Marquette University Law School
Marquette University
Marquette University Law School
P.O. Box 1881
Sensenbrenner Hall
Milwaukee, WI 53201
www.law.marquette.edu
Law School Pro Bono Programs
Contact Information
Daniel Idzikowski Assistant Dean for Public Service
Sensenbrenner Hall
P.O. Box 1881
Milwaukee, WI 53201
414-288-8060
Daniel.Idzikowski@marquette.edu
Category Type
Formal Voluntary Pro Bono Program Characterized by a Referral System with Coordinator
Description of Program
MULS uses a referral system designed to match students with law-related pro bono opportunities in the community.
Pro-Se Initiative - Milwaukee County Courthouse: This initiative places students at the Milwaukee County Courthouse to provide information to pro-se litigants regarding basic family, small claims and child support procedures, including form direction and review.
Marquette Volunteer Legal Clinic - House of Peace: This clinic matches volunteer attorneys with law students who provide brief advice, counsel and referral to low-income individuals on the near North side of Milwaukee. The clinic has two attorney and 2 student coordinators and operates once per week year round. Services do not include ongoing casework.
Independent Pro Bono Placement: The Office of Public Service in cooperation with the Career Planning Center coordinates the placement of students in various pro-bono opportunities with community agencies throughout the state including: Legal Action of Wisconsin, Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee, AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin, ACLU of Wisconsin, Disability Rights Center of Wisconsin and Catholic Charities Immigration Services.
Location of Program
Office of Public Service
Staffing/Management/Oversight
Assistant Dean for Public Service oversees pro-bono opportunities with student assistants and is guided by an advisory board. The Marquette Volunteer Legal Clinic is overseen by voluntary attorney and student coordinators and has its own advisory board.
Funding
Law School Operating Budget
Student Run Pro Bono Groups/Specialized Law Education Projects
Volunteer Income Tax Assistance - MULS: Students work with faculty to assist low-income and elderly individuals with income tax preparation each spring as part of the national VITA program. Students receive training and are supervised by Marquette Law School faculty.
Milwaukee Street Law Project - Milwaukee Public Schools: Law Students teach substantive law courses and prepare high school students for statewide mock trial competitions in the Milwaukee Public high schools. Students can receive credit for participation in this program.
Faculty and Administrative Pro Bono
Faculty engage in various pro-bono efforts including asylum, death penalty, family law, non-profit organization and tax assistance. Faculty serve as advisors to students participating in the various student pro bono projects. Faculty may also maintain membership in the Pro Bono Society by performing at least 20 hours of pro-bono legal service per year. This service will be considered during annual faculty performance reviews.
Awards/Recognition
Marquette's Pro Bono Society was formed for the purpose of recognizing the pro bono legal services provided by Marquette University Law School students and faculty. Students who complete a minimum of thirty-five hours of pro bono services will receive an honor cord and will be acknowledged at the Law School graduation ceremony.
Each student seeking membership into the Pro Bono Society must adhere to the following requirements and guidelines:
- Pro bono service must be legal in nature.
- Pro bono service is only eligible for consideration if it is supervised by a licensed attorney.
- Work for which students receive compensation or academic credit is not eligible for consideration towards the service hour requirements.
- Time spent traveling to and from a volunteer site should not be calculated as service hours.
- A maximum of 6 hours of direct training may be credited toward service hours.
- A completed and signed time sheet must be turned into the Career Planning Center no later than the last day of class of every semester in which the student performed pro bono services.
Community Service
Marquette University has an extensive program of Community Service and has been nationally recognized for its commitment to community service and service learning. The Law School maintains a relationship with the Office of Community Service, University Ministry, the Office of Mission and Identity and the Service-Learning program at the University Level. Marquette University has recently become a sponsor of Project Ripple, a volunteer engagement project in the Milwaukee area. Marquette Law School also maintains a relationship with the Volunteer Center of Greater Milwaukee and encourages its Law students to become involved in community service projects.
Law School Public Interest Programs
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Contact Information
Daniel IdzikowskiAssistant Dean for Public Service
Sensenbrenner Hall
P.O. Box 1881
Milwaukee, WI 53201
414-288-8060
Daniel.Idzikowski@marquette.edu
Certificate/Curriculum Programs
At this time, MULS does not offer a certificate program in Public Interest Law, but incorporates a commitment to service of the least advantaged throughout its curriculum in accordance with its mission as a Jesuit institution of higher learning.
