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Animal Law Project (ALP)
The Animal Law Project (ALP) focuses on protecting the interests of animals through the legal system.
What we do:
ALP works with various organizations on legal research and writing projects aimed at improving the welfare of animals, with clients ranging from local SPCAs to national organizations like the Animal Legal Defense Fund. ALP also organizes speakers, screenings, and other events to engage the law school and broader Penn community in open dialogue regarding the legal protection of animals.
How we do it:
Project volunteers conduct targeted legal research, write memos and briefs, and/or create educational materials for animal-focused organizations.
How and when can I join:
We welcome students who are interested in learning more about animal law. If you have questions, please reach out to Director Omar Khodor (okhodor@pennlaw.upenn.edu) and ask to be added to the email list to receive information about available opportunities.
What skills will I develop:
Community engagement, working with vulnerable clients, legal analysis, legal research, legal writing, collaboration, policy advocacy, and public speaking.
The work is likely to be New York Bar eligible.
Civil Rights Law Project (CRLP)
The Civil Rights Law Project (CRLP) is a pro bono project committed to protecting and promoting civil rights and social justice.
What we do:
CRLP works with organizations supporting their litigation on issues such as school desegregation, discriminatory housing policies and hiring practices, the school-to-prison pipeline, and sex-based discrimination in prisons.
How we do it:
Work with the CRLP is project-based. Members have an opportunity to conduct legal research for our partner organizations dedicated to advancing and protecting civil rights, such as the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Southern Poverty Law Center, the American Civil Liberties Union, Centro de los Derechos del Migrante, and Community Legal Services, completing multiple drafts of research memos used in impact litigation and direct service support.
How and when can I join:
In the fall semester, CRLP will have a mandatory research training for interested volunteers. Projects will be emailed to the CRLP listserv and are available on a first-come, first-serve basis. If you have questions, please email CRLP Co-Directors Alezeh Rauf (arauf@pennlaw.upenn.edu) and Jacob Grover (jpgrover@pennlaw.upenn.edu).
What skills will I develop:
Legal research, legal writing, legal analysis, and policy advocacy.
The work is likely to be New York Bar eligible.
Compassionate Release Collaborative (CRC)
The Compassionate Release Collaborative (CRC) is a new pro bono project that helps seriously ill inmates in Pennsylvania’s prisons file petitions for compassionate release.
What we do:
CRC’s process will be split into three stages: 1) intake, 2) legal representation, and 3) continued care. At the first stage, CRC screens potential clients and chooses to work with individuals whose cases seem appropriate for compassionate release. Second, CRC helps to collect the necessary paperwork and draft the compassionate release petition to be submitted on the client’s behalf. Finally, once compassionate release is granted, CRC works with the client’s loved ones to coordinate hospice care for the client upon release.
How we do it:
CRC partners with the Abolitionist Law Center (ALC), a public interest law firm and organizing project which provides free and low-cost legal services to individuals incarcerated in Pennsylvania. CRC volunteers may be asked to review potential clients’ intake information and draft memos assessing their appropriateness for compassionate release; correspond with selected clients to ensure the timely completion of necessary documents; and help draft compassionate release petitions under the supervision of ALC.
How and when can I join:
CRC is seeking interested collaborators and volunteers. To be placed on our mailing list, please email Paul Sindberg (sindberg@pennlaw.upenn.edu).
What skills will I develop:
Criminal justice, interviewing & intake, memo writing, working with vulnerable clients, and drafting court pleadings.
Criminal Record Expungement Project (C-REP)
The Criminal Record Expungement Project (C-REP) aims to reduce the negative effects of a criminal record on a person’s life, including limited access to employment, educational opportunities, housing, and public benefits.
What we do:
C-REP works with Philadelphians who have criminal records by conducting intake clinics for clients, processing intake applications, and filing petitions to expunge and redact non-conviction data from clients’ criminal records.
How we do it:
C-REP partners with Philadelphia Lawyers for Social Equity (“PLSE”), a non-profit legal aid organization dedicated to improving the lives of low-income individuals who are affected by the Pennsylvania criminal justice system. There are three intake clinics per semester that take place on Saturdays in West Philadelphia. During these clinics, volunteers meet with clients, listen to their stories, and screen their criminal records for expungement-eligible (i.e. non-conviction) charges. Volunteers may be able to participate in more than one clinic depending on interest and availability. There are also opportunities for volunteers to draft expungement petitions.
