University of Alabama School of Law
University of Alabama
University of Alabama School of Law
P.O. Box 870382
Tuscaloosa, AL 35487
www.law.ua.edu
Law School Pro Bono Programs
Contact Information
Bryan Fair Co-Director, Public Interest Institute
bfair@law.ua.edu
Category Type
Formal Voluntary Pro Bono Program Characterized by a Referral System with Coordinator
Description of Program
The Public Interest Institute promotes pro bono service primarily through its recognition programs: The Order of the Samaritan, The Volunteer Lawyers Program Student Award and The Dean's Community Service Award. The faculty and staff of the Institute, with assistance of students, coordinate student placements in law and non-law related volunteer placements. A majority of student organizations participate in volunteer projects through the Institute.
Location of Program
Public Interest Institute
Staffing/Management/Oversight
The Public Interest Institute has a full-time Director. The Director is advised by the Public Interest Committee and the Public Interest Student Board.
Funding
Student Run Pro Bono Groups/Specialized Law Education Projects
Michael Figure Leadership This program is targeted at disadvantaged youth.Public Interest Institute http://www.law.ua.edu/pubinterest/
Street Law This program takes law into high schools.
Faculty and Administrative Pro Bono
Awards/Recognition
Students volunteering at least 50 hours in a Legal Services office during their law school experience and attend a Bridge the Gap CLE receive the Volunteer Lawyers Program Student Award from the Alabama Bar. These awardees are recognized during graduation ceremonies, honored at the swearing-in ceremonies for new members of the Alabama Bar, and receive recognition in The Alabama Lawyer. The Dean's Community Service Award was created in 1999 "to encourage law students to become involved in public interest activities in their communities, and to continue their involvement throughout their lives." To earn this Award, law students must perform at least 30 hours of non-legal community service while in law school. Students receiving the Dean's Service Award wear a special cord at graduation.
Students who qualify for both the VLP Award and the Dean's Community Service Award are eligible for induction into the Order of the Samaritan. These students are recognized at graduation with a red and white braid & are recognized as they proceed across the stage.
Community Service
Soup Bowl, Work-A-Day, Tutoring Project, Habitat for Humanity and the Alabama/Auburn Fight Against Hunger
Law School Public Interest Programs
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Contact Information
Hattie KaufmanCo-Director, Public Interest Institute
hkaufman@law.ua.edu
(205)348-8302
Public Interest Institute
Certificate/Curriculum Programs
None.
Public Interest Centers
Public Interest Institute - www.law.ua.edu/pubinterest/Contact: Bryan Fair, Professor, bfair@law.ua.edu, 348-7494
Public Interest Clinics
Capital Defense ClinicCriminal Defense Clinic
Elder Law Clinic
Student Legal Clinic
Sustainable Communities Clinic
Externships/Internships
The University of Alabama's externship program offers second and third-year students experience in client advocacy, litigation, and the judicial process in a structured, supervised learning environment. Externship supervisors, who are practicing attorneys and judges, are carefully selected by the full-time faculty member in charge of the program. The externships provide students with an opportunity for a deeper understanding of professional responsibility issues, analysis of procedural and substantive law, and appreciation of the legal process.During the summer, placements (5 credits) are available with offices specializing in criminal law (e.g., United States Attorneys, District Attorneys, Public Defenders, and Alabama's Attorney General) and civil law (e.g., U.S. Attorneys' Offices, Alabama Supreme Court Library's Research Assistance Division, Governor's Legal Counsel's office, Legal Services, National Labor Relations Board, and University of Alabama Counsel's office). Students work full time during a 6-week session under the direct supervision of attorneys in the offices to which they are assigned. They also attend externship classes at the Law School and submit papers during and at the conclusion of the externship.
During the academic year, placements (2 credits) are available in the chambers of state and federal judges and magistrates. Students work a minimum of 120 hours per semester in the office where they are placed. Duties include hearing and pretrial preparation and assistance on trials and appeals.
Classes with a Public Service Component
None.
Public Interest Journals
Public Interest Career Assistance
The Director of the Public Interest Institute is responsible for finding employment opportunities and helping students with career placements in public interest jobs, including government, judicial and non-traditional/alternative (i.e. - public policy and social justice) jobs. In addition, the Director is responsible for building and maintaining relationships with various public-interest groups and organizations throughout the country. The Director oversees all non-private employment opportunities for students, including all governmental, judicial, and public interest law jobs. Public Interest Law is a discrete part of Career Services. The Director gathers information about job opportunities, meet with prospective employers and hiring managers, meet with and advise students, organize and present programs to students about such employment opportunities, and serve as the resource person for such employment opportunities to Law School alumni.
Co-sponsor of jobfair in Atlanta, Georgia - www.law.uga.edu/career/employers/alhc.html
Interviews, notices of jobs and fellowships. See opportunities www.law.ua.edu/pubinterest/info.php?re=projects
Loan Repayment Assistance Programs (LRAP)
None.
Post-Graduate Fellowships/Awards
Law School Funded:
None
Graduate Student Funded:
Other Funding Sources:
Term Time Fellowships/Scholarships
Law School Funded:
None
Graduate Student Funded:
Other Funding Sources:
Summer Fellowships
Law School Funded:
Since 1992, when Public Interest Summer Fellowships were first awarded at the University of Alabama School of Law, approximately $120,365.00 has been awarded to approximately 155 students employed in public interest legal work during their summers of law school. Placements have included Legal Aid, Legal Services Corporation, Public Defender offices, U.S. Attorney's offices, the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, the Southern Environmental Law Center in Washington, the Georgia Center for Law in the Public Interest, the Alabama office of the American Civil Liberties Union, the Nature Conservancy, the University of Berkeley Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, National Labor Relations Board, Equal Justice Center's Poultry Workers Project, and the office of a U.S. Senator. Eligible UA students are offered such fellowships each summer.
Graduate Student Funded:
Other Funding Sources:
Extracurricular and Co-Curricular Programs
Michael Figures Law Day At-risk teens visit the Law School for a leadership conferenceVoting Rights Act A celebration of the Voting Rights Act of 1964
Voting Education 40,000 ABA Voter Rights and Responsibility cards were distributed throughout the nation with the help of Alabama law students.
Public Interest Speaker Series www.law.ua.edu/pubinterest/
Student Public Interest Groups
Amnesty InternationalBlack Law Student Association
International Law Society
Phi Alpha Delta
Student Bar Association
Student Farrah
