Law School Public Interest Programs - Public Interest Centers
The Government Law Center (GLC) - Introduces students to methods of policy analysis and to public service. In operation for a quarter of a century, the GLC's programs and publications educate law and policy makers on the growing number of societal challenges they must address. Students are encouraged to participate in all GLC activities, including law-related employment and internship opportunities, and to initiate and develop new and exciting projects. The GLC sponsors programs on a wide range of topics, as well as public service career seminars, a community educational event for seniors, and exclusive opportunities to meet prominent government leaders.
American University Washington College of Law
In 2001, Washington College of Law ("WCL") created the Office of Public Interest to coordinate, facilitate and promote public interest programming and initiatives at the Law School. (www.wcl.american.edu/publicinterest)
Faculty run centers:
Program on WorkLife Law - http://www.wcl.american.edu/gender/worklifelaw/
National Institute of Military Justice http://www.wcl.american.edu/nimj/
War Crimes Research Office http://www.wcl.american.edu/warcrimes/
Program on International and Comparative Environmental Law - http://www.wcl.american.edu/environment/research.cfm; http://www.ciel.org/
Program on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest (PIPPI) - http://www.wcl.american.edu/pippi/
National Institute of Corrections Project - http://www.wcl.american.edu/faculty/smith/0307conf.cfm
Marshall-Brennan Fellowship - http://www.wcl.american.edu/wethestudents/
Innocence Project - http://www.wcl.american.edu/innocenceproject/
Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law - http://www.wcl.american.edu/humright/hracademy/
Health Law Project - Contact: Professor Corrine Parver (cparver@wcl.american.edu)
Women and International Law Program - http://www.wcl.american.edu/gender/wilp/
Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law - http://www.wcl.american.edu/humright/center/
http://www.wcl.american.edu/humright/center/
None
Arizona State University Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law
Barry University School of Law
The Center for Human Rights and International Justice at Boston College addresses the increasingly interdisciplinary needs of human rights work. Through multidisciplinary training programs, applied research, and the interaction of scholars with practitioners, the Center aims to nurture a new generation of scholars and practitioners in the United States and abroad who draw upon the strengths of many disciplines, and the wisdom of rigorous ethical training in the attainment of human rights and international justice. The Center is built upon the University's deep religious and ethical tradition of service to others and its broad scholarly reach in graduate programs in Arts & Sciences and professional programs in Law, Business, Education, Social Work, and Nursing.
The Mary Daly Curtin and John J. Curtin Center, “Curtin Center”. The Curtin Center is a dedicated space for public interest law student groups on campus. In addition to individual offices for student groups, there is a conference room. The Curtin Center also supports an annual keynote speech and summer stipends for public interest work.
Boston University School of Law
None.
Brigham Young University J. Reuben Clark Law School
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Schooley Mediation Program: Funded by a private endowment of $600,000, the mediation program trains students in mediation skills through courses, workshops, externships and simulation laboratories. Students perform mediations in small claims court, with school truancy programs and juvenile court victim-offender mediations, in landlord-tenant disputes, etc. Director: Susan Bradshaw, bradshaws@lawgate.byu.edu (801) 422-2159.
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Community Dispute Resolution Services: The center was founded in 2000 as a joint venture of the BYU Law School and Utah Valley State College. Students and volunteers provide free or low-cost mediations to assist in resolving disputes. The center promotes mediation and conducts training workshops for mediators. Director: Tamara Fackrell, fackrellt@lawgate.byu.edu (801) 422-9310; Community Dispute Resolution Services, 817 S. Freedom Blvd., Provo, UT 84601.
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World Family Policy Center: The center advocates for family values in United Nations conferences and through international NGOs. Director: Professor Richard Wilkins, wilkinsr@lawgate.byu.edu (801) 422-3278.
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The BYU International Center for Law and Religion Studies: Founded in 2000, the Center promotes freedom of religion by studying and disseminating information on the laws, principles, and institutions affecting the interaction of state and religion throughout the world. Director: Professor W. Cole Durham, Jr., law_religion@byu.edu, http://www.iclrs.org/ (801) 422-6842.
The Public Service Programs Office is staffed with a director and part time administrative assistant. The Office counsels students interested in public interest and government work concerning career-related matters such as resume and cover letter writing, interviewing, and developing experience. The Office also develops and coordinates pro bono projects, and sponsors a lunchtime series of speakers, panels and workshops, produces a bi-weekly newsletter with items of interest to the public interest community, offers a program for post-graduate fellowship candidates, and sponsors annual events including a welcome reception and pro bono fair, a pro bono awards ceremony, and the like. The Office also administers one of the school’s two Public Interest Fellowship programs, offers workshops on such topics as financial resources for the public interest student, and maintains a website of information and resources relevant to the public interest student. The Public Service Programs Office also provides material, presentations, information or other help to other departments such as Admissions, Financial Aid, External Affairs and Alumni regarding the public service aspects of the School’s program.
In addition, Brooklyn Law School Sponsors the Edward V. Sparer Public Interest Fellowship Program, Zaretsky International Business Fellowship program and the Centers for Health, Science and Public Policy, and Law, Language and Cognition.
California Western School of Law
Campbell University, Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law
National Center for Adoption Law & Policy http://www.law.capital.edu/adoption/
Center for Dispute Resolution http://www.law.capital.edu/DisputeResolution/
Case Western Reserve University Law School
Catholic University of America School of Law
The Law and Public Policy Program - facilitates student participation in a variety of public service activities.
Pro bono Placement in National Legislative Affairs Office of Catholic Charities USA - The Center for Law, Philosophy and Culture's St. Ives Summer Honors Internship Program in Legislative Affairs places three rising second-year Catholic University law students, each year, in an intensive summer program of research and writing at the Legislative Affairs Office of Catholic Charities, U.S.A. The purpose of the program is to expose selected law students to advocacy within the legislative process, based on an integration of theoretical insight into meaning of the social good. The placements are decided on a competitive basis.
St. Ives Summer Honors Internship in Legislative Affairs - http://law.cua.edu/LPCI/Stives.cfm
Center for Law, Philosophy and Culture - http://law.cua.edu/clpc/index.cfm
Chapman University School of Law
City University of New York Law at Queens College
Community Micro-Enterprise Initiative (CMEI) - The Community Micro-Enterprise Initiative (CMEI), has as its objectives the development of lawyers who can provide high-quality affordable legal services and education to small businesses in underserved communities and the creation of models that permit such community-based lawyers to survive and thrive. CMEI works closely with the Small Business Development Center of LaGuardia Community College, one of the units of the City University of New York, which receives funding by the U.S. Small Business Administration. Pro bono opportunities are available.
Immigrant Initiatives Project- This project focuses on ways that law schools can serve immigrant communities. Current projects that involve working pro bono as well as student working for credit include citizenship days and community counseling on immigration issues. This project helps about 300 people a year.
Community Legal Resource Network - The Network resources law graduates and assists them to practice law on behalf of underserved communities. Over 150 graduates are part of this network and participate in pro bono and low bono projects that increase access to justice. The project studies and promotes best practices for creating economically viable small firm practices that serve communities. Contact person is Fred Rooney, CLRN Director (718) 340-4451.
Cleveland State University, Cleveland-Marshall College of Law
College of William and Mary, Marshall-Wythe School of Law
Human Rights and National Security Law Project – www.wm.edu/law/institutesprograms/humanrights/
Therapeutic Jurisprudence Program – The founding of the Therapeutic Jurisprudence Program at William & Mary Law School is another example of the institution's commitment to establishing new and creative programs that combine teaching and research, with significant contributions to the public good. The program provides an opportunity for law students, lawyers and judges to examine the theoretical and practical ideas associated with an important emerging body of law.
Therapeutic Jurisprudence (TJ) is the study of the role of the law as a therapeutic agent. It places much needed attention on the law's impact on emotional life and psychological well-being. As we better understand that the law is a social force that often produces therapeutic or anti-therapeutic consequences, the study of TJ provides an exciting opportunity for our students and legal professionals to gain valuable insights into how the law actually affects people. Recognition that significant human stressors are attached to legal processes is fundamental to our program. Our program explores ways consistent with the principles of justice that the knowledge associated with TJ can help minimize emotional harm and meet the needs of individuals, families and the community.
The TJ program lets our students experience lawyering with a true ethic of care. We believe that by placing emphasis on "humanizing the law" our students will be better prepared to be capable advocates, patient counselors, and outstanding leaders. It is our objective to provide academic, interdisciplinary training, and technical assistance through the therapeutic jurisprudence lens to assist people in understanding the law and the justice system as part of a helping profession.
The Therapeutic Courts Project is a crucial part of the school's TJ program. The primary focus of the project is to study therapeutic, problem-solving courts and to share "lessons learned" and "best practices" with court professionals around the world. The Project intends to identify specific needs of therapeutic court professionals and address these needs through research, training, and technical assistance.
www.wm.edu/law/institutesprograms/lawtcp/
Election Law Program – www.wm.edu/law/institutesprograms/electionlaw/
Courtroom 21 – www.wm.edu/law/courtroom21/
Iraqi Special Tribunal – This special project is conducted with the Regime Crimes Liaison Office of the Department of Justice. Second and third year students will be researching and writing legal memos on ten questions provided by the DOJ with the memos to be provided to the judges of the Iraqi Special Tribunal in Baghdad trying Sadaam Hussein and others. The client is the DOJ and students will be preparing the memos under the supervision of Professor Malone who is the supervising attorney for the project. Depending upon the number of participants, students will be expected to research and write 25-40 pages on the provided questions. There will also be a weekly, one-hour classroom meeting on substantive background issues, student discussion of their work, and international legal research. Students will also be expected to conduct an hour-long public program on the general issues facing the Iraqi Special Tribunal. Graded Pass/Fail.
www.wm.edu/law/academicprograms/curriculum/experiences/law748-01.shtml
Columbia University School of Law
The Center for Public Interest Law - The Center for Public Interest Law administers Columbia's Pro Bono Program, its Human Rights Internship Program and other summer funding programs and provides career services to students and graduates who want to explore the public interest sector. See http://www.law.columbia.edu/publicinterest
Public Interest Law Initiative
Center on Crime, Community & Law
Experimentalist Mentorship Program
Social Justice Initiatives
Human Rights Institute
Kernochan Center for Law, Media and the Arts
Center for Study of Law and Culture
National State Attorneys General Program
Center for Law & Philosophy
Center on Global Legal Problems
Office of Public Service - Charged with implementing programs and policies that promote the law school's public service programs.