How and when can I join:
Visit C-REP at the virtual pro bono sign-up fair (in Room 2 - Civil & Political Rights, Criminal Justice and Global practice groups) and look out for details regarding the mandatory trainings in the fall semester, which will occur on September 20 and September 21, 2022. The time commitment for this project is flexible. Interested volunteers may also email the Co-Chairs, Jordan Cohen-Kaplan (jcohenka@pennlaw.upenn.edu) and Maggie Sawin (masawin@pennlaw.upenn.edu).
What skills will I develop:
Interviewing & intake, client counseling, drafting court documents, and engaging with the community by working with vulnerable clients.
The work is likely to be New York Bar eligible.
Custody and Support Assistance Clinic (CASAC)
Custody and Support Assistance Clinic (CASAC) advocates assist and counsel low-income pro se litigants on family law matters including custody, child support, and protection from abuse orders.
What we do:
CASAC provides volunteer advocates with a unique opportunity to gain hands-on experience working one-on-one with clients to prepare legal documents, provide advice for court appearances, and navigate the Philadelphia court system. In addition, 2L and 3L advocates also have the opportunity to become Certified Legal Interns and represent clients in Family Court.
How we do it:
CASAC advocates work alongside attorneys at Philadelphia Legal Assistance to work with pro se litigants in the Philadelphia Family Court system. Advocates meet with clients to conduct in-take interviews, during which time they learn the background and facts of the case, explain the statutory parameters to clients, and help clients craft their legal arguments to best present their case before a judge or master in a custody support, child support or protection from abuse hearing. Often advocates will draft motions, assist in accessing criminal records or other relevant documentation, and help prepare exhibits for the court.
How and when can I join:
Students interested in participating in the CASAC clinic should apply in the fall semester by contacting this year’s Recruitment Chairs, Anya Chen (anyachen@pennlaw.upenn.edu) and Emily Cooley (cooleye@pennlaw.upenn.edu) with any questions. CASAC is a full-year commitment and we do not accept applicants in the spring semester.
What skills will I develop:
Client intake and communication skills, case management experience, practice drafting legal petitions for original filings, reconsideration, or modification to orders currently in effect. Additionally, advocates learn to work collaboratively with others to grapple with legal questions and formulate creative case strategy.
The work is likely to be New York Bar eligible.
Democracy Law Project (DLP)
The Democracy Law Project (DLP) tackles crucial issues in democracy law, election law, and voting rights.
What we do:
DLP engages in democracy law issues, focusing on campaign finance reform, redistricting, legislative advocacy, and voting rights while seeking to locate discussions of democracy within broader conversations of racial, gender, environmental, and social justice. We work to ensure that every citizen has equal access to the ballot and casts a vote that counts, and to ensure that democratic institutions are responsive to and representative of citizen concerns.
How we do it:
DLP’s work is twofold. First, we partner with local and national organizations to assist with research, legal advocacy, and voter outreach. This includes projects that tackle new and changing issues around voting and election law. Second, we seek to deepen attention to and understanding of democratic issues on Penn’s campus through collaborative events and community building efforts.
How and when can I join:
Projects with DLP have flexible time commitments. Research projects are ongoing, and DLP supports nonpartisan voter protection efforts around the election calendar. If you have questions, please email democracylawprobono@gmail.com and/or click here to receive updates and volunteer opportunities.
What skills will I develop:
Legal research and writing, democracy law, and issues relating to elections, voting, and democracy issues.
The work is not New York Bar eligible.
Employment Advocacy Project (EAP)
The Employment Advocacy Project (EAP) aims to protect the rights of workers and provide legal representation to low-income Philadelphians who have been unfairly denied unemployment compensation benefits.
What we do:
We directly and fully represent low-wage workers who are appealing an unfair denial of unemployment compensation benefits.
