham, Jr., law_religion@byu.edu, http://www.iclrs.org/ (801) 422-6842.
Public Interest Clinics
- Community-based Legal Research Seminar: Students work with a community service organization in developing a product related to access to legal services such as brochures, program development or grant proposals, presentations, white papers, etc. Professor James Backman, backmanj@lawgate.byu.edu, (801) 422-2221.
- LawHelp Mediation Program: Students in the basic mediation course are required to participate in fifty hours of mediation outside of class either at the Community Mediation Center or in small claims court. Students in the advanced mediation course participate in fifty hours of mediation outside of class at the community mediation center mediating in victim-offender cases for the juvenile court, in parent-teen mediations through the school district's truancy program, and in landlord-tenant mediations through the BYU off-campus housing office. Professor Susan Bradshaw, bradshaws@lawgate.byu.edu, (801) 422-2159.
- LawHelp Child Advocacy Program: Students shadow attorneys from the Guardian Ad Litem, Public Defender, and Attorney General offices, sit in court with a Juvenile Court Judge, and tour local service providers. Professor Susan Griffith, griffiths@lawgate.byu.edu, (801) 422-3947.
- LawHelp Elder Law Program: Students meet with elderly clients on a weekly basis at local senior citizen centers. Students have the opportunity to draft simple wills, medical directives, and deeds on behalf of elderly clients. Professor Susan Griffith, griffiths@lawgate.byu.edu, (801) 422-3947.
Externships/Internships
BYU offers Public Interest externships with judges, government agencies, public defenders, prosecutors, legal services offices, etc. These programs have included up to 70 students each summer and 40 students each semester. Students can earn up to 6 credits by doing at least 50 hours of unpaid work per credit.
International externships: The past three years, more than 25 students have earned up to 6 externship credits in international positions. They are largely placed with legal counsel offices for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which sponsors BYU, or with law offices in the countries involved with the legal counsel offices.
Also, BYU offers externships for students representing juveniles in the Ute Tribal Court.
Classes with a Public Service Component
- Community Lawyering course: Students are involved in community projects affecting youth in the juvenile justice system. Students help to advocate for and provide legal due process for youth in the system, and explore how the problem-solving talents of local youth and their parents can be better recognized and utilized for the benefit of other youth and their parents. Professor David Dominguez, dominguezd@lawgate.byu.edu (801) 422-3739.
- Youth in Mediation course: Students teach concepts of dispute resolution and skills to at-risk youth in the local juvenile detention center and in Provo School District, provide Victim-Offender and Parent-Teen mediation services, and do other related projects. Professor Tamara Fackrell, fackrellt@lawgate.byu.edu, (801) 422-9310.
- Mediation Training Teams course: Students participate as mediation trainers by teaching Brigham Young University students in undergraduate departments and Utah Valley State College students basic mediation and negotiation theory and skills through a 14-lesson curriculum which includes role plays, interactive lectures, and demonstrations. The law students involve the undergraduate students in service-learning activities in which school children and at-risk high school students receive training in dispute resolution, anger management, family communication, and playground mediation. Professor Tamara Fackrell, fackrellt@lawgate.byu.edu, (801) 422-9310.
- Computer-Based Practice Systems course: Students learn to design and author practice systems using an extensively used practice system authoring program called HotDocs Pro. Students work on an authoring project that requires a minimum of 50 hours to complete in collaboration with cooperating law firms, legal service offices, government law offices, courts, and corporate legal departments. Professor Larry Farmer, farmerl@lawgate.byu.edu, (801) 422-2423.
- Basic Mediation course: Students provide no-cost mediation services in local small claims courts. Professor Susan Bradshaw, bradshaws@lawgate.byu.edu, (801) 422-2159.
Public Interest Journals
- Education and Law Journal: The journal focuses on education issues. Student editors have the option of participating in public school mentoring programs. Faculty Advisor: Professor Scott Ferrin, scott_ferrin@byu.edu, (801) 422-4804.
- Journal of Public Law: This student-edited journal focuses on issues arising in public law. Faculty Advisor: Professor Lynn Wardle, wardlel@lawgate.byu.edu, (801) 422-2617
Public Interest Career Assistance
Public Interest/Pro Bono Coordinator, Debbi Myers, myersd@lawgate.byu.edu, (801) 422-1857
Public Interest law counseling: Assistant Dean Mary Hoagland & Director, Beth Hansen, Career_Services@lawgate.byu.edu, (801) 422-3685
Loan Repayment Assistance Programs (LRAP)
BYU adminsters an interest forgiveness/deferral program for students who experience financial hardship. This program applies only to loans made from the law school and not to federal loans.
Post-Graduate Fellowships/Awards
Law School Funded:
Graduate Student Funded:
Other Funding Sources:
Term Time Fellowships/Scholarships
Law School Funded:
Graduate Student Funded:
Other Funding Sources:
Summer Fellowships
Law School Funded:
Yes
Graduate Student Funded:
Yes
Other Funding Sources:
One of the student organizations, the Public Interest Law Forum, holds an auction to raise scholarship funds for summer externship students serving in low-income client placements. Students voted to use $5 per semester of student activity fees to supplement this stipend fund. Typically, five to eight students receive Public Interest Law Forum stipends ranging from $500 to $3300 per student each summer.
Extracurricular and Co-Curricular Programs
Public interest and government attorneys take part in a Professional Development Public Interest/Service Lecture Series which is available to students on a weekly basis.
Student Public Interest Groups
- Public Interest Law Forum (Equal Justice Works group)
- Alternative Dispute Resolution Society
- American Constitution Society for Law and Policy
- Government & Politics Legal Society
- Natural Resources Law Society