Cornell Legal Information Institute - http://www.law.cornell.edu The Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute (LII) is known internationally as a leading "law-not-com" provider of public legal information. It offers all opinions of the United States Supreme Court handed down since 1992, together with over 600 earlier decisions selected for their historic importance, over a decade of opinions of the New York Court of Appeals, and the full United States Code. LII also publishes important secondary sources: libraries in two important areas (legal ethics and social security) and a series of topical pages that serve as concise explanatory guides and Internet resource listings for roughly 100 areas of law. The Institute is a non-profit activity of Cornell Law School supported by grants, the consulting work of its co-directors, and gifts. No subscription fee limits access to LII services.
Creighton University School of Law
DePaul University College of Law
Center for Public Interest Law - The Center manages all aspects of the public interest law program, including full tuition scholarships as part of the Public Interest Honors Scholars program, three public interest sections, including an evening section, of the first-year Legal Analysis, Research & Communications course, the Community Service Initiative, a student volunteer program, the Journal for Social Justice, a speakers and mentors program, a Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP), and greatly expanded contacts with the public interest community. Please visit the Center website for more information: http://www.law.depaul.edu/institutes%5Fcenters/public%5Finterest/
Drake University School of Law
Middleton Center for Children's Rights - www.law.drake.edu/centers/default.aspx?pageID=aboutMiddletonCtr
Middleton Children's Rights Center - www.law.drake.edu/centers/default.aspx?pageID=aboutMiddletonCtr#center
Agricultural Law Center - www.law.drake.edu/centers/default.aspx?pageID=aboutAgCtr
Constitutional Law Center - www.law.drake.edu/centers/default.aspx?pageID=aboutConLawCtr
National Training Center for Public Service Attorneys - Hosts NITA conference for public service attorneys annually
Drexel University Earle Mack School of Law
The Office of Public Interest and Pro Bono - The Office of Public Interest and Pro Bono, along with an over 40-member student board, sponsors numerous programs to encourage public service values and involve students in public interest work. These include the Pro Bono Project; an overnight retreat; recognition events for pro bono and public interest leadership; summer public interest employment; a Faculty Lives in Public Service speaker series; an overnight Public Interest Retreat; and many other initiatives.
Center for the Study of the Public Domain - http://www.law.duke.edu/cspd/
Program in Public Law - http://www.law.duke.edu/publiclaw - The Program in Public Law is dedicated to expanding our understanding of the laws that govern American governments and their officials. Brown bag lunch programs for the law school community are held throughout the year.(Note: The survey only allows for one choice of credit, pay or pro bono. All the Centers listed typically provide all three opportunities.)
Duquesne University School of Law
Emory University School of Law
Project on Affordable Housing and Community Development – Seminar where students researched and worked on numerous issues within the general rubric of affordable housing and community development for class credit, pay and pro bono work.
Faulkner University Thomas Goode Jones School of Law
Florida A&M University College of Law
Florida International University College of Law
Florida State University College of Law
Children's Advocacy Center - Founded in 1991, the Children's Advocacy Center (CAC) trains second- and third-year law students in legal advocacy with an emphasis on intensive one-on-one and small group instruction. The Center is unique among law school clinical programs for providing a broad range of legal services. With approximately 80 on-going cases, it represents children, persons with disabilities, and victims of domestic violence. It also handles special education, Medicaid, foster care, delinquency, criminal, school expulsions, developmental services, supplemental security income (SSI) cases.
Fordham University School of Law
The Public Interest Resource Center (PIRC) - The Law School's clearinghouse for all students, faculty and staff who volunteer to provide legal assistance for the underprivileged and in civil rights causes or who wish to do community service work such as tutoring, etc. PIRC houses numerous public interest student-run organizations, most of which provide law- related pro bono service. See http://law.fordham.edu/ihtml/pirc-2home.ihtml?id=279
Social Justice Institute – The goals of Franklin Pierce Law Center's Social Justice Institute are to train lawyers to provide affordable, high-quality legal services accessible to all, to advocate for social justice, and to creatively explore and develop successful, innovative practice models for delivery of legal services in our constantly changing society. For more information see, http://www.piercelaw.edu/socjustice/socjust.htm
George Mason University School of Law
George Washington University Law School
Georgetown University Law Center
Human Rights Institute - The Georgetown Human Rights Institute embodies a unique combination of scholarship, classroom learning, clinical work, and opportunities for making a difference in the world. The Institute conducts workshops, symposia and conferences, engages in cutting edge scholarship, offers a certificate in human rights law, and funds two postgraduate fellowships in international human rights.
Office of Public Interest and Community Service (OPICS) - OPICS provides career counseling to students and alumni pursuing public interest and government legal employment, coordinates the Law Center's Pro Bono Programs, and oversees the activities of public interest-oriented student groups, such as the Equal Justice Foundation and Innocence Project. The OPICS web address is www.law.georgetown.edu/opics.
Institute for International Economic Law – The Institute of International Economic Law encourages thoughtful and scholarly attention to a broad range of subjects that concern the relation of law to cross-border economic activity. The Institute's research topics include the World Trade Organization (WTO), trade laws at various levels of government, financial institutions, and numerous regulatory subjects such as taxation, competition policy, corporate activity, securities laws, intellectual property, various services sectors such as banking and brokerage, and linkages to human rights and cultural problems.
Institute for the Study of International Migration (Georgetown School of Foreign Service institute affiliated with Georgetown Law Center) - ISIM – Focuses on all aspects of international migration, including the causes of and potential responses to population movements, immigration and refugee law and policy, comparative migration studies, the integration of immigrants into their host societies, and the effects of international migration on social, economic, demographic, foreign policy and national security concerns; www.georgetown.edu/sfs/programs/isim
Workplace Flexibility 2010 – Supports the development of a comprehensive national policy on workplace flexibility at the federal, state and local levels; www.law.georgetown.edu/workplaceflexibility2010
Georgetown Environmental Law and Policy Institute – Conducts research and education on legal and policy issues relating to protection of the environment and conservation of natural resources; www.law.georgetown.edu/gelpi
CAROLA (Center for the Advancement of the Rule of Law in the Americas) – A research institute focused on Latin American law and policy. CAROLA conducts symposiums and talks in which experts in both the academic and practical arenas of rule of law and judicial reform can address the issues and challenging problems facing these reform efforts; www.law.georgetown.edu/carola
Center for Law and the Public's Health – A primary, international, national, state, and local resource on public health law, ethics, and policy for public health practitioners, lawyers, legislators, judges, academics, policy-makers, and others. The Center is a joint project of Georgetown Law Center and Johns Hopkins University; www.publichealthlaw.net
Georgia State University College of Law
Golden Gate University School of Law
Clinical Programs:
Susan Rutberg, Director of Externship Programs, oversees the school's field placement clinical courses. Those courses include Judicial Externships as well as clinics offered in the following fields: Civil Law, Criminal Litigation, Environmental, Real Estate, Tax, and two collaborative programs: Homeless Advocacy (with the Bar Association of San Francisco) and Post-Conviction Capital Defense (with the California Appellate Project). New Family Law and Youth Law field placement programs will begin in Spring 2010.
On Site Clinics:
Environmental Law & Justice Clinic (ELJC)
The ELJC provides free legal and technical services and education on environmental justice issues primarily to residents, community groups, and public-interest organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Clinic assists communities bearing disproportionate environmental burdens, particularly communities of color and low-income neighborhoods. The Clinic also provides students with an opportunity to learn practical legal skills while serving these communities by conducting client interviews, counseling, problem solving, drafting legal documents and appearing at hearings. ELJC received U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 9’s 2009 Outstanding Achievement Award. Director: Professor Helen Kang, 415-442-6647.
Women's Employment Rights Clinic (WERC)
The Women's Employment Rights Clinic provides free legal services to low-wage and immigrant workers in a wide range of employment disputes, often working in collaboration with community based organizations. WERC students and faculty advise, counsel and represent clients in areas including sex and race discrimination and harassment, wage and hour claims, unemployment benefits, pregnancy disability, and family leave. WERC also regularly participates in amicus curiae filings on key employment law issues. Director: Professor Marci Seville, 415-442-6647.
Gonzaga University School of Law
Hamline University School of Law
Minnesota Justice Foundation– The MJF administrative staff is located at the University of Minnesota. MJF has a full-time staff of 6 attorneys spread across four law schools and various part time college and law students. The Board of Directors is made up of law students, private attorneys, legal services attorneys and client-eligible community members. Three students (from each school) sit on MJF's Board of Directors.
Public Law Community– Though not a formal “center” the Hamline Public Law Community is a group of faculty, staff and students who share a commitment to public interest law, and meet regularly to present programming and opportunities to share experiences.
The Bernard Koteen Office of Public Interest Advising (OPIA) - http://www.law.harvard.edu/students/opia/
Child Advocacy Program - http://www.law.harvard.edu/academics/cap/
Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice - http://www.charleshamiltonhouston.org
International Center for Criminal Justice - http://www.law.harvard.edu/programs/criminal-justice/
Hofstra University School of Law
The Center for Children, Families and the Law
Center for Legal Advocacy
Institute for Health Law and Policy
Institute for the Study of Conflict Transformation
Institute for the Study of Gender, Law and Policy
Institute for the Study of Legal Ethics
Howard University School of Law
The Equal Justice Program oversees the law school's public interest programs and provides opportunities for law students to be engaged in community outreach and civil and human rights projects. The program is funded as part of the Clinical Law Center.
