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| Home >> Current Students & Student Affairs >> Pro Bono Requirement | ||
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| Home >> Current Students & Student Affairs >> Pro Bono Requirement | ||
Pro Bono Requirement
To obtain a degree, a student must satisfy the law school's pro bono requirement. To satisfy this requirement, students must do a minimum of 20 hours of civil pro bono legal work during their second or third year of law school. Pro bono legal work is defined as "work on behalf of indigent individuals or other uncompensated legal work in conjunction with an individual lawyer, law firm or organization on behalf of a disadvantaged minority, the victims of racial, sexual, other forms of discrimination, those denied human and civil rights, or other work on behalf of the public interest. Work on behalf of the public interest means legal work that is designed to present a position on behalf of the public at large on matters of public interest . . . " Public interest work does not include the direct representation of litigants in actions between private persons, corporations, or other representations of litigants in which the financial interests at stake would warrant representation from private legal sources. The Office of Student Affairs has the responsibility for determining whether a student has satisfied the pro bono requirement. There is a mandatory pro bono orientation that covers all aspects of this requirement. The orientation is available online and must be completed before students may receive pro bono credit.