How we do it:
We partner with Philadelphia Legal Assistance’s Public Benefits Unit to assist clients with their unemployment compensation cases. This representation can take a few possible forms. At the first stage of appeal, we represent workers at administrative hearings against their former employers in front of a referee, who acts like a judge. These hearings are similar to short civil trials and allow for the introduction of testimony and documentary evidence. In preparation for hearings, we interview clients and prep them for direct and cross-examination. At the next stage of appeal, we represent workers before the Unemployment Compensation Board of Review by writing appellate briefs. This involves research into labor law and identifying legal errors that occurred during hearings. Our advocates have the opportunity to preference representing clients through hearings or by writing appellate briefs.
How and when can I join:
Interested students can complete an application at the beginning of fall semester. To ask questions or to receive an application form, please email EAP’s Managing Advocates, Kristen Marino (krmarino@pennlaw.upenn.edu) and Will Tunney (wtunney@pennlaw.upenn.edu). Full client representation is limited to 2Ls and 3Ls, but first-year students can apply to be a 1L representative and gain an early look into the unemployment compensation system while assisting 2Ls and 3Ls. We ask advocates to make a one-year commitment to EAP and to have space in their schedules to handle two cases per semester.
What skills will I develop:
Interviewing and intake, client counseling, trial prep, working with vulnerable clients, legal writing, legal research, oral advocacy, and the rules of evidence.
The work is likely to be New York Bar eligible.
Environmental Law Project (ELP)
The Environmental Law Project (ELP) is dedicated to environmental law and policy, fighting climate change, and advancing environmental justice
What we do:
The Environmental Law Project applies an interdisciplinary focus to address the legal, scientific, economic, political and social factors that are involved in environmental lawyering. Students engage in research projects to actively address the unmet needs of environmental preservation and justice on local, national and international levels through support for legislative advocacy, community lawyering, and policy research. Past areas of student research and work have involved issues such as public access to information, waterfront development and protected area status.
How we do it:
We work with local and national environmental organizations, such as the Delaware Riverkeeper and the Natural Resources Defense Council, as well as other groups at the University of Pennsylvania, to support their work for a clean and healthy environment through legal, regulatory, and policy research. We also hold events on Penn’s campus to help students learn about contemporary issues in environmental law and policy.
How and when can I join:
We host an information session and training at the beginning of each semester, describing our current projects and invite students to work on the projects of their choice, depending on availability. Ad hoc projects may arise during the semester. If you are interested in volunteering with ELP, sign up for the listserv here.
What skills will I develop:
Legal analysis, legal research, legal writing
The work is likely to be New York Bar eligible.
Financial Literacy Project (FLP)
The Financial Literary Project (FLP) aims to improve financial literacy in the local Philadelphia community through community education and assistance with tax filings.
What we do:
We provide community education on Financial Literacy topics and tax filing assistance to local communities
How we do it:
Through community education with the Philadelphia Bar Association Business Sector and the Consumer Bankruptcy Assistance Project, volunteers present at local middle and high schools on basic financial literacy topics. We also work with Campaign for Working Families and Ceiba Philadelphia to become trained to assist clients in marginalized communities with their tax returns at tax centers throughout Philadelphia during tax season.
How and when can I join:
Interested volunteers can sign up here or email FLP’s President, Riann Winget.
What skills will I develop:
Public speaking, tax training, financial literacy, community engagement
Health Law and Policy Project (HeLPP)
The Health Law and Policy Project (HeLPP) provides opportunities for students to gain practical experience in the field of health law and policy.
What we do:
We currently host four main projects: the Philadelphia Legal Assistance: Medical Legal Community Partnership (PLA); the Health, Education and Legal assistance Project: A Medical-Legal Partnership (HELP: MLP); the Pennsylvania Health Law Project; and the Medicare Rights Center.
How we do it:
Through the HELP:MLP, Pennsylvania Health Law Project, and Medicare Rights Center collaborations, students research and write memos on various health law issues to support these organizations. Through the Medical Legal Community Partnership, students partner with Philadelphia Legal Assistance to work with clients and provide legal assistance in a medical setting.
How and when can I join:
HeLPP is always accepting volunteers! If you would like to join, please complete this form or email PennLawHelpp@gmail.com.
What skills will I develop:
Legal analysis, legal research, legal writing, policy advocacy, community engagement, client counseling, interview and intake, working with vulnerable clients, access to government/social services, community engagement, presentation skills, and public speaking.
