Public Service
Student Pro Bono Projects
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Student projects form the core of Penn Law’s pro bono experience by offering unique leadership and practical opportunities while helping under-served populations.
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Civil Rights Law Project (CRLP)
The Penn Law Civil Rights Law Project is committed to protecting and promoting civil rights and social justice in the Philadelphia area. We work with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission and we are also actively seeking to form partnerships with other civil rights advocacy organizations to assist with their litigation and public policy efforts on civil rights issues, all with the aim of promoting the principles of anti-discrimination, equal opportunity, and equal justice under the law for all persons, regardless of race, ethnicity, national origin, disability, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, or poverty. The Civil Rights Law Project is devoted to the work of combating discrimination in all its forms.
Student Leaders
Tom Campbell Co-Director Katie King Co-Director Sarah Smith Research Editor Robert Gregory Research Editor Nelson Castano Research Editor Laily Sheybani 3L Rep
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Criminal Record Expungement Project (CREP)
C-REP provides services to individuals seeking to expunge non-conviction records in Philadelphia County. Volunteer attorneys and law students host community clinics and provide legal counsel through all stages of the expungement process, including representing clients before the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia. C-REP also educates the public and the legal community on the expungement process and advocates for criminal record policy reform.
Student Leaders
David Pennant Chair Brittany Sherman Chair Mary Maginnis Litigation Coordinator Emily Lubin Intake Coordinator Abby Samuels Case Manager John Martin Social Outreach Coordinator
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Custody and Support Assistance Clinic (CASAC)
The Custody and Support Assistance Clinic (CASAC) is an independent, incorporated entity which is administered and staffed by Penn Law students. Supervised by attorneys at Philadelphia Legal Assistance and in partnership with the TPIC, volunteer advocates provide legal assistance to low-income residents of Philadelphia regarding child support and custody issues. CASAC provides volunteer advocates with a unique opportunity to gain experience in client interviewing, drafting legal documents, and out-of-court advocacy, as well as the potential for in-court legal advocacy in their second or third years.
Student Leaders
Chase Morgan Executive Director Dorothy Hazan Program Director Anya Perret Professional Development Bill Fedullo Training and Recruitment Director John Schifalacqua Resource Director Anna D’ginto Public Relations & Events Director
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Democracy Law Project (DLP)
The Democracy Law Project exists to assist partner non-profit organizations that work to strengthen our domestic democracy. It provides students the opportunity to have an impact on campaign finance reform and voter protection. DLP maintains connections with local and national non-profits and coordinates and trains students to help those groups with research and advocacy projects that will strengthen our democracy. DLP works with organizations such as Demos, the Campaign Legal Center, the Brennan Center, Common Cause, and others.
Student Leader
Danielle Lazarus President Christopher Cruickshank Senior Director of Projects Mason Smith Director of Projects
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Domestic Violence Assistance Project (DVAP)
DVAP serves survivors of domestic violence, rape, sexual exploitation and other forms of gender-based violence. Students provide legal resources to individuals seeking emergency protective orders at two filing sites in Philadelphia. They give information regarding preparation of pro se petitions for permanent protective orders against abusive partners. Students also participate in legal trainings, including training on civil protection orders and domestic violence law, interviewing workshops for working with trauma survivors, and crisis intervention trainings for suicidal clients. Partner organizations are Philadelphia Legal Assistance, Women’s Law Project, and Evelyn Jacobs Ortner Center on Family Violence.
Student Leader
Devin Troy Project Coordinator
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Employment Advocacy Project (EAP)
EAP advocates for the rights of employees and represents unemployment claimants who are appealing their denials of unemployment compensation. Student advocates interview clients, research applicable law, and then conduct and direct cross examinations and give closing statements before an administrative law judge. EAP was formerly known as the Penn Law Unemployment Compensation Project.
Student Leaders
Oluwaseun (Shay) Familoni President Greg Bischoping Managing Advocate Dana Bach Intake Coordinator
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Environmental Law Project (ELP)
The Environmental Law Project fosters campus discussion of environmental issues and connects interested students to opportunities to explore environmental legal practice. In past years, we have assisted local and national environmental organizations with legal research and report drafting, published an EPA rulemaking comment in the Federal Register, sent teams to environmental moot court competitions, hosted campus talks and green career panels, and begun coordinating our efforts with other environmental organizations at Penn. EarthJustice International, Southern Utah, Wilderness Alliance and the Delaware Riverkeeper are among the organizations ELP has worked with.
Student Leaders
Adeline Rolnick Chair Nick Bellos Vice Chair Stevie Flanery Senior Director of Impact Litigation Paul Stephan Senior Director for Regulatory Project Chloe-Lynn Myktyn Director of Impact Litigation Garrison Todd Director of Regulatory Project Jen Ko Director of Professionalism and Events
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Financial Literacy Project (FLP)
The Penn Law Financial Literacy Project aims to provide personal finance and tax assistance to those in need throughout Philadelphia, focusing on traditionally under-served communities. The group works to serve as a facilitator between the community and larger government-funded programs that provide financial advice, assistance, and support.