Illinois Institute of Technology: Chicago-Kent College of Law
The Center for Access to Justice & Technology (CAJT) works to make justice more accessible to the public by promoting the use of the Internet in the teaching, practice, and public access to the law. The Center conducts research, builds software tools, teaches classes and supports faculty, staff and student projects on access to justice and technology. Currently, CAJT manages and promotes the Access to Justice Author (A2J Author), leads the A2J Student Editorial Board (A2J-SEB), and directs the Self-Help Web Center (SHWC). In addition to these activities and initiatives, CAJT also administers the Certificate in Public Interest Law. For more information, please visit: http://www.kentlaw.edu/cajt/
Institute for Science, Law & Technology - The mission of the Institute for Science, Law & Technology is to provide a forum to produce and disseminate knowledge on the implications and applications of science within societal and legal contexts. As part of its mission, the Institute sponsors long-term, multi-disciplinary research, public conferences, judicial training, symposia for journalists, and other programs. Public programming, scholarship and research, and student educational opportunities in the Institute focuses on biotechnology, information technology, environmental science, and cross cutting issues such as products liability, intellectual property, design of legal and market institutions, and use of technology in the courtroom. In addition, Institute staff and faculty draft laws and regulations and develop other programs that guide public policy decisions. For more information, please visit: http://www.kentlaw.edu/islt/
The Public Interest Resource Center (PIRC) - As a way of encouraging and promoting community service and pro bono legal work, Public Interest Resource Center (PIRC) was created to help connect students interested in volunteer or career opportunities with public interest groups or agencies in need of their services. Primarily, the Center acts as a clearinghouse for short and long-term public service law as well as non-law related projects, with a commitment toward creating a spirit of service among all students who attend Chicago-Kent.
Indiana University School of Law - Bloomington
Center for Constitutional Democracy in Plural Societies – The Center for Constitutional Democracy in Plural Societies (CCDPS) at Indiana University seeks to study and promote constitutional democracy in countries marked by ethnic, religious, linguistic, and other divisions. Founded and directed by John S. Hastings Professor of Law David Williams, the CCDPS will focus its initial work in Burma, Liberia, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan, training the reform leaders of these countries in constitutionalism, parliamentary process, and legal ordering. The Center focuses its efforts on the constitutional aspects of democratic reform, enabling plural societies to peaceably provide meaningful self-governance to all their citizens. The CCDPS is the only educational institution in the United States that offers students the chance to work directly and regularly with foreign reform leaders to support constitutional democracy.
The Center's recent work includes a working conference, "Constitutional Reform: Burma, Liberia, and Azerbaijan," attended by democracy reform leaders from Burma, Liberia, and Azerbaijan at the School of Law.
Center for Law, Society, and Culture – The fundamental mission of the Center for Law, Society, and Culture is to promote and disseminate a multidisciplinary understanding of law through scholarship, teaching, and discussion. The Center produces, presents, and coordinates research conducted by exceptional scholars in schools and departments across Indiana University on the subject of law and legal problems.
Pro Bono Project – Students work with local attorneys on a variety of cases, and can request a specialty area of interest. Students participating in this project receive credit through the School's B710 Independent Clinical Project mechanism. They receive credit only when their internship is with a not-for-profit organization or government agency.
Indiana University School of Law - Indianapolis
Inter American University of Puerto Rico: Inter American University of Puerto Rico School of Law
The John Marshall Law School Fair Legal Support Center - The primary goal of The John Marshall Law School Fair Housing Legal Support Center is to educate the public about fair housing law and to provide legal assistance to those private or public organizations that seek to eliminate discriminatory housing practices. http://www.jmls.edu/fairhousingcenter/index.shtml
John Marshall Law School – Atlanta
Lewis & Clark College School of Law
Liberty University School of Law
The Center for Constitutional Litigation and Policy (CCLP) is a partnership between the law school and Liberty Counsel, a nonprofit public interest law firm. Established in 1989, Liberty Counsel is a national organization with offices in Orlando, Florida; Lynchburg, Virginia; and Washington, D.C. It also has affiliated attorneys throughout the country. With its emphasis on constitutional and civil rights law, the CCLP provides training, internships, and clerkships for law students.
Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert Law Center
Volunteer Income Tax Assistance - Students provide free tax return preparation services to low-income foreign students, teachers and researchers. In 2005, LSU won the American Bar Association/Law Student Division's Best Continuing VITA Site award.
Butler Center Legal Clinic - This program was organized in conjunction with the main LSU campus and provided free legal services to low income residents of Old South Baton Rouge. Law students were hired by the legal clinic to perform initial intake and screeing of clients. Law clerks also were able to research and prepare documents for cases under the supervision of legal aid attorneys. The legal clinic focused on successions and donations, estate planning and property law, but also dealt with issues under family law, contract law and disputes and resolutions. The legal clinic was funded through a three year grant and therefore is no longer in operation.
Pugh Institute for Justice - The George W. and Jean H. Pugh Institute for Justice is a tax exempt, charitable organization founded in 1998 to provide support for research, educational, and pro bono activities that will promote justice for individuals in the administration of the criminal and civil justice systems in the State of Louisiana and elsewhere. See http://host.law.lsu.edu/pughinstitute/
Loyola Law School: Loyola Law School, Los Angeles
The Public Interest Law Department
Cancer Legal Resource Center
Center for Conflict Resolution
Center for Juvenile Law and Policy
Center for Restorative Justice
Disability Rights Legal Center
Loyola University Chicago: Loyola University Chicago School of Law
Loyola offers a wide variety of opportunities and resources for students interested in public interest law. Loyola’s Public Interest Law Society (PILS) is the largest and most active student group on campus, and its annual Public Service Auction raises thousands of dollars for Loyola students working in unpaid public interest law positions over the summer. Loyola students also edit and produce the Public Interest Law Reporter, a national magazine of news and features on the law of human rights, economic justice, criminal justice, the environment and government operations. Loyola regularly sponsors public interest law programs and events, and provides individual career counseling and job search assistance to students considering careers in public service.
Loyola University New Orleans: Loyola University New Orleans School of Law
The Gillis Long Poverty Law Center - The Gillis Long Poverty Law Center, established in 1985, promotes legal research and education about the problems of poor people and assists those providing legal services to those unable to afford representation.
Marquette University Law School
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.
Mercer University School of Law
Michigan State University College of Law
Mississippi College: Mississippi College School of Law
New England School of Law: New England School of Law
Center for Law & Social Responsibility (www.nesl.edu/clsr/)
New York Law School: New York Law School
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
New York University: New York University School of Law
Public Interest Law Center (PILC) In 1992, NYU School of Law founded the Public Interest Law Center (PILC) as the focal point for public service activities at the Law School. Now a national model for the promotion of public service, the Center has become a critical component of public interest education for students. The Center’s attorney-counselors offer expert individual guidance on summer and term-time internships, fellowship opportunities, and the post-graduate job search. PILC staff also assists students in navigating the many pro bono opportunities available, so that even first-year students can use their legal education to help others. PILC hosts many educational events throughout the year, such as the Leaders in Public Interest Series, to expand student awareness of public interest law and expose students to the numerous opportunities available to them during and after law school.
PILC administers several programs, including the:
- Root-Tilden-Kern and Filomen M. D’Agostino Scholarship Programs
- Public Interest Legal Career Fair, attended by students from 21 law schools and 200 employers
- Public Interest Summer Funding Program, providing funding for approximately 300 students each summer for internships
- PILC Student Advisors Program
- Public Interest Alumni Network
- Charles H. Revson LSPIN Fellowship Program
For further information on other Centers and Institutes see www.law.nyu.edu/pcic/.
North Carolina Central University School of Law
Northeastern University: Northeastern University School of Law
Public Health Advocacy Institute - This institute is a research, policy and advocacy organization dedicated to protecting and preserving the public health. The Institute is a collaborative project between Northeastern University School of Law and Tufts University School of Medicine. The Institute works in the law to promote public health issues and methods in legal analysis; in legal education to introduce population-based legal analysis to the study of law; in public health practice to introduce legal dimensions of public health solutions and, in public health education to introduce legal dimensions of public health problems. Sources of outside funding include the Bauman and Santos Foundations.
Tobacco Products Liability Project/Tobacco Control Resource Center - The TCRC is a national research clearinghouse that provides tobacco policy information to federal, state and local officials throughout the country. The TPLP, a division of TCRC, works to establish the legal responsibility of the tobacco industry for tobacco-induced disease, death and disability. Sources of outside funding include: The American Cancer Society, U.S. Department of Justice, National Cancer Institute, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the American Legacy Foundation. For more information, contact Professor Richard A. Daynard, President, 617/373-2026.
Domestic Violence Institute - This Institute is an education, service and research organization dedicated to combating partner abuse. The Institute provides legal advocacy services to battered women, trains law students and other professionals to meet the unique challenges of working with battered clients, and fosters interdisciplinary programs to make this system work for women seeking assistance. Sources of outside funding include Greater Boston Legal Services and the Boston Police Department. For more information, contact Professor Lois H. Kanter, Executive Director, 617/373-8617.
Institute on Race and Justice - At the forefront of the national dialogue about race and social policy, the Institute on Race and Justice provides rigorous and objective information and resources that are used by communities to make policy changes to advance the cause of racial justice. Racial equality is closely tied to urban issues; in urban settings, members of different races struggle for equal treatment in many areas. The institute has chosen to primarily focus on two social institutions, criminal justice and education, because these are areas in which communities have repeatedly expressed concern about racial equality. To that end, the institute focuses on understanding the connections among individual bias, institutional policies and disparate treatment within these two institutions. In contrast to the traditional legal model, the Institute on Race and Justice engages in research and scholarship that provides policymakers, practitioners and urban stakeholders with information and resources to understand and interpret questions regarding racial justice. The institute uses a multidisciplinary approach to examine the interaction between individual and systemic racial bias in institutions such as courts, law enforcement and schools.
http://www.racialprofilinganalysis.neu.edu/
Partnering for Prevention and Community Safety Initiative - The Partnering for Prevention and Community Safety Initiative (PfP), headed by Professor Deborah Ramirez, worked to identify and help implement promising practices for building relationships between federal, state, and local law enforcement and American Muslim, Arab, and Sikh communities. Such partnerships enhance counterterrorism initiatives, protect communities from hate crimes and hate incidents, and help preserve American civil liberties.
http://www.slaw.neu.edu/clinics/pfp.html
Northern Illinois University: Northern Illinois University College of Law
N/A
Northern Kentucky University Salmon P. Chase College of Law
Northwestern University: Northwestern University School of Law
The Public Service Office – Promotes public interest by assisting students in finding pro bono and other volunteer opportunities, sponsoring public interest panels and organizing school-wide pro bono and community service projects. More information about the public service program can be found at http://www.law.northwestern.edu/publicservice/.
