Pro Bono Requirement

Over 15 years ago Penn Law was the first national law school to identify the importance and need for a mandatory pro bono requirement. Since then, the Public Service Program has instilled the value of public service in close to 4,000 Penn Law students while providing over 350,000 hours of legal assistance to governmental agencies, public interest and non-profit organizations, and law firms in Philadelphia and nationwide. Penn Law was the first law school in 2000 to be awarded the ABA Pro bono Publico Award in recognition of the Public Service Program.

To meet the 70-hour public service law-related requirement for graduation, students choose from numerous organizations. Students also have the flexibility to design their own projects to meet a specific gap in the network of legal services for the poor. Throughout the pro bono experience, students gain lawyering knowledge and skills while providing critical services to clients who might otherwise not receive legal assistance.

To ensure that law students are ready to work in the real and constantly changing legal world, the Program maintains an ample roster of opportunities from the full spectrum of legal issues, shaped by student and faculty interests as well as from requesting organizations. During each academic year, the Public Service Program places approximately 600 students in work at several hundred public interest organizations, governmental agencies, and non-profit organizations.

Students have worked on a wide range of legal projects and issues including

Representing clients seeking asylum from political persecution in their home countries with the Nationalities Service Center
Providing legal assistance to homeless and low income individuals in West Philadelphia with the Homeless Advocacy Project
Providing legal advise to indigent clients with family law issues including divorce, custody, support, and domestic violence
Conducting research, document review, and faculty investigation for a high profile class action lawsuit involving prisoner abuse in Abu Ghraib with the Center for Constitutional Rights
Creating a nationwide directory of resources of legal issues of senior citizens for the Senior Law Center
Conducting research for the Southern Poverty Law Center on a wide range of litigation in prisoners rights, death penalty, and workers' rights
Drafting appellate briefs and legislative proposals for the US Department of Justice, Criminal Division Counterterrorism Section
Conducting a study on the efficacy of pre-hearing conferences for the Field Center for Children's Policy Practice and Research
Developing and teaching a constitutional literacy curriculum in inner-city Philadelphia schools

These are only several of the exciting projects where students have made a difference.