Pro Bono Scholars Program

Students participating in the Pro Bono Scholars Program take the New York Bar Exam in February of their final year and spend the following 12 weeks interning in a not-for-profit legal services organization or law school clinic providing legal services to low income individuals. Placements are available in civil legal services offices in the Metropolitan area. Participants may also spend their final semester working full-time in one of the Law School’s client representation clinics. Pro Bono Scholars placed outside of the Law School also participate in a two credit, once a week seminar, which supplements the field placement learning experiences. Topics covered in the seminar will include “learning from practice” skills, the ethics of practice, cultural competency, the challenges of a poverty law practice, advanced interviewing and counseling, and other topics specifically germane to pro bono representation. Requirements will include individual meetings with the professor who conducts the seminar, as well as the maintenance of a weekly journal. Interested students must apply for the Pro Bono Scholars program during the spring prior to their final year and must have met all graduations requirements by the end of the fall semester.