New York Law School
New York Law School
57 Worth Street
New York, NY 10013
www.nyls.edu
Law School Pro Bono Programs
Contact Information
Helena PrigalAssistant Dean for Student Services
hprigal@nyls.edu
212-431-2318
Category Type
Formal Voluntary Pro Bono Program Characterized by a Referral System with a Coordinator
Description of Program
The Law School's Public Service Certificate program recognizes students who have committed substantial time to working in the public interest, and students who earn the Public Service Certificate receive a notation on their transcript. Pro bono opportunities are promoted and facilitated via internal communication systems, including email, a printed and electronic newsletter, a Career Services searchable database, and the school's website. In addition, NYLS is an active participant in PSLawNet, a global website which provides students with comprehensive information about pro bono opportunities.
Location of Program
The Public Service Certificate Program is administered by the Office of Public Interest and Community Service, within the Office of Professional Development.
Staffing/Management/Oversight
OPICS has two full-time employees (an Associate Dean and a Director) and a part-time assistant. The Associate Dean for Public Interest and Community Service is a full-time position, with additional responsibilities beyond the pro bono program, and there is no specified allocation of compensation across these responsibilities.
Funding
The Office for Public Interest and Community Service is funded from the school's general operating budget.
Pro bono group projects, especially those directed by a faculty member, are provided administrative support.
Student Run Pro Bono Groups/Specialized Law Education Projects
Domestic Violence Project - Through the Domestic Violence Project, students organized and provided training for participation in the Courtroom Advocates Program. The program gives students the opportunity to provide direct advocacy, education and services to domestic violence victims in New York City's Family Courts.NYLS/inMotion Uncontested Divorce Project - Through the inMotion program, students provide assistance to indigent and working-poor women, most of whom are victims of domestic violence. After training, students draft papers and help the client navigate her way through the divorce process.
Unemployment Action Center - The UAC provides free representation to people in New York who are trying to claim their unemployment benefits. Students help claimants by presenting their cases in front of administrative law judges at the Department of Labor. This assistance includes researching unemployment insurance law and conducting direct and cross-examination. Students also appeal adverse decisions.
Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (VITA) - In the VITA program, trained students assist low-income members of the community in preparing income tax returns.
Faculty and Administrative Pro Bono
There is no formal faculty pro bono policy. Some pro bono group projects are supervised by faculty members and/or law school administrators.
Awards/Recognition
While no award is designated specifically for pro bono service, there are several for public interest and would include pro bono service:
- The Alexander D. Forger Award for Distinguished Service to the Profession (given to a student for demonstrated commitment to the public interest)
- The Lung-chu Chen Award for Excellence in the field of Human Rights
- The Justice Rose E. Bird Award for Motivation in Pursuing Public Interest Law
- The New York State Bar Association Student Award (given to a student for demonstrated commitment to the public interest)
Finally, all students who have earned a public service certificate are recognized in the graduation program & receive a notation on their transcript.
Community Service
BLSA Outreach Program: Each year, the Black Law Students Association invites a group of high school students to the law school for a day of classes and discussion. Public Service Day: As part of the Orientation program, students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to participate in a community service project. In addition, information is provided regarding on-going volunteer opportunities in the community as well as from organizations which can use volunteers on a more limited basis.
ABA Work A Day: In conjunction with the ABA, the Student Bar Association organizes student participation in a community service program.
Child Literacy Program: Students work with elementary school children to help them develop literacy skills.