Student Leaders
Sophia Yan Co-Director Ben Barocas Co-Director
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Guild Food Stamp Clinic (GFSC)
The Guild Food Stamp Clinic provides legal counseling and representation to clients in food stamp cases. Students engage in over-the-phone advocacy with the county assistance office and in administrative hearings, when necessary. The project works in collaboration with Philadelphia Legal Assistance.
Student Leader
Alexandra Munson Leader Christine Jeong Leader
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Health Law and Policy Project (HeLPP)
The Health Law and Policy Project (HeLPP) is a pro bono group at Penn Law that aims to provide opportunities for Penn Law students to gain practical experience in the field of health law and policy in a pro bono setting. Our projects focus on increasing healthcare access and quality, especially for underserved populations, through opportunities to directly support patients and to conduct research on healthcare delivery and policy through partnerships with providers and researchers.
Student Leaders
Allie Cohen Managing Directors Jason Sloan MLCP Emily Purtill Know Your Rights Joshua Abraham Pennsylvania Health Law Project Director Ben Barsky Expansion Director
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International Human Rights Advocates (IHRA)
IHRA conducts research, undertakes advocacy campaigns, and educates colleagues about contemporary issues of international human rights. Projects typically focus on legal research and writing and out-of-court advocacy.
Student Leader
Leah Wong Co-Director Joanna Hoodes Co-Director Allyson Reynolds Fieldwork Coordinator Akbar Hossain Project Manager Austin Gassen Project Manager Barrett Greenwell Project Manager Emilie Raber Project Manager
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International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP)
The International Refugee Assistance Project is a student run pro bono project whose mission is to facilitate the resettlement of refugees from abroad, improve U.S. policy toward the refugee crisis, and ease the transition of newly-resettled refugees to American life.
Student Leaders
Arhama Rushdi Co-Director Sam Scott Co-Director Shelby Stanton Legal Director Emma Morgenstern Legal Director Shaunee Morgan Events Director Gabriela Siegel Community Outreach Director
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Lawyering for Reproductive Justice (If/When/How) (LRJ)
Penn Law Students for Reproductive Justice (LSRJ) assists various state and international organizations as well as clinics in the Philadelphia area with legal research, lobbying, and client representation. The project advocates for all people who seek access to reproductive healthcare and/or choice in their own reproductive lives. The project works in collaboration with the Women’s Law Project, Planned Parenthood, and the Philadelphia Women’s center.
Student Leaders
Devin Troy Pro Bono Projects Chair Noel Lee Student Outreach Chair Elana Stern Direct Service Director Carolyn Jackson Research Director Anya Perret R&D Coordinator Alyssa Chai Events Coordinator Erin Quick Direct Service Coordinator Karin Shmulevich Research Coordinator John Plotz Advocacy & Community Engagement Coordinator
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Legal Education Partnership (LEP)
The Legal Education Partnership provides comprehensive support to the students and community at the Boys’ Latin of Philadelphia Charter School. The partnership is mutually beneficial, providing a place for community activism for the law students while also providing the high school with academic support, aspiration building programs, and legal resources. Activities include mock trial, debate, teen court, and student government coaching.
Student Leaders
Brittany Beyer Executive Director Josh Mehta Mock Trial Coordinator
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Pardon Project
The Penn Law Pardon Project is dedicated to empowering formerly convicted persons to become change agents in their lives by providing legal aid and education on the Pardon process in Pennsylvania. Despite having already paid for their crimes in jail time, court costs, and bail fees, formerly convicted persons continue to face discrimination in pursuing employment, furthering their education, accessing public housing, and exercising their right to vote. The only way to remove a felony or non-summary misdemeanor conviction from a record in Philadelphia is by receiving a pardon from the Governor. The pardon process is long and requires an extensive application process including several essays describing the conviction, the circumstances surrounding it, and why the applicant is requesting a pardon. In partnership with X-Offenders for Community Empowerment, the Pardon Me project provides free direct legal services to individuals seeking to apply for a pardon.
Volunteer law students assist individual applicants on his/her pardon application, acting as a guide throughout the entire process. Students conduct intake sessions at local area pardon clinics run by X-Offenders for Community Empowerment, and work individually with select applicants on the rest of the pardon application. In addition to providing direct legal services, the Pardon Me project also educates the public and the legal community on the pardon process and advocates for criminal record policy reform.
Student Leader
Erin Sweeney Director
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Penn Housing Rights Project (PHRP)
The Penn Housing Rights Project pairs law students with attorneys at several Philadelphia firms to represent tenants who are involved in disputes with their landlords, often over wrongful evictions. First year members help attorneys prepare to represent tenants in the Philadelphia Municipal Court by conducting research and meeting with clients. Members usually attend hearings and often take part in settlement negotiations with landlords. Participants become certified to appear before the court in the spring of their 2L year and begin taking the lead role in representing their clients.
