Golden Gate University School of Law
Golden Gate University
School of Law
536 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA 94105
www.ggu.edu/law
Law School Pro Bono Programs
Contact Information
Angela DalfenPublic Interest Adviser
adalfen@ggu.edu
415 369 5391
Category Type
Formal Voluntary Pro Bono Program Characterized by a Referral System with a Coordinator
Description of Program
GGU's full time Public Interest Adviser develops and maintains a list of current opportunities for pro bono work in the Bay Area. Students can discuss their skills, interests and availability with the Public Interest Adviser who will connect them to an appropriate placement. New opportunities are promoted throughout the year in the law school's weekly newsletter, at all law career services events, and through the public interest listserve. Outstanding pro bono work is recognized at the annual graduation Public Interest Graduation Reception and on an ongoing basis in the weekly newsletter.In addition, students receiving the Public Interest Certificate are required to perform 25 hours of community service (not for money or credit) and required to perform 150 hours of supervised public interest legal work (can be paid or for credit).
Location of Program
The Public Interest Adviser promotes public interest and pro bono programs and opportunities independently and through the general outreach of the Law Career Services Office. The Public Interest Adviser has an office in the Law Career Services Office.
Staffing/Management/Oversight
The public interest advisor spends approximately ten percent of her tiem on managing pro bono program.
Funding
There is law school funding available for the pro bono program.
Student Run Pro Bono Groups/Specialized Law Education Projects
LALSA- Students staff a monthly Workers Rights Clinic through La Raza Centro Legal.VITA - Tax LLM students help low-income clients with tax returns every April.
Faculty and Administrative Pro Bono
Awards/Recognition
Annual Public Interest Graduation Reception celebrates accomplishments of 3L's, alumni, current students, student leaders and faculty and staff who have been active in the public interest community on campus. PILF grants and other summer funding awards are announced, faculty and alumni give speeches. Those receiving the Public Interest Specialization Certificate are honored with gifts.Award for Outstanding Public Interest Student is given out to student who has excelled in public interest coursework, community service and legal work outside the classroom.
Notable student achievements in pro bono and public interest work (on and off-campus) are publicized on law school bulletin boards, on-line, in the weekly newsletter, in the alumni magazine, and frequently emailed to the entire school.
Community Service
One of the requirements for students enrolled in the Public Interest Specialization Certificate Program is that they perform 25 hours of community service work to promote the public interest either on campus or in the community. Students who are enrolled in the program are on an emailing list to which the Public Interest Advisor sends information about non-law related and law related community service opportunities.
The Law School has a food drive each December Holiday season, organized by administrators/faculty and students.
Law School Public Interest Programs
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Contact Information
Angela DalfenPublic Interest Adviser
adalfen@ggu.edu
415 369 5391
Law Career Services
Certificate/Curriculum Programs
Golden Gate offers a Public Interest Specialization Certificate Program in which students take at least 14 units from our public interest course offerings AND perform 150 hours of supervised legal work in a public interest or government agency setting AND perform 25 hours of community service working to promote the public interest either on campus or in the community.Participation in this program includes: specialized academic and career counseling by public interest counselor; regular updates about public interest employment, conferences, events, fellowships, and other opportunities via email; a special Public Interest graduation ceremony & reception; and transcript notation.
Golden Gate also offers four other certificate programs in more specialized areas of public interest:
- Criminal Law
- Environmental Law
- International (Public) Law G
- Labor & Employment Law
Public Interest Centers
Constitutional Law Clinic
As part of the Western Center for Constitutional Rights, the Constitutional Law Clinic has done innovative and successful work on cases involving civil rights and civil liberties. Director: Professor Morton Cohen, 415/442-6678, http://www.ggu.edu/schools/law/programs/jd/clinics.html.