The work is likely to be New York Bar eligible.
If/When/How: Lawyering for Reproductive Justice
Penn If/When/How engages in pro bono projects, community building, activism, advocacy and education aimed at ensuring access to reproductive healthcare for all individuals. Our work is greatly informed and influenced by the work of advocates of color in the reproductive justice movement, who advocate for “the human right to maintain personal bodily autonomy, have children, not have children, and parent the children we have in safe and sustainable communities.”
What we do:
Penn If/When/How provides direct legal service to clients in the form of judicial bypass counseling and clinic escorting. As a chapter of the national If/When/How organization, we provide legal research and advocacy support to organizations and community partners throughout the country, who are fighting to advance reproductive health, rights, and justice.
How we do it:
We collaborate with Women’s Law Project, the Defender’s Association, Planned Parenthood, and the Philadelphia Women’s Center on pro bono projects to ensure access to safe, comprehensive, and affordable reproductive healthcare. We work with young people in Philadelphia seeking access to abortion and support the work of attorneys fighting to advance and protect reproductive rights in Pennsylvania.
Penn Law If/When/How offers direct client experience through our judicial bypass project. In Pennsylvania, individuals younger than eighteen must get parental consent to obtain an abortion. If they do not have a parent able or willing to consent, they must petition a judge to issue a court order allowing them to get an abortion. Our volunteers help these young people at clinics fill out the necessary judicial bypass paperwork and schedule a meeting with their attorney for the hearing. Through Penn Law If/When/How, law students can volunteer as clinic escorts at a local abortion clinic in Philadelphia. Penn Law If/When/How also offers legal research assignments to support Women’s Law Project’s research and advocacy efforts.
How and when can I join:
Students interested in volunteering with judicial bypass or clinic escorting should attend a mandatory training before signing up for shifts. Trainings will be held in the Fall semester and potentially in the Spring semester, depending on capacity and interest. Following the training, a spreadsheet is emailed out with available shifts (which are one to two hours long), and volunteers can select shifts depending on their schedule (no minimum). Research assignments are emailed to If/When/How’s listserv as they become available and are assigned on a first come, first serve basis. Many research assignments focus heavily on constitutional law, and are therefore limited to 2/3Ls.
If you have questions, please email If/When/How Co-Chairs Anna Rosenfeld and Isabella Hernandez. If you are interested in getting involved, fill out this form to be added to the listserv.
What skills will I develop:
Client counseling, interviewing & intake, working with vulnerable clients, legal analysis, legal research, legal writing, and policy advocacy.
The work is likely to be New York Bar eligible (judicial bypass & research).
Innocence Project
The Innocence Project partners with the PA Innocence Project to work to exonerate those convicted of crimes they did not commit and to prevent innocent people from being convicted.
What we do:
There is growing awareness that various deficiencies in our justice system have led to the incarceration of innocent people. After exhausting their appeals, the Pennsylvania Innocence Project is often their last chance at gaining their freedom. The Innocence Project works with convicted individuals who have exhausted all appellate proceedings, meaning that they are past the post-conviction relief stage and can take no further steps. Volunteers assess wrongful conviction claims, read through the evidence and transcripts from trials, write memos, and make recommendations regarding the merits of the case for the Project to begin advocating for the client.
How we do it:
New volunteers typically begin with a stage two review. The stage two review involves analyzing a potential client’s case and making a recommendation concerning his or her innocence and the likelihood of new evidence or testimony.
Who we work with:
The Innocence Project works with convicted individuals who have exhausted all appellate proceedings, meaning that they are past the post-conviction relief stage and can take no further steps.
How and when can I join:
Interested applicants can complete an application in the Fall semester. If you have questions, please email Innocence Project’s Director of Training and Recruitment Jessica Scoratow (jscor@pennlaw.upenn.edu) and Executive Director Leigh Bianchi (lbia@pennlaw.upenn.edu).
What skills will I develop:
Appellate advocacy, client counseling, criminal justice, draft court pleadings, interviewing & intake, investigation, legal analysis, legal writing, working with vulnerable clients
The work is likely to be New York Bar eligible.
