University of Maryland School of Law
University of Maryland
University of Maryland School of Law
500 W. Baltimore Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
www.law.umaryland.edu
Law School Pro Bono Programs
Contact Information
M. Teresa SchmiedelerDirector, Pro Bono & Public Service Initiatives
University of Maryland School of Law
500 W. Baltimore Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21201
tschmiedeler@law.umaryland.edu
410-706-2080
Category Type
Public Service Graduation Requirement Program
Description of Program
Service to vulnerable populations is not simply an aspiration; it is a requirement. Under the Cardin Requirement, all full-time students must take courses that connect theoretical study with legal services on behalf of people and communities without access.The University of Maryland School of Law recently developed a voluntary pro bono and community service initiative for law students. This public service initiative has been introduced to the incoming students in the fall of 2006. To support this initiative, the law school has designated a director of pro bono and public service initiatives and a law student paid research assistant. The law school is working in partnership with the Maryland's Pro Bono Resource Center to expand opportunities for law students and provide support to public interest organizations. In addition to the Cardin requirement, the School of Law promotes pro bono and community involvement to all its students. It is an active member of PSLawNet and Equal Justice Works. Students also have access to two full time public service counselors and a resource coordinator to discuss pro bono opportunities and placements.
The collaboration with the School of Law and the student public interest law association, Maryland Public Interest Law Project and the Maryland Pro Bono Resource Center assists in identifying and encouraging additional public service opportunities for law students in the broader legal and social community.
Location of Program
Career Development Office collaboration with Clinical Law Program
Staffing/Management/Oversight
The Director of Pro Bono and Public Service Initiatives and a law student paid research assistant provide staffing to the program.
Funding
Student Run Pro Bono Groups/Specialized Law Education Projects
ACLU, University of Maryland School of Law Chapter - The ACLU, University of Maryland School of Law Chapter, not only provides awareness of civil liberties through speakers and other programs but links student volunteers to current ACLU pro bono projects and casework in Maryland.Asian Pacific - American Law Student Association (APALSA) - APALSA has joined the Korean Bar Committee of the Maryland State Bar Association in assisting Maryland residents to apply for U.S. Citizenship in a special citizenship drive.
Community Law in Action - Provides community service opportunities for law students to work with high school students from Northwestern High School in Baltimore, Maryland. High school students from Northwestern High School engage in community-based legal projects and study legal fundamentals in the classroom. The classroom component is conducted in a Law and Public Service Academy, where students are taught courses in juvenile law and justice, criminal law and procedure, constitutional law, business law, and community-development law. In the practical component, the high school students attend a weekly seminar in which various legal skills are taught by law students and then are used by the high school student in projects to improve community service.
Latino/a Law Students Association - Volunteers translate for clients in the Labor/Employment Clinic.
Maryland Environmental Law Society (MELS) - MELS provides a network for all students interested in the growing field of environmental law. In addition to its programmatic activities, MELS has gained national recognition for its pioneering role in purchasing and retiring emission allowance for sulfur dioxide (S02). Since 1994, MELS has purchased 43 tons of S02 allowances at EPA's auctions conducted annually pursuant to the Clean Air Act.
The Maryland Katrina & Indigent Defense Project See: http://www.law.umaryland.edu/studentorg/katrina/index.asp
Faculty and Administrative Pro Bono
Leadership in Public Service Newsletter http://www.law.umaryland.edu/dept/career/documents/newsletter/newsletter.PDF
Awards/Recognition
We publicly acknowledge at graduation and pre-graduation ceremony several students from each graduating class selected to receive the Public Service Award. The Public Service Award is given to several graduating law students from the University of Maryland School of Law who, during their law school careers, have engaged in service and legal work that significantly advances the public interest. Also, the following Awards noted at graduation celebrate the public service accomplishments and commitment to public service of graduating law students: The Hoffberger Clinical Law Prize; The Community Scholar Prize; The Anne Barlow Gallagher Prize; Ward Kershaw Fund Award; The William P. Cunningham Awards; and the Rose Zetzer Fellows.Leadership in Public Service Awards: Awards given to leaders in public service and to Student Organizations at the University of Maryland School of Law to celebrate how law students are making a significant difference in their communities through community education, outreach and public service initiatives. Additionally, we select and sponsor law students to attend local and national conferences celebrating pro bono service, including the Robert Cover Public Interest Retreat and Maryland Partners for Justice Conference hosted by Pro Bono Resource Center of Maryland.