Law School Public Interest Programs
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Contact Information
Margaret ReuterAssistant Dean for Career Services
mreuter@nyls.edu
(212) 431-2345
Office of Career Services
Rebecca Baglio
Associate Director of Career Services and Public Interest Advising
rbaglio@nyls.edu
(212) 431-2884
Office of Career Services
Certificate/Curriculum Programs
The Law School has six academic centers, five of which offer the opportunity to specialize in various aspects of public interest law:Justice Action Center, www.nyls.edu
Institute for Information Law and Policy, www.nyls.edu
International Law Center, www.nyls.edu
Center for Professional Values and Practice, www.nyls.edu
Center for New York City Law, www.citylaw.org
Public Interest Centers
Office for Public Interest and Community Service - The Law School's Office for Public Interest and Community Service was established in 2001 to further New York Law School's demonstrated historic commitment to the public interest and to serve the community, as part of the school's role as a good institutional citizen actively participating in civic life. The office emphasizes the importance of service as an integral part of the education of law students, just as it will be part of their professional lives. It sponsors a variety of programs and opportunities for students to engage in pro bono activities and has established working relations with existing community service providers in the city, as well as with advocacy groups addressing the needs of individuals and groups who are underserved by the legal profession.The Center for New York City Law
International Law Center
Institute for Information Law & Policy
The Center for Professional Values and Practice
The Justice Action Center
Public Interest Clinics
Criminal Law Clinic Discrimination Law Enforcement Clinic
Elder Law Clinic
Mediation Clinic
Poverty Law Clinic
Securities Arbitration Clinic
Externships/Internships
Non-clinic field placements are administered in two ways. Students may opt for a seminar & workshop model which is subject specific in which a professor teaches a doctrinal seminar that seeks to integrate what students learn in their workshop placement. Students work about 15 hours per week at their placement and earn two credits and earn an additional 2 graded credits for the seminar. Many of these placements are public service oriented, in the fields of criminal justice, international human rights, immigration law, and New York City law. The other model is the externship model. About 40% of our externship placements are in public interest positions. Students register for a two credit pass/fail externship course and may register for a 2 credit graded optional seminar. In this model, students work approximately 12 hours per week at their placement and keep a journal of their experiences and what they learned from it.
Classes with a Public Service Component
Center for Professional Values and Practice Capstone - The CPVP Capstone is a required course for Harlan Scholars and may be completed with a public service opportunity accompanied by a report on the student's experience. Justice Action Center Capstone - The JAC Capstone is a required course for Harlan Scholars. JAC students participate in projects with practicing attorneys in their area of concentration, and these projects can include public interest components.
Poverty, Families, and Social Welfare Policy - Introduction to poverty policy issues, with particular attention to welfare reforms undertaken since 1996 and with special emphasis on large urban centers such as New York. The seminar is structured in three parts. The first part is about poverty. Readings describe families living in poverty, the effects of poverty on families and children, and theories of poverty. The middle third considers the evolution of welfare policies, with particular emphasis on changes in the law since 1996. The final third focuses on the continuing experimentation with welfare policies by the states, promising directions for change, and the politics of welfare reform. Students are required to write several short papers during the term and a research paper at the end of the semester. Students are also required to volunteer at least ten hours in an approved placement in a shelter, human services organization, or poverty advocacy project, and are encouraged to use the experience as a start for the paper.
Public Interest Journals
New York Law School Journal of Human Rights
Public Interest Career Assistance
New York Law School's Office of Career Services offers a wide variety of activities, events, and programs to provide support to students interested in public interest. Regularly offered programs include such titles as: Financing a public interest career; How to navigate the Equal Justice Works Career Fair; Government and public interest practice options; Government honors programs; Interviewing at the District Attorney's office; Maximizing your chances at the Public Interest career fair at NYU; Post-graduate public interest fellowships; and Clerkships. Training sessions are held for PS LawNet/Public Interest job searching, and Lexis searching for opportunities with government agencies and public interest organizations. The Office of Career Services also has a designated Public Interest Advisor, an alumni mentoring program that includes alumni participants currently practicing within the public sector, and networking luncheons highlighting alumnae who work in various divisions of the public sector. The Office of Career Services also has a Resource Center that contains public interest career and informational resources.
Loan Repayment Assistance Programs (LRAP)
For a description, please see New York Law School Public Service Career Recognition ProgramA combination of law school operating expenses and student raised funds.