International Human Rights Advocates (IHRA)
The International Human Rights Advocates (IHRA) are passionate advocates for human rights within the United States and around the world
What we do:
We work with community partners through four different multi-year projects aimed at addressing human rights abuses and building rule of law infrastructure.
How we do it:
We do this through projects and respective project directors focused expressly on specific regions and issues. These projects provide tangible results for their community partners and clients, working across many continents and time zones to engage in a global movement to support human rights for all.
How and when can I join:
Find us at the pro bono fair or e-mail ihrapennlaw@gmail.com.
What skills will I develop:
Brief writing, legal research and writing, working with community partners around the world, and impact litigation strategy.
International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP)
We are a group of students committed to effecting meaningful change in the refugee and immigration legal landscape. To that end, the Penn Law IRAP Chapter brings together law students interested in immigration and refugee work with various actors for volunteer opportunities. The scope of our work ranges from preparing materials to support ongoing refugee status applications to monitoring the experiences of immigrants and refugees within court proceedings.
Examples of past projects:
Direct Client Work
Our volunteers have participated in numerous intake and naturalization clinics in the past. Additionally, IRAP volunteers have historically assisted clients in filing applications for refugee status and aided them throughout the relevant legal process.
Court Monitoring
Students participating in this project have researched immigration court policies and monitored their impact on immigrants and refugees. Two areas of particular focus for this project are (1) access to documents and materials in an immigrant or refugee’s native language; and (2) access to technology to attend their proceedings remotely.
Country Conditions Reporting
In collaboration with the Nationalities Service Center (NSC), our students have researched and compiled country conditions reports for immigrants seeking asylum, withholding of removal, or cancellation of removal. In weighing whether to grant these types of relief, immigration officials and judges consider country conditions. Our students’ research will assist NSC attorneys and clients in their claims by providing up-to-date information on various topics ranging from the treatment of LGBTQ individuals in Jamaica to health systems in Mexico.
Advocacy
The Penn Law IRAP Chapter hosts events to help raise awareness about issues facing refugees and immigrants. We also hope to host letter-writing workshops where volunteers write to local representatives advocating for refugee-friendly policies.
How can I join:
Interested students should apply here and contact Maya Bradley (mayacb@pennlaw.upenn.edu) or Hanna Santanam (hannasan@pennlaw.upenn.edu) with any questions.
This work is likely to be New York bar eligible.
Law & Justice Mentorship Program
Law & Justice Mentorship Program (LJMP) is a pipeline initiative aimed toward connecting high school students of color, historically underrepresented in the legal profession, to critical pre-law opportunities and mentorship. Our goal is focused on increasing high school student exposure to and enrollment in local law schools.
What we do:
We work with local high schools to create opportunities for groups of students to examine social issues, participate in summer internships, and develop a mentor relationship.
How we do it:
LJMP’s structure has three components: In-School Sessions, Summer Experience, and Mentorship. In our In-School Sessions, we help teach various topics and skills through guest speakers and workshops. To help build students’ summer experience, we pair students with pre-law organizations and law schools. Lastly, we connect students with mentors in law and justice related fields across the city.
How and when can I join:
If you are interested, please email Alisha Rodriguez at ralisha@law.upenn.edu.
What skills will I develop:
Community engagement, leadership, group management, education and public speaking.
Pardon Project
The Pardon Project is committed to reducing the collateral consequences of criminal convictions by assisting Philadelphia residents with pardon applications.
Mission Statement:
The Penn Law Pardon Project empowers people to move past their prior convictions. Despite having already paid for their crimes in bail, jail time, and court costs, formerly convicted persons continue to face discrimination when they try to get jobs, go back to school, apply for housing, and register to vote. In Pennsylvania, the only way to remove a felony or non-summary misdemeanor conviction from a record is by receiving a Pardon from the Governor. The Penn Law Pardon Project pairs students with client-partners to complete the pardon application process.
What we do:
We work with Philadelphia residents with criminal convictions that are seeking a pardon from the Governor. We work in collaboration with our client-partners in every aspect of the pardon application including helping secure court files, writing the required essays, and filling out the required forms.
How we do it:
The Pardon Project is a year-long pro-bono project where students are paired with at least one client-partner and work in collaboration with Community Legal Services and Philadelphia Lawyers for Social Equity. Students will work with the client-partner over the course of the year to complete the pardon application.
