Santa Clara University School of Law
Santa Clara University
Santa Clara University School of Law
500 El Camino Real
Santa Clara, CA 95053
www.scu.edu/law
Law School Pro Bono Programs
Contact Information
Peter Castlepcastle@scu.edu
Student PILCS Career Counselor
Braeden Sullivan
Student PILCS Career Counselor
Category Type
Formal Voluntary Pro Bono Program Characterized by a Referral System with a Coordinator
Description of Program
The Pro Bono Recognition Program is designed for and by Santa Clara University School of Law students. The Program is committed to supporting community-based legal service projects. In order to accomplish this goal, the Program depends on the dedication and commitment of student volunteers. The Pro Bono Recognition Program provides an arena where students can become involved in the community and also enhance their law school experience. In addition to the personal satisfaction of volunteering much-needed assistance and gaining valuable and practical legal experience, students are eligible to receive a Pro Bono Recognition Award from Santa Clara University School of Law. All it takes is 50 hours of not-for-credit or compensation work for a public interest, public sector or non-profit organization during the school year (May to May).
Location of Program
Office of Career Services
Staffing/Management/Oversight
The Pro Bono Recognition Program is run by the Public Interest Law Career Services (PILCS) Career Counselors in the Law Career Services office.
Funding
Student Run Pro Bono Groups/Specialized Law Education Projects
Faculty and Administrative Pro Bono
The Pro Bono Project is funded through the Public Interest Resource Center. Annual costs include staff wages and the cost of plaques. The Law School provides an office and equipment.
Awards/Recognition
A reception honoring public interest and social justice scholars (those who have earned the Public Interest and Social Justice Certificate) is held each May. Pro Bono Plaque is given.
Community Service
Law School Public Interest Programs
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Contact Information
Braeden SullivanStudent Public Interest Law Career Services (PILCS) Career Counselor
(408) 554-6930
PILCS office
Peter Castle
Student Public Interest Law Career Services (PILCS) Career Counselor
pcastle@scu.edu
(408) 554-6930
PILCS office
Certificate/Curriculum Programs
The Public Interest Law Certificate Program is available to all Santa Clara law students. Participating students receive individualized vocational counseling and job placement assistance with public interest employers. Students receive the Public Interest Law Certificate at a special ceremony, and they receive additional recognition at graduation. Students may enroll in the certificate program at any time during their law school careers. To qualify for the Public Interest Law Certificate, students must complete the following:
- 150 hours of supervised public interest legal work: This requirement can be fulfilled by working in a public interest organization or government office. The work can be paid, volunteer, and/or for clinical units.
- 15 units of public interest courses: This requirement can be fulfilled by successfully completing courses that qualify as a Public Interest Law Certificate course. Students may also receive credit toward the certificate for other courses with approval of the faculty advisor.
- 25 hours of on-campus or community service work promoting public interest: This component does not have to be legally-related work, but it is separate from the 50 hours of volunteer work required to earn a Pro Bono Project recognition plaque.
Public Interest Centers
The Center for Social Justice and Public Service - Provides a locus for public interest and social justice study and service. The Center builds a community for students, faculty, lawyers, and others who share the commitment to giving voice in the legal system to marginalized, subordinated, or underrepresented clients and causes. See http://www.scu.edu/law/socialjustice/index.html
Public Interest Clinics
Criminal Defense Clinic – Northern California Innocence Project – Supervised by experienced legal and forensic staff, law students evaluate case histories-- including transcripts, medical reports, and appellate briefs--as well as work with prisoners, crime and evidence labs, law enforcement, defense attorneys, and prosecutors to help prove claims of innocence. This course is recommended for all law students, regardless of their intention to practice criminal law. http://www.scu.edu/law/ncipDeath Penalty Clinic – The Death Penalty Clinic provides students with the opportunity to be involved in the defense of a capital case. Each student will be paired with an attorney who represents a person either charged with or convicted of a capital offense. The student will be involved in the preparation of both the guilt phase and the penalty phase, including gathering of physical and forensic evidence, preparation of discovery requests and responses, investigation and preparing life histories and mitigating evidence and maintaining regular client contact. http://www.scu.edu/law/academics/courses/death-penalty-clinic-502.cfm
Katharine & George Alexander Community Law Center Clinical Courses – For the past eleven years the Katharine & George Alexander Community Law Center (formerly known as the East San Jose Community Law Center) has provided pro bono advice and representation in several areas including workers' rights, workers' compensation, consumer rights and immigration rights. Poverty-stricken minorities and immigrants make up the vast majority of clients of the KGACLC, which is the civil clinical component of the Santa Clara University School of Law. It utilizes law students working under attorney supervision to provide free legal services. http://www.scu.edu/law/kgaclc/index.html
Externships/Internships
Civil Practice/HighTech Law Internship program provides students with the opportunity to apply and improve their legal skills through on-the-job work experience with law firms, governmental agencies, non-profit organizations and high tech companies. The purpose of the internship is to teach students about how lawyers function through practical experience. Under the guidance of a supervising attorney, students apply their substantive knowledge of the law to analyze legal issues and complete work assignments. Students must work a minimum of 225 hours during the semester, must simultaneously complete a classroom component and may not be paid for their work (with no expectation of hire after completion of the internship).