Post-Graduate Fellowships/Awards
Law School Funded:
The Law School's Center for New York City Law offers a City Law Fellowship for graduates committed to city government. The fellowship is a one year post-graduate opportunity. Information about the Center and the Fellowship can be found at www.citylaw.org.
Graduate Student Funded:
Other Funding Sources:
New York Law School Joseph Solomon Post-Graduate Fellowships are available through the Joseph Solomon Public Service Endowment Fund. Dr. Solomon's endowment fund was established to encourage NYLS students to pursue careers in public interest work by lessening the financial sacrifices often associated with such work. Five such post-graduate awards have been made; this endowment fund also is used to provide support for summer public interest fellowships.
At least four New York Law School graduates have been awarded post-graduate fellowships from outside sources. These include: the Equal Justice Works Fellowship (two NYLS graduates awarded), the Soros Fellowship (one NYLS graduate awarded) and the Georgetown University Teaching Fellowship (one NYLS graduate awarded).
Term Time Fellowships/Scholarships
Law School Funded:
Graduate Student Funded:
Other Funding Sources:
Barbara Levine Memorial Scholarship- This donor scholarship us awarded to a second- or third-year student of proven academic merit and demonstrated commitment to public service.
Summer Fellowships
Law School Funded:
Yes
Graduate Student Funded:
Yes.
Other Funding Sources:
Yes- federal work-study funding
The Law School awards from 40 to 70 summer fellowship to students working in otherwise unpaid public interest positions. The funding comes from the law school's operating funds, money raised through student efforts, and the federal work-study program. In addition, non-fellowship students working in public interest positions receive funding from the federal work-study program. Student raised funds come from the annual Public Interest Coalition Goods and Services auction.
Fund By Gift Descriptions:
- Media Law Fellowships
- Arthur and Diane Abbey U.S. Attorney's Office Fellowships
- Diane Abbey Poverty Law Fellowship
- Joseph Solomon Public Service Fellowships
Extracurricular and Co-Curricular Programs
South Asian Law Students Association and Asian American Law Students Association - Tsunami Community Relief EffortJust Democracy - volunteers help voters at high-risk polling places exercise their rights, to ensure that eligible voters are not wrongly turned away and that election law is properly applied. A group of Just Democracy students from NYLS traveled to various polling sites during the 2004 elections.
Tony Coelho Lecture in Disability Employment Law & Policy - Each October, New York Law School's Labor & Employment Law Program, in cooperation with ongressman Coelho and other generous financial supporters, presents the Tony Coelho Lecture on Disability Employment Law & Policy. A national leader in politics, government, policy, business, organized labor, entertainment, the disabilities community, or other related communities will present a major address at New York Law School that contributes to our understanding of the issues associated with increasing the employment rate among people with disabilities.
Justice Action Center Annual Adoption Policy Conference
Advance Week Public Service Day
Sidney Shainwalk Public Interest Lecture - The Sidney Shainwald Public Interest Lecture Series, established in 2004, has attracted notable and distinguished speakers, such as: Kenneth R. Feinberg, special master of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, who gave the inaugural lecture, "The September 11th Victim Compensation Fund: Public Law and Private Pain," and United States Senator Edward M. Kennedy, who spoke on the topic "Justice-What's Ahead?" The most recent speaker was United States Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer, whose topic was "Reflections of a Supreme Court Justice."
Public Interest Coalition Annual Goods and Service Auction - An annual goods and services auction which raises money for students working in otherwise unpaid summer public interest positions.
Stonewall Law Students Association Annual HIV/AIDS Charity Raffle and Dinner - An annual fund raising event which also includes programs relating to HIV/AIDS
City Law Breakfasts - The Center for New York City Law invites government, business, legal, and judicial leaders from the United States and abroad to speak at the Law School.
Pizza and Politics - The Center for New York City Law hosts Pizza and Politics lunch discussions for student, staff, and faculty.
Student Public Interest Groups
Domestic Violence Project- Food and Toy DrivePublic Interest Coalition (PIC) - Annual Goods and Service Auction, staffed soup kitchen