Public Interest Centers
The Office of Public Service was established in 2005 to coordinate MULS's efforts to provide meaningful pro-bono and community service opportunities to faculty and students, better connect MULS with community agencies, facilitate inter-departmental coordination and advance the scholarship of the school in accordance the mission of Marquette University.
Public Interest Clinics
Marquette Law School offers four live-client clinical programs: (1) Marquette Mediation Clinic, (2) Prosecutor Clinic, (3) Public Defender Clinic and (4) Unemployment Compensation Clinic in cooperation with Legal Action of Wisconsin.
Externships/Internships
MULS sponsors a number of supervised field placements with government agencies and public interest organizations that offer legal services, including:
AIDS Resource Center, Catholic Charities Immigration Project, Cento Legal, Legal Action of Wisconsin, Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee, MULS Restorative Justice Initiative, Midwest Environmental Advocates, Equal Rights Division and various state and federal government agencies. Placement in these externships entitles students to credit upon successful completion of designated number of hours and positive supervisory reports.
Classes with a Public Service Component
While Marquette has not currently developed a "track" for public interest law, all of its courses will include components addressing impact upon and service to disadvantaged populations.
Public Interest Journals
www.law.marquette.edu/public¬_service
Public Interest Career Assistance
The Career Planning Center has an extensive collection of materials to support students interested in public service, including guides for public interest fellowships. A Public Interest Career Fair will be held in the spring semester to encourage students to explore careers in public service, particularly in the Milwaukee and Chicago areas.
Loan Repayment Assistance Programs (LRAP)
THE HOWARD & PHYLLIS EISENBERG FUND
The legacy of the late Dean Howard B. Eisenberg is important to the future of Marquette University Law School. This is true in the general sense that Dean Eisenberg worked tirelessly to inculcate in students a sense of the important public interest that lawyers serve. It is true as well in the more specific sense that the Howard and Phyllis Eisenberg Fund is a way of ensuring that today's students have the means of acting on the ideals of the profession by undertaking public interest work.
The Howard and Phyllis Eisenberg Fund helps to accomplish this by serving as a Loan Repayment Assistance Program. Dean Eisenberg himself established the LRAP in Spring 2001. After his death, the program was renamed to serve as a lasting memorial and was enhanced through memorial contributions and other donations.
What is the Loan Repayment Assistance Program?
The Loan Repayment Assistance Program provides direct financial assistance to qualifying Marquette University Law School graduates who enter public interest careers by contributing up to fifty percent (50%) of their student loan payments. A committee appointed by the Dean administers the program.
Who qualifies?
Marquette University Law School graduates of May 2002 or later may qualify if they meet the requirements for "qualifying employment" and "qualifying income."
Qualifying Employment. Marquette University Law School graduates must work full-time for a public interest or public service employer. This includes private and public employers such as legal services entities and public defender or prosecutor offices.
Qualifying income. A graduate may earn no more than $45,000 gross income per year.
How much does LRAP pay? LRAP pays twenty-five to fifty percent (25 - 50%) of a qualified graduate's monthly loan payment (based on a 30-year payment schedule) depending upon the graduate's annual gross income and other financial circumstances. Of course, the amount of funds available for LRAP may not equal the needs of all qualifying applicants, and in all events the Law School has discretion to determine the recipients of funding and the funding levels.
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:
Each year, the Public Interest Law Society holds a dinner and auction which raised funds for summer fellowships which is matched by the Dean of the Law School. Last year over $60,000 was raised to support over a dozen summer fellows who worked in diverse placements such as the South African Violence and Reconciliation Office, the Eritrean Boundary and Claims Commission, the Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee, the Christian Freedom Foundation and the Dane County (Madison) District Attorney's Office.
Graduate Student Funded:
Other Funding Sources:
Extracurricular and Co-Curricular Programs
Student Public Interest Groups
Public Interest Law Society
The purpose of the PILS is to act as a resource for Marquette University Law School (MULS) students interested in public interest law, and to stimulate interest in this area of law. This purpose shall be carried out by sponsoring programs, seminars, and social activities that deal with current topics in public interest law and by acquainting members with professionals in the community. The PILS is also dedicated to providing community service and enhancing public opinion of the profession.
Other student organizations which are involved with community service include:
Association for Women in the Law
The Black Law Students Association
Children and Family Law Society
Christian Legal Society
The Health Law Society
The Student Bar Association
Last updated: 9/6/2006