Community Service
Leadership in Public Service Newsletter & Student Organizations for highlights of community service projects
Law School Public Interest Programs
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Contact Information
Briana GreenDirector, Judicial Clerkships, Public Interest & Government Programs
LaShea Blake
Resource Coordinator
M. Teresa Schmiedeler
Director, Pro Bono & Public Service Initiatives
University of Maryland School of Law
500 W. Baltimore Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21201
tschmiedeler@law.umaryland.edu
410-706-2080
Certificate/Curriculum Programs
Concentration in Environmental Law - Students must complete 17 credits in three areas of environmental law: classroom courses, research and writing, and experiential learning. The Environmental Law Program challenges students in clinics and classrooms to tackle the complex and multidisciplinary web of environmental law and policy.Concentration in Health Law - Students must complete 17 credits through the program's three basic components: classroom, experiential learning and research and writing and will be recognized by the school for possessing a level of expertise and specialization in the field. The Law and Health Care Program provides students with opportunities to address complex health law issues from legal and interdisciplinary perspectives.
Public Interest Centers
Center for Dispute Resolution in Maryland (C-DRUM) - Works collaboratively with individuals and groups, as well as public and private institutions, to promote, enhance, and teach conflict resolution skills; research and develop conflict resolution systems; and change the way conflicts are resolved throughout the state and beyond. C-DRUM supports the use of appropriate dispute resolution processes throughout the State of Maryland and strives to meet the growing demand for skilled practitioners of these processes. Legal Resource Center for Tobacco Regulation, Litigation, and Advocacy- Is dedicated to providing legal support to communities, community groups, employers, local governments, and State legislators and agencies interested in reducing the negative health consequences of tobacco use.
The Center for Health & Homeland Security - Directed by a member of the full time faculty at the School of Law, the Center's mission is to develop, coordinate, and expand scientific research, policy development, training, legal analysis, government consulting, and scholarly programs within the University of Maryland Baltimore's six professional schools relating to counterterrorism crisis and consequence management issues.
Civil Justice Inc. - A Maryland not-for-profit corporation affiliated with the School of Law, formed for the purpose of increasing the delivery of legal services to clients of low and moderate income while promoting a statewide network of solo, small firm and community based lawyers who share a common commitment to increasing access to justice through traditional and non-traditional means. Civil Justice regularly has been recognized for its unique combination of public interest legal advocacy on behalf of solo and small-firm a
The Women, Leadership & Equality Program - Established to develop lawyers - both men and women - who are aware of the barriers to women assuming leadership in society and who will actively promote women in leadership roles.
Public Interest Clinics
Access to Justice: Effective Assistance of Counsel at Bail: Legal Theory and PracticeAppellate Advocacy Clinic
Civil Rights of Persons w/Disabilities Clinic
Civil Rights: Access to Health Care for Vulnerable Populations Clinic
Community Development Seminar: Legal Theory and Practice
Criminal Defense Clinic: Federal and State Litigation
Drug Policy and Public Health Strategies Clinic
Economic Housing and Community Development Clinic
Environmental Law Clinic
General Practice Clinic
Health Care Delivery and Child Welfare Legal Issues Clinic: The Challenge of the Aids Epidemic
Immigration Law: Legal Theory & Practice
Income Taxation of the Poor Seminar: Legal Theory and Practice
Interdisciplinary Practice With Grandparent Families Clinic
Interdisciplinary Practice With Grandparent Families Clinic
Juvenile Law, Children's Issues and Legislative Advocacy Clinic
Juvenile Law, Children's Issues and Legislative Advocacy Clinic
Low Income Tax Payer Clinic
Low Income Tax Payer Clinic
Mediation Clinic
Post-trial Process in Criminal Cases Clinic
Re-Entry of Ex-Offenders Clinic
Small Firm Practice: Immigration Clinic
Tobacco Control: Legal Theory and Practice
Externships/Internships
The University of Maryland School of Law Asper Fellowship Program offers opportunities for law students to obtain credit for supervised law-related work with state and federal judges and with attorneys employed by governmental and not-for-profit organizations. These fellowships, named in memory of the late Professor Lewis D. Asper, are intended to expose students to the practical workings of the legal system and to help students develop insights into the process of judicial decision making or the skills and values required for the practice of law. Furthermore, in an effort to better integrate the Asper experience with a student's legal education, students participating in the Asper Program are required, in addition, to attend bi-weekly classes conducted by the Asper Administrator. Classroom sessions include presentations by practicing attorneys and judges, including a presentation on Pro Bono Opportunities for Law Students & Attorneys, followed by discussion of the presentation and its relationship to the students' field experiences.
The law school offers externships in governmental and not-for-profit organizations. The emphasis is on the intensity of the learning experience and the close interaction between the externships and the law school's academic program. Most externships are accompanied by workshops, tutorials, or seminars to underscore the relationship between principle and practice. Externs may earn from 4 to 13 credits, depending upon the nature of the work and hours devoted to it. Information about the externship opportunities and Faculty Externship Committee is located on the law school website at www.law.umaryland.edu.