Notre Dame: Notre Dame Law School
Center for Civil and Human Rights
The Center focuses on teaching, research, and service dedicated to raising international awareness of important human rights concerns in a way that contributes to their eventual resolution. The Center's programs/curriculum include: (A) LL.M. Program in International Human Rights Law, which affords lawyers the opportunity to engage in specialized study and research in international human rights law; and (b) J.S.D. Program in International Human Rights Law, which is designed especially for persons who teach in the field of international human rights law. For more information, contact Juan Mendez, Director, 574/631-7895 or http://www.nd.edu/~cchr.
Thomas J. White Center on Law and Government
The Center examines public policy questions within the framework of Judeo-Christian values, provides a focal point for public law research and encourages a select group of law students to dedicate a substantial portion of their professional study to public concerns. The Scholars participate in a seminar on symposium topics, plan and participate in symposia conducted by the Center and assist in production work of the Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy. For more information, contact Fr. John Pearson, C.S.C, 574/631-4888 or http://www.nd.edu/~ndlaw/student/whitecntr.html.
Nova Southeastern University: Shepard Broad Law Center
The Public Interest Law Center: Housed in the Career Development Office, the PILC oversees the Pro Bono Honor Program, handles public interest career counseling and fellowships, and promotes public interest programming, activities and issues. http://www.nsulaw.nova.edu/career/pilc/index.cfm
Ohio Northern Claude W. Pettit College of Law
Ohio State University Michael E. Moritz College of Law
The Center for Interdisciplinary Law and Policy Studies at The Ohio State University's Moritz College of Law is committed to the promotion of interdisciplinary research, teaching, and public outreach designed to shed light on the nature and operation of law and legal institutions, as well as the impacts of law on society and culture.
The Center embodies the conviction that no single disciplinary perspective is adequate for understanding these issues, and that multidisciplinary approaches are essential to address the social opportunities and challenges in which law can play a constructive role.
Oklahoma City University: Oklahoma City University School of Law
Center on Alternative Dispute Resolution
The Center on Alternative Dispute Resolution provides coherence and structure for the varied activities of OCU School of Law in the areas of negotiation, mediation, and arbitration. The Center assures that all ADR programs operated under its auspices meet the dual obligations of public service and pedagogy. Research is an integral part of the Center’s activities, in order to improve continually the quality of service provided to the justice system.
Specifically, the Center focuses on ethics in ADR and identifying the variables that help courts and practitioners to “match the fuss to the forum.”
Center for the Study of State Constitutional Law & Government
The Center for the Study of State Constitutional Law and Government was founded to develop and implement programs dedicated to the improvement of state constitutions and state governance. By sponsoring workshops, scholarly writing, and public lectures, the Center promotes scholarship and discussion on important issues relating to state government.
Native American Legal Resource Center
The Native American Legal Resource Center provides capacity building services to tribal communities and creates opportunities for students, faculty, staff and the broader University Community to utilize knowledge and resources to serve the needs of Indian Country in a culturally appropriate and efficient manner for a maximum positive impact.
Within the Oklahoma City University School of Law, the Native American Legal Resource Center is an academic center that encourages scholarship in the area of Indian Law and Policy. The NALRC also provides various services to the Tribal Governments in the State of Oklahoma, as well as Tribal Governments across the United States.
The NALRC has several successful working relationships and projects that serve various needs in Indian Country. Funding for these initiatives comes from grants and sub-contracts awarded to the NALRC for the provision of specific services.
The PACE ENERGY PROJECT – Founded in 1987 by Dean Emeritus Richard L. Ottinger, a former member of the US House of Representatives, the Energy Project plays a leading role in a national coalition of environmental and consumer advocates who are working to create win-win energy policy solutions for America's economy and environment. The Energy Project has helped create legal tools for promoting economic investments in energy efficiency and renewable resources, in order to abate acid rain, contain global warming, reduce urban smog and other environmental damage associated with the production and delivery of electric energy. The Project leads a broad based public interest coalition in New York, partners with the Mid-Atlantic Energy Project in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and assists local groups in Michigan and Florida in the pursuit of electric utility regulatory reform. The Project's study, Environmental Costs of Electricity (Oceana Publications, 1990) is the seminal work on valuation of environmental costs to society from electric utility operations and describes ways to incorporate environmental costs in utility resource acquisition. The Project is hosting a national photovoltaic educational project under a grant from the Department of Energy. The Project is also working with the St. Regis Tribe of the Mohawk Nation on a model program to extend the economic and environmental benefits of conservation and renewable resources to Native American communities.
The PACE INVESTOR RIGHTS PROJECT (PIRP) – Is dedicated to the protection of investor rights, specifically the rights of small investors, and the enforcement of broker-dealers’ obligations to their customers. Through its three main arms -- Advocacy, Research and Community Education -- PIRP seeks broadly to inform and educate the investing public in New York State about their legal rights and responsibilities.
The PACE WOMEN'S JUSTICE CENTER – Students and their supervisory attorneys represent victims of family violence and abuse, including victims with special needs such as the elderly, women with low income, women who are developmentally disabled or mentally impaired, victims of incest and other sexual assault, and child victims. The Center not only represents hundreds of clients, but also creates and disseminates new techniques for legal intervention; trains dozens of law students and thousands of judges, attorneys, police officers, sexual assault examiners, and others who work to eradicate injustice for women and children; and publishes articles and materials about effective and compassionate representation. It also engages in extensive legislative research and advocacy and has been highly instrumental in the enactment and/or reform of a great deal of New York State legislation during the past decade.
The LAND USE LAW CENTER – Engages law students in understanding and explaining how best to develop and conserve the land. The Center draws on its staff of experts and law students to train local officials in New York State to take an enlightened and balanced approach to shaping land use policies and regulations. Pace Law students work as full-fledged legal associates with responsibility for research projects, publications, outreach, community services, project management and technology.
The EMPIRE JUSTICE CENTER – This branch of the Greater Upstate Law Project was created as an alternative source of free legal services for the poor in the Hudson Valley in 1996, when Congress placed limitations on all federally-funded legal services programs. The EJC is a locus of pro bono service for volunteer law students, a field placement center for our Public Interest/Legal Services Externship, and a collaborator and back-up center for the other programs of the John Jay Legal Services Clinic, where it is located, especially the Immigration Justice Clinic. It is also a lead member of the New York Immigration Coalition and the Westchester Hispanic Coalition. It conducts numerous community education "know your rights" programs for immigrants. Most important, its lawyers can and do provide the full range of legal remedies needed by poor litigants, and can and do serve all poor and disadvantaged people, including immigrants, prisoners, those who would benefit from class actions, and those for whom a winning litigation strategy depends on the ability to seek attorneys' fees as a negotiating tool.
The CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL LEGAL STUDIES – Allows J.D., LL.M., and S.J.D. candidates to work directly with Pace law professors in advanced environmental law research and law reform. Since 1982, the Center has developed sustained programs in Energy Law and in International Environmental Law, as well as undertaking funded research programs in a number of areas. The Center, which is co-directed by Dean Richard L. Ottinger, Professor Nicholas A. Robinson and other environmental law professors at Pace, sponsors periodic colloquia and participates in the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. (see http://www.law.pace.edu/environment/centerenv.html )
Pennsylvania State University The Dickinson School of Law
The law school provides counseling and programming for public interest minded students through the Public Interest and Clinical Teaching Fellow. The Fellow also coordinates the pro bono program and is a general resource for all students with respect to the service aspects of a legal education.
Pepperdine University: Odell McConnell Law Center
Institute on Law, Religion, and Ethics - http://law.pepperdine.edu/ilre/
Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico
Quinnipiac University School of Law
Regent University: School of Law
None
Roger Williams University: School of Law
The Feinstein Institute for Legal Service - The Institute runs a Pro Bono Collaborative (partnering law firms, community organizations, and law students together to work on pro bono projects), a Public Interest Externship Program, a Mandatory Public Service Program (law-related, uncompensated, not-for-credit), a Public Interest Summer Stipend Program, a Public Interest Speaker Series, Public Interest Scholarships, and is involved in many community partnerships through our public service program.
Marine Affairs Institute - The work of the Marine Affairs Institute focuses on research and analysis of legal issues affecting oceans and coasts, education and training of law students in marine law, and outreach to lawyers, scientists, and policy-makers.
Students selected as Sea Grant Law Fellows assist in this research and outreach, working on definition and resolution of marine resource management and conservation issues, legal research of those issues, and presentation of findings to governmental agencies, nonprofit and private entities, and communities in Rhode Island and New England. Fellows are paid for their work.
http://law.rwu.edu/sites/marineaffairs
Rutgers The State University of New Jersey, Center for Law and Justice (Newark)
Institute on Education Law and Policy - http://ielp.rutgers.edu/
The Eric R. Neisser Public Interest Program
Rutgers: The State University of New Jersey School of Law, Camden
Saint John's University School of Law
Saint Louis University: Saint Louis University School of Law
International Law Center
Health Law Center
Saint Mary’s University of San Antonio: St. Mary’s University of San Antonio School of Law
Public Interest Law Program.
Saint Thomas University: St. Thomas University School of Law (FL)
Community Law Center
The Center, which opened in Fall 2002, provides legal services to low income individuals.
Human Rights Institute
The Institute focuses on immigration and human rights issues.
Samford University: Cumberland School of Law
None.