How and when can I join:
Our application is live until September 18. Participants must attend training in the Fall and commit to the project for the full academic year. If you have questions, please email the Pardon Project Co-Directors, Kanyinsola Ajayi, Jake Drucker, and Julia Kerbs.
What skills will I develop:
Client counseling and interviewing skills, legal analysis skills, legal writing, and advocacy skills.
The work is likely to be New York Bar eligible.
Penn Housing Rights Project (PHRP)
The Penn Housing Rights Project (PHRP) supports low-income Philadelphia tenants. Students represent tenants in Fair Housing Commission cases, conduct legal and policy research for housing justice organizations, conduct Know-Your-Rights workshops, and provide information for tenants trying to resolve issues with their landlords through the Philly Tenant Hotline.
What we do:
We connect trained Penn Law students with attorneys at partner firms or organizations such as Philadelphia VIP and Community Legal Services. Students and attorneys work together to represent low-income clients in housing disputes with landlords. Our projects include, or have included, pairing Penn Law students with local attorneys to prevent evictions, having students affirmatively represent tenants suing their landlords for lack of repairs in Fair Housing Court, helping tenants solve issues over the phone with our Community Legal Services tenant hotline, and providing research support to organizations such as the Philadelphia Rent Control Coalition. This year, we will also be developing and presenting Know-Your-Rights workshops for tenants at the Free Library of Philadelphia.
How we do it:
At the beginning of each year, we host a training session to prepare students for our various projects.
We collaborate with CLS attorneys to train students on the Philly Tenant Hotline. Once students are trained on the Hotline, they take weekly shifts with the Hotline Co-Directors and log their calls on a CLS provided platform. There are opportunities throughout the semester for check-ins, as well as a stream of communication with the Co-Directors and CLS attorneys for any help with calls.
For the Fair Housing Commission project, after training we pair several volunteers together, supervised by a practicing attorney, to prepare cases for hearings, including initial interviewing of the client and prepping them for trial. Student volunteers have the opportunity to directly question their client and cross-examine witnesses during the hearing. Students learn important client management skills that come with sustaining a more long-term attorney-client relationship.
With our research project, we connect students to research opportunities partnering with local housing advocacy organizations. In the past, we’ve worked on addressing discriminatory zoning laws and partnered with the Philadelphia Rent Control Coalition.
In addition to continuing our previous work, this year students will also be researching and leading Know Your Rights workshops in partnership with the Free Library of Philadelphia. Students will collaborate with public interest attorneys from various organizations in Philadelphia to research, plan, and present workshops on various topics related to low-income renters’ and homeowners’ rights. Students will present the workshops and talk with tenants individually following the presentation to discuss individual concerns.
How and when can I join:
Interested volunteers may complete the volunteer survey, which will be distributed early in the semester. We will follow up with assignments and more detailed information from project leaders. If you have any questions, please reach out to pennhousingrights@gmail.com or Cade Underwood.
What skills will I develop:
In-court advocacy, negotiation, trial prep, trial strategy, legal research, legal analysis, collaboration, conflict resolution, client counseling, working with vulnerable clients.
Penn Law Immigrant Rights Project (PLIRP)
The Penn Law Immigrants’ Rights Project (PLIRP) is dedicated to providing legal services to people from around the world seeking to secure or adjust their immigration status in the United States.
What we do:
PLIRP partners with legal service organizations in Philadelphia and beyond to accompany immigrants through various immigration processes including asylum, permanent residence, naturalization, DACA, U visas, and others. PLIRP members also conduct research on immigration legal issues for our partner organizations and participate in discussions about immigration law and policy.
How we do it:
We partner with major immigration organizations in the Philadelphia area and beyond—including HIAS, Nationalities Service Center, and Innovation Law Lab—to assist clients in navigating immigration legal process. Depending on the needs of the partner and the project, PLIRP members might meet with a client several times over the semester to gather information and fill out a visa application, spend a few hours in a clinic setting giving a know-your-rights presentation, or research country conditions on behalf of an asylum-seeker.
How and when can I join:
Students can join our listserv any time filling out this form. Opportunities to volunteer are sent out via the listserv as they become available. Students can email questions to plirp.info@gmail.com.