Classes with a Public Service Component
East San Jose Community Law Center Interviewing and Advising
Students who wish to advise clients under the supervision of an attorney at the East San Jose Community Law Center Advice Clinic are required to take this course. ESJCLC provides free legal services to low-income individuals seeking help with employment, small business, consumer, and immigration matters. Law students are the primary case handlers for these individuals. ESJCLC accepts cases for full and partial representation, and offers weekly clinics during which clients get free legal advice to direct their own cases.
East San Jose Community Law Center
This class provides opportunities for upper-division students to master lawyering skills while directly serving the community. There are various areas of clinical specialization: consumer law, employment law, immigration law, and small business consulting. All students must attend an intensive skills training program and regular 75-minute seminar meetings twice a week.
Public Interest Journals
The Santa Clara Law Review dedicated a symposium to Social Justice: Meeting Human Needs, Examining the Social Safety Net for Working America. This issue can be found at 44 Santa Clara Law Review, Number 4, 2004.
Public Interest Career Assistance
Public Interest Law Career Services (PILCS) is an organization run by Santa Clara Law students that is dedicated to helping students and graduates of SCU obtain legal employment and pro bono volunteer opportunities in the public interest and social justice fields. PILCS provides resources and counseling for job searches, internships, fellowships and volunteer positions in public interest related fields. Northern California Public Interest/Public Sector Legal Careers Day
Loan Repayment Assistance Programs (LRAP)
For a description see: http://www.scu.edu/law/socialjustice/support.html
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:
Public Interest Endowment
Scholarships will be awarded to entering students or those who are currently enrolled as students at Santa Clara University School of Law. Recipients will be selected according to criteria adopted by the Executive Board, including commitment to public interest activities, career objectives, law school service, academic achievement, and financial need.
Summer Fellowships
Law School Funded:
Graduate Student Funded:
Other Funding Sources:
Public Interest Endowment
Stipends will be awarded to provide grants to currently enrolled students at Santa Clara University School of Law who accept summer jobs which are either volunteer or low- paying and meet the employment eligibility criteria of the Income Supplement Plan. Recipients will be selected according to criteria adopted by the Executive Board, including commitment to public interest activities, career objectives, law school service, academic achievement, and financial need.
Extracurricular and Co-Curricular Programs
Social Justice Mondays – Joining theory and practice, the Center sponsors a lunchtime speakers series on contemporary social justice issues. Topics are as varied as community law practice; private practice in the public interest; the digital divide; international human rights; or race, class and criminal justice. Speakers are prominent attorneys who describe their practice, as well as scholars who discuss recent work. Faculty serve as facilitators. Social Justice Thursdays – Many first year students feel that issues of social justice and legal ethics can get lost in a thicket of technical knowledge. The Social Justice Thursday series addresses these feelings by providing first year law students with a forum to discuss social justice issues, alternate perspectives on legal education, and first-year subject areas. Faculty serve as discussion leaders.
Social Justice Workshop – The workshop features nationally prominent scholars, whose talks are open to the community.
Judicial Roundtables – Students, faculty, and alumni share ideas about social justice and public service with judges in an informal setting.
Trina Grillo Public Interest and Social Justice Law Retreat – The Grillo Retreat provides a unique opportunity for public interest law students, faculty and practitioners to forge an alliance by exchanging viewpoints, exploring career opportunities, and formulating strategies for social justice during this annual weekend retreat. Co-sponsored by Santa Clara University School of Law and the Society of American Law Teachers (SALT), with other Bay area law schools, this retreat honors the memory of Trina Grillo, 1948-96, who was a source of inspiration to many law students, professors, and public interest lawyers.
Public Interest and Social Justice Mentor Program – Co-Sponsored by the Santa Clara University School of Law Office of Career Services and the Center for Social Justice and Public Service, and in conjunction with the Public Interest Resource Center, the essential part of the program is providing law students with an additional resource in the legal community who is engaged in social justice and public interest work, as well as helping legal organizations meet the next generation of lawyers working for the public interest.
Student Public Interest Groups
Bisexual Gay Lesbian AdvocatesBlack Law SA
Public Interest & Social Justice Coalition