Santa Clara University: Santa Clara University School of Law
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
Seattle University: Seattle University School of Law
The Access to Justice Institute - The work of the Access to Justice Institute reflects the mission of Seattle University School of Law: to lead its students toward lifetime service to justice for all. AtJI connects the law school to the community at large, collaborating with hundreds of attorneys, judges and advocates from every field and drawing more than 300 student volunteers each year. Students volunteering through AtJI have the option to be placed as volunteers in one of 55 community legal service agencies that have formed collaborative partnerships with the Institute, or, they can participate in one of the in-house projects administered by the AtJI staff. In-house projects include: the Community Justice Centers, Immigration Court Project, Hague Convention Project, Unemmployment Insurance for Battered Women Project, Language Bank, Real Change Homeless Newspaper Project and Beagle Aid Newsletter.
The Center on Corporations, Law and Society - The Center on Corporations, Law & Society at Seattle University School of Law conducts and promotes interdisciplinary scholarship and dialogue on issues related to the roles and obligations of corporations in an increasingly privatized and interdependent global society. In addition to serving as a platform for enhanced scholarly inquiry, the Center provides a forum for sustained discussion among academics, legal practitioners, business leaders, activists, policy makers and community members on the complex and important relationships between business enterprises and their many stakeholders.
The Center for Global Justice - This Center for Global Justice was created in January of 2006 to further the mission of the law school by combining a justice-based approach to globalization with a commitment to academic excellence. The Center supports a clinical course in the area of global justice related to international human rights and a global justice summer internship program for students. A student fellows program was developed to provide an opportunity for students to deepen their involvement in global legal issues and provide support to the Center, through maintaining curricular materials, developing and organizing conferences and speakers and undertaking research projects. In addition, the Center has developed curricular materials that allow faculty to incorporate issues of global justice into their classes as well as provided research support for faculty members researching global justice issues. The Center will host an annual conference and speaker series addressing a current topic of global justice, open to students, faculty and practitioners. The Center will also act as the bridge for students and faculty interested in advocacy and research projects to access local, national and international organizations.
Seton Hall University: Seton Hall University School of Law
Public Interest Office – Serves as the central resource for most public interest programs, including the Summer Public Interest Fellowship Program, the Heyman Fellowship Program, and the LRAP program, as well as sponsoring public interest events. Web site under construction.
Guantanamo Bay Detention Project – Professors Mark Denbeaux and Baher Azmy engaged numerous students in legal representation and advocacy on behalf of prisoners in Guantanamo Bay.
See: http://law.shu.edu/administration/public_relations/publications/fall2005_magazine.pdf
South Texas College: South Texas College of Law
Southern Illinois University School of Law
Immigration Detention Center Project
Center for Health Law and Policy
Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law
Southern University Law Center
Southwestern University: Southwestern Law School
The Office of Student Affairs oversees student public interest activities. For information, contact Robert Mena Ed.D. , Director of Student Affairs.
The John and Terry Levin Center for Public Service and Public Interest Law (“the Levin Center”) at Stanford Law School provides a valuable resource for students who are interested in or already committed to advancing the public good and achieving social justice through the law. In addition to offering an array of classes and clinics that provide students with a solid foundation of theoretical knowledge and practical skills, Stanford Law School supports students pursuing careers in the public interest, through its pro bono program, externships, mentoring, career services, speaker series, and opportunities for financial assistance and post-graduate fellowships.
The umbrella Levin Center office houses career services and public service programs, and coordinates the faculty-student Public Interest Committee at Stanford Law School. It also oversees a variety of public interest funding programs that tangibly support public interest and public sector students and alumni.
The groundwork provided though classes and clinics, and the opportunities created by the Levin Center enable our graduates to achieve the careers and advance the causes that first inspired them to earn a law degree.
Stetson University: Stetson University College of Law
Office of Student Life - The Office provides students with lists of pro bono and public interest opportunities. In addition, the Office sponsors a Pro Bono Fair in the fall and spring where community organizations meet with our students. The web address is http://www.law.stetson.edu/studentlife/probono.asp
Rappaport Center for Law and Public Service - The mission of the Rappaport Center for Law and Public Service is to foster and promote emerging innovative leaders in public policy, government-related and public service careers. The Rappaport Center was established in 2007 as the result of a $5 million gift from the Jerome Lyle Rappaport Foundation and from Jerome and Phyllis Rappaport. The gift was the largest contribution ever received by Suffolk Law School. The first endowed chair in Suffolk's history, the Jerome Lyle Rappaport Chair in Law and Public Policy, was also created through the endowment. The Center builds on the Law School's historic strength in educating, supporting and mentoring students with an interest in public policy and public service. http://www.law.suffolk.edu/Rappaport
Juvenile Justice Center – The JJC’s mission is to provide vigorous, high-quality representation for children in the juvenile court system, using a multi-disciplinary approach that includes supportive social services and education advocacy. This approach to delinquency defense increases positive outcomes for court-involved youth. The Center also monitors and actively advocates on state policies that affect how youth are sent to court and the consequences of their court involvement. http://www.law.suffolk.edu/academic/clinical/jjc/index.cfm
Syracuse University: College of Law
Family Law & Social Policy Center
Center on Property, Citizenship & social Entrepreneurism
Center for Indigenous Law, Governance & Citizenship
Institute for National Security and Counterterrorism
Disability Law & Policy
Burton Blatt Institute
Full listing of all centers: http://www.law.syr.edu/academics/centers/index.aspx
Temple University: James E. Beasley School of Law
Temple has a Public Interest Center. The Center's Director:
Directs the Center, which acts as a resource/support center/clearinghouse for student-driven extra curricular public interest and public service activities;
Oversees activities of Temple-LEAP (Law Education and Participation) a professionally staffed law-related education program funded by private foundation and government grants. For more information, contact Program coordinator Roberta West, 215/204 - 8948 or rwest001@nimbus.ocis.temple.edu);
Identifies public interest career opportunities, provides career counseling to public interest minded students, identifies summer and post graduate fellowships and assists students with the public interest fellowship process;
Operates Public Interest Experience program wherein law students work in the regions public interest and government organizations; and
Directs Public Interest Scholars program.
For additional information, contact Karen Forman, Esquire, Director at 215/204-2248 or karenf@vm.temple.edu.
Texas Southern University Thurgood Marshall School of Law
Texas Tech University School of Law
Texas Wesleyan University School of Law
Thomas Jefferson School of Law: Thomas Jefferson School of Law
Center for Law and Social Justice - For more information, contact Professor Susan Bisom-Rapp, Director, 619/297-9700, ext. 6912 or susanb@tjsl.edu.
Cooley’s Center for Ethics, Service, and Professionalism is committed to creating a culture of professionalism and responsibility in the law school and works to foster the highest caliber of relationships between the Cooley community and the legal and local communities. The Center offers a wide variety of programs including, but not limited to, an ethics speaker’s bureau, professionalism library, the “Integrity in Our Communities” speaker series, and the community partnerships that provide pro bono assistance mentioned in an earlier section.
Touro College: Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center
The Law School is in the process of creating a Public Interest Center.
Tulane University: Tulane University School of Law
Community Service Placement Office – http://www.law.tulane.edu/prog/pubint/commservice/placements.cfm
Tulane Institute for Environmental Law and Policy – http://www.law.tulane.edu/enlaw/
University at Buffalo Law School, SUNY
Buffalo Human Rights Center – The Center fosters the study and practice of international human rights law. The Center organizes student internships with leading human rights organizations in this country and abroad and organizes conferences and symposia on human rights law. For more information contact Professor Makau wa Mutua, Director, 716/645-2311 or mutua@buffalo.edu. http://www.law.buffalo.edu/Academic_Programs_And_Research/default.asp?firstlevel=5&secondlevel=1&filename=buffalo_human_rights_center
The Buffalo Criminal Law Center - The Buffalo Criminal Law Center pursues three objectives, one legislative, one scholarly, and one pedagogic:
- to provide state and federal legislatures with in-depth analyses of criminal justice issues to encourage the development of long-term approaches to the problem of crime and punishment,
- to serve as a forum for innovative research on criminal law to reinvigorate the study of criminal law in the United States, and
- to permit students at the State University of New York Buffalo School of Law to conduct advanced research on criminal law under close faculty supervision.
The Christopher Baldy Center for Law and Social Policy– The Center is an internationally recognized institute that supports the interdisciplinary study of law and legal institutions. Research activities of the Baldy Center are organized within five programs: Children, Families and the Law; Community and Identity; Gender, Law and Social Policy; International and Comparative Legal Studies; and Regulation and Public Policy. The Center maintains cooperative ties to other interdisciplinary research centers at UB and co-sponsors a regional network of sociolegal scholars in New York and Canada. For more information, contact Laura S. Mangan, Associate Director, 716/645- 2102 or lmangan@acsu.buffalo.edu. http://www.law.buffalo.edu/baldycenter/
Edwin F. Jaeckle Center for State and Local Government Law – The Center provides a forum for expanded inquiry into wide ranges of topics concerning intergovernmental relations and finance, activity oriented and quasi-governmental involvement in providing services, and financial support and the direct delivery of services to the populace. For more information, contact Professor Robert Reis, Director, 716/645- 2354 or reis@acsu.buffalo.edu. http://www.law.buffalo.edu/research/centers/Government_Law.html.
University of Akron: C. Blake McDowell Law Center
University of Alabama: University of Alabama School of Law
Public Interest Institute - www.law.ua.edu/pubinterest/
Contact: Bryan Fair, Professor, bfair@law.ua.edu, 348-7494
University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law
University of Arkansas at Little Rock: William H. Bowen School of Law
None.
University of Arkansas School of Law
University of Baltimore School of Law
University of California - Los Angeles
University of California at Davis: University of California at Davis School of Law
University of California, Berkeley: University of California, Berkeley, School of Law
The Honorable Thelton E. Henderson Center for Social Justice produces and fosters creative scholarship that examines the law through a lens of social justice, and works in partnership with communities to provide education to the general public. Through multi-method, interdisciplinary and participatory approaches, the Henderson Center engages in research that is accessible, relevant, and responsive to the needs of diverse communities in California and throughout the nation. By providing bridges between academia and the real world and between theory and practice, it teaches students to work collaboratively across disciplines and perspectives and to locate the common ground among people.
The Center's mission is threefold:- Provide and facilitate rigorous theoretical and practical training and support to law students in social justice advocacy and scholarship.