Environmental Law & Justice Clinic (ELJC)
The ELJC provides free legal services and education on environmental justice issues to San Francisco Bay Area residents, community groups, and public-interest organizations. The clinic assists communities bearing disproportionate environmental burdens, particularly communities of color and low-income neighborhoods. ELJC is partially supported by outside funding such as grants and donations which enabled the launch of the Clean Air Accountability Project. Clinic Directors: Professors Alan Ramo and Clifford Rechtschaffen; Clean Air Accountability Project Director: Professor Helen Kang, 415/442-6647 or http://www.ggu.edu/schools/law/programs/jd/clinics/eljc.html
Women's Employment Rights Clinic (WERC)
Faculty and students working in this clinic advise, counsel, and represent low-income clients in a variety of employment-related matters. WERC is partially supported by outside funding including statutory attorneys' fees, individual donors, and foundations, including past or present support from the Bernard E. and Alba Witkin Charitable Trust, the U.S. Department of Education, the Corporation for National Service, the California State Bar Foundation, The Impact Fund, and a private charitable trust. Directors: Professors Marci Seville and Donna Ryu, 415/442-6647 or http://www.ggu.edu/schools/law/programs/jd/clinics.html
Public Interest Clinics
Environmental Law & Justice Clinic (ELJC) - Students work in this clinic under faculty supervision, conducting client interviews, counseling, problem solving, drafting legal documents, and appearing at hearings.Innocence Project - This clinic is taught in collaboration with the Northern California Innocence Project at Santa Clara Law School and is part of the Innocence Network, a national web of law schools and public defender offices enabling wrongfully convicted defendants to find help in any state or jurisdiction.
Lawyering Skills: Client Advocacy - In collaboration with the Bar Association of San Francisco's Homeless Advocacy Project (HAP), students undergo intensive training, conduct simulated interviewing and counseling sessions in class, and then assist low-income clients seeking legal help. Students advocate for clients in various ways: providing assistance in navigating through bureaucracy, conducting negotiations via phone or letter, and appearing with clients at hearings.
Women's Employment Rights Clinic (WERC) - Students work in this clinic under faculty supervision, advising, counseling, and representing clients in a variety of employment-related matters.
Externships/Internships
Students become eligible to enroll in an internship for credit/clinical field placement after completing 29 units (1 year) of coursework and may take one clinical course per semester for a total of 13 units of clinical coursework during law school. Students perform 45 hours of work at their placement per unit. Additionally, students attend weekly seminars relating to their clinical work. Public Interest/Government Counsel Clinic - Students are placed with a public interest organization or government agency such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights, and Legal Services for Children.
Criminal Litigation Clinic - Students work in a variety of state or federal criminal justice agencies, including trial-level public defender or prosecution offices and appellate defenders or prosecutors.
Environmental Law Clinic - Students in this clinic work at government agencies, public interest organizations, and environmental organizations such as California Rural Legal Assistance, Communities for a Better Environment, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund.
Family Law Clinic - Students work at a variety of placements including private family law firms, San Francisco or Alameda County Family Law Facilitator's Office, and STAND! Against Domestic Violence (formerly, Battered Women's Alternatives).
Landlord-Tenant Clinic- Students are placed with local attorneys and work on eviction and other landlord-tenant problems.
Judicial Externships - Students may apply to the judicial externship program after completing 40 units (1½ years) of coursework. Students work in judges' chambers at all levels of state and federal courts with a full range of judicial assignments including civil trials, family and juvenile law, bankruptcy, criminal law, and appellate matters.
Classes with a Public Service Component
Honors Lawyering Program Skills Lab - Students in the Honors Lawyering Program work with supervising faculty on a public interest project each summer as part of their program requirement. The project changes each year; in Summer 2001, the students interviewed and counseled women offenders at Street Law - Students enrolled in this course teach law to students at high schools throughout the Bay Area. Contact: Professor Thomas Nazario, 415/422-6832 or nazario@beta.usfca.edu.
Public Interest Journals
Public Interest Career Assistance
The Law Career Services Office (LCS) maintains a resource center with current information about public interest careers such as employment listings (including on-line listings), fellowship opportunities, and pro bono opportunities. LCS hosts networking events that bring public interest attorneys to campus to meet students and talk about public interest careers and topics. LCS conducts informational sessions on various topics such as funding options for summer public interest employment. LCS offers an extensive resume review service, as well as interviewing and networking skills workshops, to help students obtain the internship or job they desire. LCS offers individualized counseling to students interested in public interest careers and pro bono opportunities. Golden Gate is a member of PSLawNet, a global network of more than 120 law schools and 10,000 public service organizations working to foster law student community service and encourage all future lawyers to incorporate public service into their careers. PSLawNet offers comprehensive, current information on a broad range of pro bono and public service opportunities, as well as resources and expertise.
Golden Gate participates in the annual Northern California Public Interest/Public Sector Legal Career Day and sponsors students to attend the annual Equal Justice Works Career Fair.