Classes with a Public Service Component
Service to vulnerable populations is not simply an aspiration; it is a requirement. Under the Cardin requirement, named for Congressman Benjamin Cardin '67, all day students must take one of a series of courses that connects theoretical study with legal services on behalf of poor and other under-represented people and communities. Students can satisfy this requirement by taking a pre-approved clinical offering or externship, or by taking a Cardin Program Legal Theory and Practice course.
Public Interest Journals
University of Maryland Law Journal on Race, Religion, Gender & Class.Journal of Health Care Law & Policy
Public Interest Career Assistance
The Career Development Office hosts various panel programs, brown bag lunches, and career fairs focusing on the practice of public interest law throughout the academic year. For example, an annual Public Interest Week celebration held in October hosts speakers regarding public interest opportunities; and the Office addresses public interest resources and how to fund summer and post-graduate public interest opportunities. Another example includes spring programming on post-graduate public interest fellowship opportunities and annual spring Public Interest Career Fair. The Office also provides counseling, program planning and resources for students and alumni interested in public interest careers.Examples of conferences for which the law school paid student travel: Cover National Public Interest Restreat and National Law Students Workers Rights Conference
Loan Repayment Assistance Programs (LRAP)
University of Maryland School of Law Public Interest Loan Repayment Assistance ProgramThe School of Law works closely with the Maryland Higher Education Commission to continue to strengthen the state of Maryland's public interest Janet Hoffman LARP Program.
http://www.law.umaryland.edu/dept/career/loan.asp
Post-Graduate Fellowships/Awards
Law School Funded:
The Public Service Award is given to several graduating law students from the University of Maryland School of Law who, during their law school careers, have engaged in service and legal work that significantly advance the public interest.
Law Fellows, University of Maryland Center for Health and Homeland Security. These full-time positions involve legal and policy development, as well as administrative and coordinating functions. The Center for Health and Homeland Security is charged with coordinating and expanding the University's scientific research, health programs, policy and legal development, and government consulting in areas related to homeland security that are carried out by each of the University's professional schools and by the Center itself.
http://www.umaryland.edu/healthsecurity/
Dean's Fellow
Library Research Fellow
Legal Resource Center for Tobacco Regulation, Litigation & Advocacy Fellow
Graduate Student Funded:
None.
Other Funding Sources:
None.
Term Time Fellowships/Scholarships
Law School Funded:
None.
Graduate Student Funded:
None.
Other Funding Sources:
None.
Summer Fellowships
Law School Funded:
MPILP Summer Fellowships
New Perimeter Fellowship
David Brown International Fellowship
Mead Public Interest Fellowship
Graduate Student Funded:
Other Funding Sources:
The University of Maryland School of Law's Maryland Public Interest Law Project (MPILP) is a nonprofit corporation directed by University of Maryland law students who are devoted to bringing together law students and public interest organizations. MPILP raises funds for summer public interest fellowships by hosting an annual Goods & Services Auction to support a summer public interest grant program. The Maryland Legal Services Corporation, many local law firms, individual attorneys, public interest organizations, business community and the law school community support the efforts of MPILP. As a result, law students are able to compete through a selective grant process for a limited number of paid summer public interest fellowships. For more information, visit www.law.umaryland.edu/studentorg/mpilp/index.asp.
For the summer of 2005, Law students raised $27,000 at the auction and approximately $27,000 of additional support was provided by the law school. The remainder of the funds came from other student fundraising initiatives, the Maryland Legal Services Corporation, ACCA and other private donors.
Other named fellowships are: Michael Cardin Fellowship and Stan Herr Fellowship.
Extracurricular and Co-Curricular Programs
Post-Conviction: Appellate Advocacy & Arvinger Case- Professor Milleman and his law students worked for over two years to earn clemency for Walter Arvinger, a man wrongfully imprisoned for more than 36 years for a murder he did not commit. In December 2004, Governor Robert Ehrlich commuted Mr. Arvinger's sentence as a result of the students work. In celebration, the Law School hosted a Program & Reception in Spring of 2005, at which Mr. Arvinger attended.Public Interest Week - Every October, there is Public Interest Week. It begins with a First Monday Program and continues with events throughout the week. Public interest attorneys and faculty meet with students throughout the week.
Student Public Interest Groups
BLSAMPILP
Phi Alpha Delta
St. Thomas More
Student Animal Legal Defense Fund
Student Health Law Organization
UMALL - Legislative
University of MD WBA
See: http://www.law.umaryland.edu/studentorg/index.asp#MIPSA