What skills will I develop:
Client counseling, interviewing and intake, working with vulnerable clients, policy/advocacy, legal research and writing, community engagement.
The work is likely to be New York Bar eligible.
Penn Law’s Walk-In Legal Assistance Project (WILA)
At a weekly clinic, WILA provides accessible civil legal services to people who are experiencing homelessness or are housing insecure.
What we do:
Students complete intake services and assist with birth certificate applications, SSI/SSDI screenings, tax returns, landlord/tenant disputes, issues with public benefits, and other civil legal issues at a weekly meal program. Students may also complete work outside of the regular times of the clinic as required for cases or outreach projects.
How we do it:
People who are attending a weekly meal program come to the legal clinic’s station when they are looking for legal assistance or advocacy. Students conduct an intake interview and assist with completing the applicable civil legal services while working closely with the supervising attorney.
Who we work with:
We work with clients who are housing insecure or experiencing homelessness at a weekly meal program, run by the University City Hospitality Coalition (UCHC). Additionally, WILA partners with the Homeless Advocacy Project, an organization that delivers legal services directly to people experiencing homelessness where they live and eat.
How and when can I join:
Students should complete WILA’s volunteer application during the first few weeks of the Fall semester. Upon acceptance, WILA volunteers must attend a Homeless Advocacy Project training, offered at the law school, before they can begin assisting clients. After the application period has closed, interested students should email Volunteer Coordinator Megan Bird.
What skills will I develop:
Interviewing and intake, client counseling, access to government and social services, community engagement, legal analysis.
The work is likely to be New York Bar eligible.
Prison Legal Education Project
The goal of the Prison Legal Education Project is to work with incarcerated individuals to ensure they can know and fully pursue their legal rights.
What we do:
The Penn Law Prison Legal Education Project works with people who are currently incarcerated at Riverside Correctional Facility to jointly lead a workshop on legal research and writing, as well as relevant criminal and civil law. Our curriculum is flexible based on the needs of those currently incarcerated.
In collaboration with Houldin Law, we also work with individuals who are incarcerated and working on appeals and Post-Conviction Relief Act petitions.
How we do it:
For prison legal education: Volunteers work with incarcerated individuals at the facility during each lesson alongside a few other Penn Law students. The class is collaborative and student-directed: volunteers will work together with the student-partners to review key aspects of legal research and writing and discuss relevant legal issues. Transportation for the trip is funded.
For post-conviction work: Volunteers work in a 2 or 3 person group conducting legal research, investigatory work, and any other necessary assistance. Volunteers will commit to working with one client per semester.
How and when can I join:
Interested volunteers should email Aleyah Hassan and Meagan Murray with any questions.
What skills will I develop:
Working with incarcerated clients, community lawyering, legal writing, legal analysis, classroom management, public speaking, presentation skills, education.
School Discipline Advocacy Service (SDAS)
The School Disciplinary Advocacy Service (SDAS) advocates for students facing suspensions and disciplinary transfers from the School District of Philadelphia.
What we do:
We represent the interests of students, their families, and underrepresented communities in disciplinary proceedings where they have traditionally lacked advocacy. We deter processes of school pushout and work toward educational stability for students so that they may continue to learn and develop as individuals.
How we do it:
We partner with students and their families to learn their stories and prepare them to control their narrative. We accompany students to informal disciplinary hearings and assist them in navigating their hearings. In addition to working with students and their families, we partner with fellow law students from Temple, Villanova, and Drexel.
How and when can I join:
Interested students must attend an initial training. The time commitment for this project is flexible and can vary according to your schedule. The project is not currently accepting volunteers.
What skills will I develop:
Community engagement, interviewing/intake, client counseling, working with vulnerable clients, project management, conflict resolution
The work is likely to be New York Bar eligible.
Trans Empowerment & Advocacy Project (TEA)
TEA is a pro bono project dedicated to supporting trans and nonbinary people and ensuring their access to travel, employment, government services, housing, and public accommodations without fear of discrimination or being outed.
What we do:
Trans Empowerment and Advocacy (TEA) helps low-income transgender and nonbinary people in Philadelphia to navigate the name change process and supports litigation and policy efforts to improve outcomes and opportunities for trans communities across the country.