- Foster creative scholarship that views the law in a larger social context and is both accessible to the public and responsive to the needs of under-represented communities.
- Promote collaborative efforts among academics, practitioners, advocacy organizations, policy makers, and community groups to realize a more just and equitable society.
- ground-breaking conferences and symposia that bring together experts from around the country to discuss strategies for social change;
- the Practitioner-in-Residence and Scholar-in-Residence programs, which offer pre-eminent social justice lawyers and academics the opportunity to share their insights and expertise with the Berkeley Law community;
- Ruth Chance Mondays, a speakers series that gives students the opportunity to talk with public-interest practitioners on a bi-weekly basis;
- a reading group for first-year students led by Berkeley Law faculty members that examines basic areas of the law through a social justice lens;
- a range of theoretical and clinical courses that explore how the law treats social justice issues including how poor and disadvantaged communities are represented;
- a Practitioner-Student Mentoring Program, presented in collaboration with the Office of Career Services, which pairs students with social justice lawyers; and
- a student advisory board that allows the center to develop a community of students and groups interested in social justice issues.
For more details please visit the Henderson Center website at http://www.law.berkeley.edu/HendersonCenter.htm or contact Mary Louise Frampton, Faculty Director of the Henderson Center, at 510/642-4474 or mlframpton@law.berkeley.edu
Berkeley has a number of additional Centers that address important issues in the public interest:- The Berkeley Center for Criminal Justice
- Berkeley CHEFS, the Center on Health, Economic & Family Security
- The Center for Law, Energy & the Environment
- Chief Justice Earl Warren Institute on Race, Ethnicity and Diversity
- The Center for the Study of Law and Society
- The Kadish Center for Morality, Law & Public Affairs
- The Honorable G. William and Ariadna Miller Institute for Global Challenges and the Law
- The Institute for Legal Research
- The Berkeley Center for Law, Business and the Economy
- The Berkeley Center for Law & Technology
- The Robert D. Burch Center for Tax Policy and Public Finance
For more information about these Centers, please visit http://www.law.berkeley.edu/centers.htm
University of California-Hastings College of the Law
Center for WorkLife Law: http://www.uchastings.edu/?pid=3624
Center for Gender & Refugee Studies: http://cgrs.uchastings.edu/
Center for Negotiation and Dispute Resolution: http://www.uchastings.edu/?pid=132
Public Law Research Institute: http://www.uchastings.edu/?pid=134
University of Chicago: University of Chicago Law School
None.
University of Cincinnati: University of Cincinnati College of Law
The Lois and Richard Rosenthal Institute for Justice/Ohio Innocence Project - http://www.law.uc.edu/clj/index.html
The Urban Morgan Institute for Human Rights - http://www.law.uc.edu/morgan/index.html
University of Colorado: School of Law
Energy & Environmental Security Initiative - EESI is an interdisciplinary center located at the University of Colorado School of Law. The fundamental mission of EESI is twofold: First, to serve as a law school-based interdisciplinary body that is pivotal in developing and crafting State, U.S. and global responses to the world's energy crisis; and second, to facilitate the attainment of a global sustainable energy future through the innovative use of laws and policies. In pursuit of this mission, EESI's primary operational objective is to serve as an enabling environment for teaching and research into the impact of laws and policies on the scientific, engineering, sociopolitical, and commercial dimensions of sustainable energy. See http://www.colorado.edu/law/eesi
Natural Resources Law Center - The Natural Resources Law Center is a non-profit research and educational organization committed to improving the governance and management of water and land resources in the western United States. Its mission is to promote sustainability in the rapidly changing American West by informing and influencing natural resources policies and decisions. See http://www.colorado.edu/law/centers/nrlc/index.htm
University of Connecticut: University of Connecticut School of Law
The Office of Career Services is home to the Law School's Public Interest Resource Center. In this regard, the Office maintains extensive public interest/public sector job resources and position postings and organizes various job fairs and programs throughout the academic year dedicated exclusively to public interest and government opportunities. The Office also administers a Pro Bono Program in response to student interest and commitment to public service in the community.
The Law School is home to two major not-for-profit centers, which are intimately connected to student work and the curriculum. They are the Center for Children's Advocacy directed by Martha Stone (mstone@law.uconn.edu) and the Connecticut Urban Legal Initiative directed by William Breetz (wbreetz@law.uconn.edu).
University of Dayton: University of Dayton School of Law
The Office of Social Justice, which is funded by a two-year grant and run by Gabrielle Williamson, oversees the school activities. The Office of Social Justice and the School of Law's Clinic collaborate on projects.
University of Denver: Sturm College of Law
The Public Interest Office – Administers the Public Service Requirement and provides career, pro bono, and volunteer counseling and opportunities for students and alumni. See www.law.du.edu/publicinterest
Rocky Mountain Land Use Institue – A forum for research, discussion and debate of critical land use and environmental issues in the Rocky Mountain West. www.law.du.edu/rmlui
University of Detroit Mercy School of Law
University of Florida: Fredric G. Levin College of Law
Center for Governmental Responsibility – http://www.law.ufl.edu/cgr/
Center for the Study of Race and Race Relations – http://www.law.ufl.edu/centers/csrrr/
Center for Children and the Family – http://www.law.ufl.edu/centers/childlaw/
Institute for Human Rights, Peace and Development – The Institute of Human Rights, Peace and Development is under the direction of Winston P. Nagan, Sam T. Dell Research Scholar and Professor of Law. The Institute works to develop and deepen the interdisciplinary understanding and policy foundations of human rights, peace and development. The Institute facilitates a curriculum on human rights and peace related courses. The Institute has been involved in various activities including the creation of a human rights and peace center in Makerere University, Uganda, organizing the 50th Anniversary seminar of the International Court of Justice in Cape Town, South Africa, and co-founding the East African Journal of Human Rights. The Institute also has developmental ties with the Shuar Indigenous Nation of the Republic of Ecuador. The Institute has fraternal ties with important human rights non-governmental actors including the Policy Sciences Center in New Haven, and the Weeramantry Foundation in Sri Lanka.
University of Georgia School of Law
None
University of Hawaii William S. Richardson School of Law
University of Houston Law Center
Southwest Regional Juvenile Defender Center - Southwest Juvenile Defender Center is an affiliate of the National Juvenile Defender Center that works to bring together juvenile defenders, mental health professionals, educators, legislators and other juvenile justice professionals. Through this collaboration the Center strives to improve advocacy for children. The Center is directed by Professor Ellen Marrus. www.law.uh.edu/juveniledefender/
Texas Innocence Network - The Texas Innocence Network focuses exclusively on investigating claims of actual innocence raised by inmates in Texas or elsewhere. The TIN relies principally on law students to pursue factual investigation; the students work under the supervision of Professor David R. Dow or local attorneys. To date, TIN has secured the release of two falsely accused individuals and assisted numerous others in their pursuits for justice. For more information, see http://www.law.uh.edu/faculty/ddow2/dpage2/innocence.html
Center for Consumer Law - Under the direction of Professor Richard Alderman, the Center for Consumer Law educates laypeople about consumer law through many avenues, the most popular being the "People's Law School." About 500 people attend this free program semi-annual event designed to help make the law "user friendly" to the layperson. Local judges, attorneys, and professors teach all of the classes and student volunteers help coordinate the activities. For more information, see http://www.law.uh.edu/peopleslaw/sessioninfo.html
University of Idaho: College of Law
University of Illinois College of Law
None
University of Iowa College of Law
Institute of Public Affairs
Larned A. Waterman Iowa Nonprofit Resource Center
Law, Health Policy, and Disability Center
National Health Law and Policy Resource Center
UI Center for Human Rights
UI Center for International Finance and Development
University of Kansas: School of Law
The Public Interest Center is part of the Office of Career Services, under the direction of Todd Rogers, Assistant Dean, 785/864-9257 or tarogers@ku.edu
University of Kentucky College of Law
University of La Verne College of Law
University of Louisville: Louis D. Brandeis School of Law
Samuel L. Greenebaum Public Service Program - See http://www.louisville.edu/brandeislaw/psp/index.htm
University of Maine School of Law
Center for Law & Innovation - The law school’s Center for Law and Innovation supports Maine's investments in science and technology by studying and teaching about the role of intellectual property law in economic development. Established by the state legislature in 1999, the Center provides high-level, leading edge educational opportunities in areas of intellectual property law, e-commerce, technology transfer, and other technology-related fields. We host an annual conference on legal and business issues affecting various technology sectors, and sponsor regular forums and lectures on law and innovation. Through original scholarship, and through convening scholars, the Center helps lawyers, academics and policymakers understand how patents, copyrights and trademarks affect modern commerce. Through its service unit, the Maine Patent Program, the Center offers technology transfer and patent assistance to scientists, inventors and entrepreneurs throughout Maine. We are meeting the state’s growing demand for technology transfer infrastructure, providing counseling and services in biotechnology and information technology transfer. Our program also prepares law students to serve as the state's next generation of high-technology lawyers by working with our on-staff patent attorneys, technology transfer experts and clients. ( http://www.lawandinnovation.org/)
Marine Law Institute - The MLI is the research and public service component of the Ocean and Coastal Law Program and is the only law school-affiliated marine policy research program in the Northeast. MLI has dedicated its program of legal and policy research to the analysis of ocean and coastal resource issues for the express purpose of improving management practices and public understanding. ( http://mainelaw.maine.edu/programs-centers/mli/)
University of Maryland: University of Maryland School of Law
http://www.law.umaryland.edu/programs/
University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law
University of Miami School of Law
HOPE Public Interest Resource Center: The Public Interest Resource Center serves as a hub for public interest and pro bono opportunity. HOPE provides guidance, hosts programs, sponsors fellows and runs over 25 ongoing service programs in the community.
Center for Study of Human Rights: The mission of the Center is to increase knowledge and understanding of international human rights issues, to bring theoretical insights to the study and practice of human rights, to assist public and private human rights organizations throughout the world in addressing the increasingly complex developments in this field, and to equip succeeding generations of lawyers and other professionals with the skills needed to play vital roles in the world community. Working under the supervision of Professor Irwin Stotzky and in partnership with Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center, students have the opportunity to research immigration issues and advocate for clients seeking asylum.