Loan Repayment Assistance Programs (LRAP)
Golden Gate sponsors a Public Interest Loan Assistance Program (PILAP) for Golden Gate Law School graduates who are working in public interest law and wish to continue doing so. The program is funded by an endowment fund which is partially supported by student fees. To qualify, an individual applicant's total income from all sources must be $42,000.00 per year or less. Qualifying applicants must work in an attorney position and must be engaged in one of the following types of work: (a) providing direct legal representation to under-represented populations, (b) providing legal assistance to organizations that provide direct legal representation to under-represented populations, (c) conducting efforts to change legislation affecting under-represented populations through policy or impact litigation work, or (d) government employment.
Post-Graduate Fellowships/Awards
Law School Funded:
Yes.
Graduate Student Funded:
Other Funding Sources:
Golden Gate has four post-graduate fellowships funded by an endowment fund (Alumni contribution) and Equal Justice Works.
- Environmental Law & Justice Clinic Fellowships - Beginning 9/1/02, two year Equal Justice Works fellowship funded by EJW and donations, focusing on the Clean Air Accountability Project.
- A one to two year fellowship funded by the law school and outside donations with the ELJC fellow working on all clinic projects.
- Women's Employment Rights Clinic Fellowship - One year fellowship funded through individual donations, grants and attorneys fees. The WERC fellow handles cases, oversees the client intake process, and assists with student supervision.
- Baxter Fellowship in Trial Advocacy - One semester fellowship, which is funded by an endowment fund established by an alumna.
Term Time Fellowships/Scholarships
Law School Funded:
Public interest fellowships/stipends are supported by Public Interest Law Scholars Program and Public Interest Work Study.
Graduate Student Funded:
Other Funding Sources:
GGU pays the employer's portion of work-study for nearly all of our Honors Lawyering Students who are working full-time in the fall for public interest employers who are unable to pay them. PILF supports these students as well through grants with money raised by students. See http://www.law.duq.edu/career/SerOrg17.html
Summer Fellowships
Law School Funded:
The Law School gives all Public Interest Scholars one $5000 stipend to use at an unpaid summer public interest internship.
The Law School also pays the employer's portion of work-study for students who are working full-time in the summer for public interest employers who are unable to pay them.
Graduate Student Funded:
None
Other Funding Sources:
Public Interest Law Foundation (PILF) Grants -- PILF organizes an annual auction. The proceeds of this auction are used to fund summer grants for students working at public interest organizations or government agencies. These grants may be used in conjunction with other funding. The number and amount of grants vary depending on the amount of money raised each year. In Summer 2005, 21 grants were awarded for a total of $28,000. In Summer 2006, 12 grants were awarded for a total of $30,000. (A decision was made in 2006 to award fewer grants but for higher amounts.)
Extracurricular and Co-Curricular Programs
Jesse Carter Lecture Series - The School of Law's Jesse Carter Speaker Series focused on California Legal History, and honored distinguished graduate, Hon. Jesse Carter. Justice Carter was elected to the State assembly, and served as an Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court from 1939-1959, where he was known as "the lone dissenter.""Sex and the Statutes" School of Law Film Symposium - This symposium focused on how law mixes up sexual practice, marriage, parenting and gender to the detriment of us all. It featured films critiquing legal policy; nationally-recognized attorneys challenging the law; a multi-media discussion of how law and culture deal with sexuality; and an online journal of cases and commentary.
Public Interest Law Scholars Lecture Series - The Public Interest Law Scholars Program sponsors a lecture series once a semester. A previous topic was "Advocating for the Protection of Women & Children."
Fulbright Symposium - Golden Gate's Center for Advanced International Legal Studies hosts this symposium each year which features topics of public interest law at the international level, as well as other topics of international law.
Academic Affairs Lecture Series - The Office of Academic Affairs sponsors a bi-weekly lecture series on a variety of topics, including many topics of public interest such as "The Interpretation of Dreams: A Psychoanalytical Re-reading of MLK."
Progressive Lawyering Day -Annual program focused on public interest law and radical lawyering. Students work in conjuction with National Lawyers Guild to secure speakers.
Student Public Interest Groups
American Constitution Society (ACS)Animal Legal Defense Fund
Environmental Law Society
Law Students for Choice
National Lawyers Guild
Public Interest Law Foundation
QLSA
Women's Law Association
