USF Promotes Pro Bono Service

The celebration is a coordinated national effort to showcase the work of pro bono lawyers and promote pro bono service. The law school will host activities to highlight the importance of and opportunities for pro bono service.

On Monday and Thursday, USF law students and Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach, a community-based, social justice organization, will staff legal advice clinics in the Bay Area. Participating students receive immigration law training and will be supervised by attorneys.

On Tuesday, students are invited to attend the panel "Help Others and Yourself—Doing Well While Doing Good," which will feature Executive Director of Public Interest Clearinghouse Julia R. Wilson, Executive Director of Legal Aid of Marin Paul Cohen '90, supervising attorney of the Bar Association of San Francisco Volunteer Legal Service Program Andrea Fitanides, and Courtney L. Landis '05, a litigation associate at Morgan Lewis. Panelists will address the difference between pro bono, public interest law, and community service, and discuss how pro bono work may be relevant to interests and career goals.

Click here to view USF School of Law students featured in a National Association for Law Placement article on the Rural Education and Access to the Law (REAL) Project. USF students have provided pro bono legal services to rural communities in numerous REAL trips.

The California State Bar will host the Pro Bono Fair and Reception in San Francisco on Thursday. The fair, which is open to law students, attorneys, and pro bono coordinators, will feature nonprofit service providers and court-based programs. The featured guest speaker is Hon. Ronald M. George, chief justice of the California Supreme Court.

Students are also encouraged to join the Public Interest Clearinghouse and USF's Public Interest Law Foundation in making the pledge to provide pro bono legal services.

For event locations and times, click here.