University of Michigan: University of Michigan Law School
The Office of Public Service serves as the focal point for activities related to public interest or government practice. Examples include:
- The Public Interest/Public Service Faculty Fellows Program which brings in practitioners from government and public interest to teach students practical public service-centered courses and to provide career advice
- Theoretical and clinical courses exploring social justice issues and their impact on disadvantaged communities ( a sampling of course can be found at http://cgi2.www.law.umich.edu/CurriculumInterestAreas/home.aspx )
- The Inspiring Paths speaker in residence series which allows students to interact with some of the best public interest and government lawyers in the country
University of Minnesota: University of Minnesota Law School
The Law School’s nine research institutes and its program in Law and History provide important scholastic and community opportunities to explore legal application and responsibilities within a range of real-world issues and challenges:
- Center for Business Law
- Consortium on Law and Values in Health, Environment & the Life Sciences
- Human Rights Center
- Institute on Crime and Public Policy
- Institute for Law and Economics
- Institute for Law and Politics
- Institute for Law and Rationality
- Institute on Race and Poverty
- Minnesota Center for Legal Students
- Program in Law and History
University of Mississippi School of Law
University of Missouri - Columbia: School of Law
The Center for the Study of Dispute Resolution (CSDR), Robert Bailey, Assistant Dean and Director of CSDR, (573) 882-2052
University of Missouri Kansas City University of Missouri Kansas City School of Law
University of Montana: University of Montana School of Law
None.
University of Nebraska: University of Nebraska College of Law
None.
University of Nevada, Las Vegas: William S. Boyd School of Law
None.
University of New Mexico School of Law
The Institute of Public Law - An affiliated non profit that engages in research, analysis, teaching, training writing and publishing to support the development of informed public policy and law. Founded in 1969 as the public service arm of the law school, the IPL provides assistance to federal, state and local government and undertakes special projects through foundation grants.
University of North Carolina: University of North Carolina School of Law
Center for Civil Rights – The Center for Civil Rights also offers pro bono projects throughout the year for students to work on.
Center for Civil Rights – The UNC Center for Civil Rights hires students for summer internships. The Center's work focuses on education, economic justice, employment, health care, housing and community development and voting rights. See http://www.law.unc.edu/Centers/details.aspx?ID=128&Q=2 for more information.
University of North Dakota School of Law
University of Oklahoma College of Law
University of Oregon: University of Oregon School of Law
The Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics - The Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics is an independent center housed at the Law School. The Center's mission is to stimulate interdisciplinary research and discussion on topics that Morse championed, including education, civil liberties, constitutional law and the rights of working men and women. The Center's Advisory Board selects themes of inquiry, and sponsors a range of scholarly activities, classes and community events that relate to these broader themes. Each year, the Morse Center awards scholarships to selected students of the law school. Fellows are selected on the basis fo scholastic merit and their demonstrated interest in public service in the tradition of Senator Wayne Morse. http://www.morsechair.uoregon.edu.
The Ocean and Coastal Law Center - The Center is dedicated to research and education in the law and regulations that concern and affect the uses of the ocean, its resources, and the coastal zone. Located in the university's William W. Knight Law Center, it combines the efforts of law faculty specialties and advanced law students to research and analyze current ocean and coastal law topics and to publish the results of this research in books and law journals and on the Center's website. In addition, the Center offers three elective programs through which law students can develop a specialty in the field of ocean and coastal law. The Center's research and educational activities are greatly assisted by its specialized, professionally managed library collection. The collection is housed in the John E. Jaqua Law Library and is one of only a few special collections of marine legal affairs publications in the country. Materials held in this collection are included in the UO libraries catalog, which is searchable on the web. The Center librarian regularly posts recent acquisitions lists and "Recent Articles in Marine Legal Affairs" bibliographies to the collection's website, http://oceanlaw.uoregon.edu/library/library.html. For more information, see http://oceanlaw.uoregon.edu/.
Appropriate Dispute Resolution Program - In 2000, the University of Oregon School of Law started a program in Appropriate Dispute Resolution, expanding its prior offerings and developing new opportunities for students, scholars, ADR practitioners, legal professionals and the public. The Program has expanded course offerings in ADR and integrated ADR into many traditional subjects such as Civil Procedure, Torts, Hazardous Waste and Consumer Law. It also supports faculty scholarship in conflict resolution, holds conferences open to the public and profession, has instituted training programs in mediation and negotiation, and encourages trained students to volunteer in the community to improve access to justice and dispute resolution services. The Program has provided the 30 hour Basic Mediation Training to over 200 law students. The Program also administers grants to the 21 community mediation programs throughout the state. A new Masters degree in Conflict and Dispute Resolution enrolled its first students in the fall of 2005. For information, see http://www.law.uoregon.edu/org/adr/.
The Environmental and Natural Resources Law Program - Over three decades ago, the University of Oregon established one of the first environmental law programs in the country. A third of our faculty members teach in the environmental area and produce research and analysis that is used by government agencies, courts, tribes, public interest organizations and policymakers. Law faculty members have founded key public interest organizations, such as the Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide and the Western Environmental Law Center. Faculty members also serve in advisory roles to help federal agencies shape policy on ocean and coastal law, environmental justice and environmental issues affecting native nations. Key programming includes the Environmental Law Clinic, Externships, the Journal of Environmental Law and Litigation and Western Environmental Law Update. Land Air Water is the nation's oldest student environmental law society, and a vibrant student involvement in the ENR Program guarantees a dynamic Annual Public Interest Law Conference, the premier annual gathering for environmentalists worldwide. The oldest and largest conference of its kind, the Public Interest Environmental Law Conference brings more than 4000 activists, attorneys, students, scientists and concerned citizens from over 50 countries to share their experience and expertise. For information, see http://www.law.uoregon.edu/org/enr/
Public Interest Public Service Program (PIPS) - PIPS is an organization led by a faculty director and governed by a student and faculty board. Its express mission is to promote scholarship and public service participation throughout the law school. The faculty director is appointed by the Dean. PIPS sponsors nationally renowned speakers, an annual public service conference, public service outreach and is a clearinghouse for volunteer opportunities and information. PIPS coordinates with other public service law school groups and programs to deliver high quality programming and public service opportunities.
University of Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania Law School
Field Center for Childrens' Policy, Practice and Research - www.sp2.upenn.edu/fieldctr
University of Pittsburgh: School of Law
University of Puerto Rico School of Law
Enlace Program
Law and Development
University of Richmond T. C. Williams School of Law
University of Saint Thomas: School of Law (MN)
Minnesota Justice Foundation - www.mnjustice.org
Public Service Board - As noted in response to Question 9, we have a student-run Public Service Board that works independently and with student organizations to infuse the law school culture with a commitment to public service by developing non-legal public service opportunities for students, including a Public Service Day each semester in which faculty, staff and students all are encouraged to participate. In addition, through its affiliation with the Minnesota Justice Foundation, UST’s students have access to an array of legal pro bono service opportunities.
University of San Diego School of Law
Center for Public Interest Law
Children's Advocacy Institute
Energy Policy Initiatives Center
University of San Francisco School of Law
University of South Carolina: University of South Carolina School of Law
None.
University of South Dakota School of Law
University of Southern California Gould School of Law
Office of Public Service - The Law School's Office of Public Service expands opportunities for pro bono legal work, internships and service-learning programs. While USC Law has boasted public interest programs for decades - its first clinical program was established in 1929 and the USC Public Interest Law Foundation (PILF) was one of the earliest such organizations in the country founded in 1987 - the recently launched office will centralize and strengthen programs and provide improved assistance to students who are interested in public service opportunities.
University of Tennessee College of Law
The Law School does not have a separate formal center for public law interest. However, over the past two years, the School has initiated a formal Law School committee on pro bono and public interest law, and has created a formal network of faculty advisers dedicated to pro bono and public interest law. They work with individual students and are also charged with designing better systemic support for public interest students through career services and across the institution.
University of Texas at Austin School of Law
William Wayne Justice Center for Public Interest Law - www.utlawjusticecenter.com
Bernard and Audre Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice - www.utexas.edu/law/academics/centers/humanrights/
University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law
University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law
University of Toledo: College of Law
The Legal Institute of the Great Lakes - Affiliated with the College of Law, the Institute supports research, maintains publications and sponsors conferences on legal, economic and social issues of importance to the Great Lakes Region of the United States and Canada. Since 1993, the Institute has been actively involved in numerous economic, environmental, and social topics, including the Water Quality Guidance for the Great Lakes System, environmental audits, above-ground storage of nuclear fuel, market-based incentives to control air pollution, sustainable development, comparative study of the corporate laws of the Great Lakes states, legal and financial aspects of regional trade agreements, environmental justice in the Great Lakes region, and the impact of Native Americans in the Great Lakes states.
The Institute publishes LakeLinks, a regionally distributed newsletter, as well as a multi-disciplinary, peer-reviewed journal and The Toledo Journal of Great Lakes Law, Science and Policy. Law students may enroll in courses taught by Institute faculty, serve as research fellows, and produce the Journal. In pursuing these activities, faculty and students work with practicing attorneys, government officials, other academics, business representatives, and individuals associated with non-profit institutions.
University of Tulsa: College of Law
None.
University of Utah College of Law
University of Virginia School of Law
Center for National Security Law – http://www.law.virginia.edu/home2002/html/academics/intllaw.htm
Center for Oceans Law and Policy – http://www.law.virginia.edu/home2002/html/academics/intllaw.htm
Center for the Study of Race and Law – http://www.law.virginia.edu/home2002/html/academics/race/mission.htm
The Mortimer Caplin Public Service Center– Serves as the school's focal point for public service training and outreach. The Center oversees the Law School's public service job placement efforts, administers voluntary pro bono programs that introduce students to the rewards of community service, coordinates summer internships and postgraduate fellowships, and provides individualized career counseling.
University of Washington: University of Washington School of Law
The Innocence Project – The Project is a non-profit group of attorneys, professors and students working to free innocent prisoners. For information, visit http://www.law.washington.edu/ipnw/.