Student Leaders
Shelby Rokito Board Member Nicole Pennycooke Board Member James Wieler Board Member Jesse Treverton Board Member
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Penn Law Advocates for the Homeless (PLAH)
Penn Advocates for the Homeless provide legal support to attendees of the weekly University City Hospitality Coalition Wednesday night soup kitchen. The volunteers help connect clients with important public assistance and resolve a range of legal issues. The project works in collaboration with the Philadelphia Homeless Advocacy Project.
Student Leaders
Anna Marion President Robert Thrasher Board Member Abdul Alwattar Board Member Darien Wynn Board Member
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Penn Law Immigrant Rights Project (PLIRP)
The Immigrant Rights Project provides legal assistance to immigrant detainees seeking relief from deportation as victims of persecution or domestic violence in collaboration with the Philadelphia immigration legal community.
Student Leaders
Kimberly Grambo Co-Managing Director Maggie Kopel Co-Managing Director Emma Fleming Client Service Director Greta Wiessner Client Service Director Austin Gassen Research & Policy Director
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Project PEACE
Project PEACE (Peaceful Endings through Attorneys, Children, and Educators) is an engaging pro bono initiative which focuses on reducing violence and conflicts in schools. The program was implemented in Pennsylvania by the Pennsylvania Bar Association and the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office in 1999. Through a close partnership with Martha Washington Elementary School, Project PEACE visits the school’s sixth grade class on a weekly basis to lead courses on mediation and positive means to manage conflict. The goal of Project PEACE is to continuously expose students to an array of conflict resolution methods.
Student Leader
Jordan King Coordinator
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Street Law
The Street Law Project takes a fun and creative approach to providing legal education within the Philadelphia public schools. Volunteers design and teach a curriculum to middle school students addressing constitutional issues and social justice, thereby empowering students to exercise their rights and inspiring them to think critically about the law.
Student Leaders
Kyla Risko President/ Executive Director
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Students for Technological Progress (STP)
Students for Technological Progress works with technology-related non-profit organizations to navigate and address these issues of first impression in the legal and policy arenas.
Student Leaders
Dan Roberts Director
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Veterans Law Project (VLP)
Provides targeted and useful resources to Philadelphia Veterans in need of civil legal assistance and supports attorneys in Philadelphia who have made it a priority to serve Veterans in their community.
Student Leaders
Aaron McKenney Co-Director Zach Feldman Co-Director
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Youth Advocacy Project (YAP)
The Penn Youth Advocacy Project aims to assist in the nationwide effort to reshape our responses to juvenile delinquency. Law students, in partnership with social work students, work directly with children who are facing charges in adult criminal court by collecting background information that can be used to have the child’s case sent back to juvenile court where it belongs. Once the trial is complete, YAP volunteers continue to work with the children and their families as they prepare for reentry into society. Students also contribute research efforts to help shape policy, and work to educate the Penn Law and Philadelphia communities about the injustices children in the justice system face.
Co-Founders/Co-Directors: Elizabeth Levitan & Martha Hanna
Student Leaders
Sara Lynch Co-Director Raquel Chavez Co-Director Eliza Novick-Smith Case Director Bradie Williams Case Chair Ariana Brill Development Chair
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Youth Education Program (YEP)
On October 6, 1787, James Wilson, one of only six founders to sign both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, delivered a highly regarded and influential speech in Philadelphia “to explain and elucidate the principles and arrangements of the [C]onstitution.” Considered among the most gifted legal minds and orators of his day, Wilson continued explaining and promoting the Constitution when the College of Philadelphia (now the University of Pennsylvania) appointed him as the first professor of law in 1790. The James Wilson Project, later renamed Youth Education Program, allows Penn Law students to carry on Wilson’s tradition of explaining and promoting the Constitution in Philadelphia. YEP volunteers teach local high school students about their constitutional rights and responsibilities. Volunteers also prepare students for a moot court competition by helping the students draft oral arguments and coaching them to deliver the arguments. The project’s goals are to teach urban high school students about the U.S. Constitution and their constitutional rights, connect the students to Philadelphia’s history as the site of the Constitutional Convention, and help them improve their critical thinking and oral advocacy skills.
Student Leaders
Carolyn Carpenter Internal Executive Director Bryan McIntyre External Executive Director James Kim Academic Director Adrian Parlow Tournament Director Tom Mandracchia Teaching Director Jenna Smith Teaching Director Zach Feldman Teaching Director Jimmy Schuster Special Projects Committee Kaitlin Gottlieb Special Projects Committee Pratik Agarwal Special Projects Committee
Student group leaders meet about the Prisoners’ Legal Education Project.