How we do it:
For name-change projects, we work with the Mazzoni Center in Philadelphia and Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania. In pairs of two, volunteers will work with their client and supervising attorney over a several month period to write and submit name-change petitions and perform judgment searches.
Research projects are project-based and come from impact litigation and policy organizations working to improve the lives of trans people, and we expect them to vary widely in both size and the nature of the work. Students are invited to volunteer for research projects as they become available throughout the academic year.
How and when can I join:
Because the name-change work requires specific training, we expect to recruit student volunteers for that part of the project twice per year—once in the early fall and once heading into the spring semester. Research tends to be more fluid and requires less specific training. If you are interested in joining TEA for name-change or research-based projects, please complete an application here or send us an email at pennlawtea@gmail.com.
What skills will I develop:
Name-Change Assignments: Client counseling, interviewing, judgment searches, and intake and drafting court petitions.
Research Assignments: Legal analysis, research, and writing and policy advocacy.
Name-change work is likely to be New York Bar eligible; research work may vary by project.
Youth Advocacy Project (YAP)
The Youth Advocacy Project (YAP) brings together law and social work students to support young people charged as adults in the Philadelphia area. Under the supervision of the Youth Sentencing & Reentry Project, YAP fellows draft comprehensive, strength-based reports to minimize each young person’s contact with the carceral system. We situate our work within the broader movement for a more humane approach to responding to community harms.
What we do:
Teams of law and social work students work with client-partners and their families to develop reports, or humanizing narratives, based on the young person’s experience to present to prosecutors or judges. We work to transfer client-partners’ cases to the juvenile system and out of the adult criminal legal system, as well as to connect them with community resources providing education, healthcare, housing, and employment.
How we do it:
In partnership with the Youth Sentencing & Reentry Project (YSRP), we work with young people in Philadelphia and surrounding counties who are criminally prosecuted as adults. Law and social work students collaborate to develop a mitigation report of a young person’s experience by meeting with family and community members, visiting the client-partner, analyzing records, and communicating a fuller picture of the client-partner’s life, so as to highlight their strengths, resiliency, and goals. Each team develops a specific strategy to support and advocate for a young person based on their case, needs, and hopes for reentry.
How and when can I join:
Interested volunteers should email YAP’s Co-Directors, Nastia Gorodilova (ngorodil@pennlaw.upenn.edu) and Hannah Stommel (hstommel@pennlaw.upenn.edu), for an application. You can also visit us at the virtual Pro Bono Sign Up Fair in Room 2! Please note that YAP only accepts new volunteers in the Fall semester and requires at least one academic year’s commitment.
What skills will I develop:
Working with young people and incarcerated people, mitigation writing, interviewing, collaboration, and project management.
The work is likely to be New York Bar eligible.
Youth Education Program (YEP)
The Youth Education Program (YEP) introduces high school students to the basics of law through weekly lessons and preparation for a moot court or mock trial competition.
What we do:
We teach Philadelphia high school students basic constitutional principles and provide an opportunity for enrichment in the social sciences. We also help students develop public speaking skills and build arguments so they can effectively perform in mock trial or moot court competitions in the Spring. Broadly, this program is intended to get students excited about legal principles and ideas.
How we do it:
Penn Law students teach in various Philadelphia public high schools and prepare high school students to participate in either Mock Trial or Moot Court competitions. Following basic legal lessons, in the fall semester Penn Law volunteers educate all high school classes on a Constitutional amendment. We will also be hosting a new symposium for students in the first semester. In the spring, volunteers will prep their students on either (1) a fact pattern that focuses on a legal issue that highlights all the learned principles for the Moot Court Competition or (2) the assigned case for the Mock Trial Competition. The program culminates with the students competing against their peers from all the participating high schools in either a Mock Trial or Moot Court Competition.
How and when can I join:
Keep an eye out for an application in the Fall semester! We’ll be at the Pro Bono sign up fair as well. If you have any questions, please email YEP’s Director Joe Stuever (jstuever@pennlaw.upenn.edu).
What skills will I develop:
Community engagement, appellate advocacy, trial strategy, trial prep, classroom management, public speaking, presentation skills, education