Native American Law Center – www.law.washington.edu/IndianLaw
Shidler Center for Law, Commerce and Technology– The Center seeks to address legal implications of evolving technologies and their use for good. For more information, http://www.law.washington.edu/lct/.
Global Health & Justice Project – The Global Health and Justice (GHJ) Project at the School of Law is a multidisciplinary project encompassing academic and educational activities at the Law School, as well as field activities in developing countries in collaboration with the Seattle-based NGO, Uplift International. For more information see, http://www.law.washington.edu/HealthLaw/GHJ.
University of Wisconsin: Law School
Frank J. Remington Center, Meredith Ross, Director
Center for Patient Partnerships, Martha (Meg) Gaines, Director
Legal Defense Program, Krista Ralston, Director
University of Wyoming School of Law
Valparaiso University: Valparaiso University School of Law
Vanderbilt University Law School
Recognizing the critical impact of energy policy on environmental values, Vermont Law School launched America's first law school institute focused on the energy-environment connection in 2005. For more information, see http://www.vermontlaw.edu/media/emp_medpre_template.cfm?doc_id=1137
Land Use Institute - Vermont Law School established the Land Use Institute to address issues of growth and land stewardship, which are central to planning debates in Vermont and across the nation. Established in 2005, the Institute will examine pressing topics facing communities and municipal administrators, including sprawl, “smart growth,” and big box stores, through scholarship and courses, public presentations, and the provision of land use expertise to appropriate agencies. For more information, see http://www.vermontlaw.edu/media/index.cfm?doc_id=1150
Environmental Law Center - Vermont Law School's Environmental Law Center offers one of the top environmental law and policy programs in the country. The mission of the Environmental Law Center is to educate for stewardship and an understanding of underlying environmental issues and values. An environmental professional must understand that sound environmental policy is formed at the intersection of politics, law, science, economics, and ethics.
In the Environmental Law program students explore the ethical basis for environmental policy, develop a knowledge of ecological concepts, and consider both international issues, and standards and processes embodied in U.S. environmental law. Students learn political, cultural, institutional, and scientific mechanisms which shape environmental policy, as well as recognize the role and effects of hazard, risk, and uncertainty in policy development.
Vermont Law School’s Environmental Law Center produces graduates who serve as policy analysts, environmental managers, lawyers, and community leaders throughout the world.
http://www.vermontlaw.edu/elc/index.cfm
Villanova University: Villanova University School of Law
Human Trafficking Project - In conjunction with the undergraduate school and the CARES clinic, and under the auspices of a prioneering movement with Catholic Relief Services, students address the issues of human trafficking, both domestic and international.
Wake Forest University School of Law
Washburn University School of Law
The faculty has approved the development of centers for family law, state and local government and advocacy.
Washington and Lee University: School of Law
The Frances Lewis Law Center supports faculty scholarship in a broad range of areas but with a distinctive law reform focus.
Director: Professor Blake Mount, 540/463-8114 or morantb@wlu.edu.
Washington University: Washington University School of Law
The Public Service Project - Coordinates much of the public service programming at Washington University School of Law.
Wayne State University Law School
West Virginia University College of Law
Appalachian Center for Law and Public Service – The West Virginia Bar has a proud tradition of pro bono service. Although law students do not formally undertake obligations to provide pro bono service until admission to the bar, the College of Law established the Appalachian Center for Law in the Public Interest, and charged the Center with the task of developing and administering a public service program for the college. The projects promoted by the Center provide a range of public service opportunities from tax to family law. Oftentimes volunteer studens work directly under the supervision of the Center's director in providing free legal services to indigent clients.
The Appalachian Center for Law and Public Service – The Center is the law school's vehicle for promoting public service at the College of Law. Its goals include the provision of legal services to indigent West Virginians, the development and enhancement of law students' lawyering skills, and the fostering of the ethic of pro bono service to West Virginia communities and their residents. Law students are encouraged to donate up to 25 hours of their time each semester to provide legal services. See http://www.wvu.edu/~law/alumnidev/AppalachianCtr.html
Western New England College: School of Law
Institute for Legislative and Governmental Affairs – http://www1.law.wnec.edu/ilga/
Law and Business Center for Advancing Entrepeneurship – http://www1.law.wnec.edu/lawandbusiness/
Western State University College of Law
The Criminal Law Practice Center coordinates criminal law related public interest projects.
Whittier Law School: Whittier Law School
Center for Children's Rights – http://www.law.whittier.edu/centers/childrens-rights.asp
Center for International and Comparative Law – http://www.law.whittier.edu/centers/comparative-law.asp
Many regular CICL colloquia focus on international human rights issues.
Widener University School of Law--Delaware Campus
The Public Interest Initiative - The Public Interest Initiative(PII) on the Harrisburg campus serves as a centralized source of public interest information for students. PII keeps all students informed of public interest volunteer opportunities, offers information regarding the financing of public interest internships and careers, advises students regarding public interest coursework, and counsels students and alumni who seek public interest legal careers. PII also administers the pro bono recognition program for students on the Harrisburg campus.
The Public Interest Resource Center - The Public Interest Resource Center (PIRC) on the Wilmington campus serves as a centralized source of public interest information for students. PIRC keeps all students informed of public interest volunteer opportunities, offers information regarding the financing of public interest internships and careers, advises students regarding public interest coursework, and counsels students and alumni who seek public interest legal careers. PIRC also administers the pro bono recognition program for students on the Delaware campus, and for faculty on both campuses.
Law and Government Institute - Widener's Law and Government Institute is dedicated to improving law that defines the structure and operation of government and the rights and duties of citizens. It provides a formal concentration of study designed to produce lawyers who are experts in representing government branches and agencies as well as citizens in litigation with government. Its location in Harrisburg, the capital city of one of the most populous states, makes it ideal for these tasks.
In addition to a highly regarded academic component, students are offered extensive opportunities to learn professional legal skills through symposia, seminars and lectures, publication and research opportunities, and service with government and professional associations. For example, the Institute sponsors numerous externships for students with various parts of state government and participants write articles for the Pennsylvania Bar Association Administrative Law Journal, a professional journal for the practicing bar. Institute faculty are active in publishing, lecturing and providing consulting services to state government and bar associations.
More information may be found at: http://www.law.widener.edu/academics/certificate/law_government.shtml
Willamette University: Willamette University College of Law
The Willamette Center for Law and Government was established in 2002 to promote the impartial study and understanding of federal-state and government-citizen relations in the United States. The Center administers a curricular program (see Certificate in Law and Government), conducts symposia and conferences, sponsors programs of training and orientation for public and elected officials, and holds a yearly writing competition. The Center is housed at Willamette University College of Law, located in Salem adjacent to the state Capitol, the Oregon Supreme Court and various state agencies. http://www.willamette.edu/wucl/clg/index.php
The Willamette University Center for Religion, Law and Democracy is an interdisciplinary center devoted to the exploration of the role of religion in law and in public life. The Center draws on Willamette’s historic and ongoing strengths as a church-related college committed to academic excellence and public service, as well as its location adjacent to the Oregon State Capitol. The Center involves students and faculty from the College of Liberal Arts and the College of Law who teach, write, and engage in these issues on a continuing basis. As part of its mission, the Center conducts symposia, lectures, scholarly research and curriculum development, funds internships, and serves as a forum for the discussion of these intersecting issues. http://www.willamette.edu/centers/crld/
William Mitchell College of Law: William Mitchell College of Law
Minnesota Justice Foundation - http:// www.mnjustice.org/
Yale University: Yale Law School
There are three centers at Yale Law School that focus on public interest work.
Arthur Liman Public Interest Program
The Arthur Liman Public Interest Program provides fellowships for graduates to work full-time in the public interest for one year, as well as modest grants to legal service organizations under the auspices of the Liman Fund. It also co-sponsors the Public Interest Reading Group during the fall semester. Finally, student associates of the Liman Program work with current and former Liman Fellows on various research projects arising from the fellows' work. The Liman Program also holds an annual public interest law colloquium during the spring semester. Information about the Liman Program is available on its web site at http://www.law.yale.edu/intellectuallife/ArthurLimanPIFellowship&Fund.htm
Schell Center for International Human Rights
Orville H. Schell, Jr. Center for International Human Rights coordinates a diverse program of human rights activities-from lectures and conferences to the Human Rights Workshop, a weekly gathering of students, scholars, and practitioners in the field of human rights. In addition, the center administers several human rights fellowships for students and recent graduates. The Schell Center is directed by Jim Silk, who can be reached at james.silk@yale.edu. Information on the Schell Center is available on its website at www.law.yale.edu/intellectuallife/schellcenter.htm.
The China Law Center
The China Law Center seeks to increase understanding of China's legal system outside of China and to support the legal reform process within China. To these ends the Center carries out research and teaching, promotes academic exchanges with China, and undertakes cooperative projects with legal experts in China on important legal reform issues. The Center's current activities focus on the areas of judicial reform, criminal law, administrative law, regulatory reform, and legal education. Project activities include research visits to Yale and to China, workshops and seminars in the United States and China, and publications. Yale Law School students are encouraged to participate in the work of the Center. For information, contact 436-0517 or email china.law@yale.edu, or look at the Center's website at www.yale.edu/chinalaw.
Yeshiva University: Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law
Center for Public Service Law - The Cardozo Center for Public Service Law initiates and coordinates Cardozo activities in the area of public service and public interest, including panels and symposia, clinics, career opportunities, internships, clerkships, public interest stipends and the loan repayment assistance program, along with new and creative initiatives. The Director of the Public Service Law Center works closely with the Burns Ethics Center, the Public Service Scholars Program, the newly founded Cardozo Public Law, Policy and Ethics Journal, Public Interest Law Student Association (PILSA ), and members of the faculty. The Center develops programs and outreach to government agencies, federal and state judges and courts, and not-for-profit agencies.
http://www.cardozo.yu.edu/career_serv/public.asp
The Program in Holocaust and Human Rights Studies - http://www.cardozo.yu.edu/academic_prog/phhrs/
Floersheimer Center for Constitutional Democracy - http://www.cardozo.yu.edu/Floersh/index.asp
