Estate Planning Project
Students will provide estate planning services at the 11th Street Family Health Services Center and at the Dornsife Center for Neighborhood Partnerships. Students will be trained in simple estate planning and will draft Powers of Attorneys, Advanced Medical Directives, and Wills for our clients. The sessions will be held Friday afternoons and students must commit to participate in this project for the entire academic year. Recruiting for this project will take place a the beginning of the Fall semester. Participation in this service project satisfies the pro bono graduation requirement.
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Direct Legal Services |
Criminal Record Expungement Project
The Criminal Record Expungement Project (C-REP) is dedicated to working with the community to reduce the collateral effects of criminal records. In partnership with the Philadelphia Lawyers for Social Equity (PLSE), C-REP provides free direct legal 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. Students must be available to staff the intake sessions at the Dornsife Center for Neighborhood Partnerships one Friday afternoon a month and then on the off weeks, actively work on their open cases. Recruiting for this project will take place at the beginning of the Fall and Spring semesters.
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Direct Legal Services |
Access to Justice Project
The Access to Justice Project will work in partnership with Drexel's new Community Lawyering Clinic at The Dornsife Center for Neighborhood Partnerships to increase access to legal and social services for Drexel's neighboring communities. Student volunteers will be trained to conduct intake interviews, issue spot, provide legal information, and prepare cases for referral or representation by the Community Lawyering Clinic. After the initial intake intake, students will serve as advocates on behalf of community members to ensure that they are able to access the legal and social services they needs. Students must be available for intake sessions one Friday afternoon a month and then an additional 10 - 15 hours a month for follow up work. Recruiting for this project will take place at the beginning of both the Fall and Spring semesters. |
Direct Legal Services |
SeniorLAW Help Line
The Pennsylvania SeniorLAW HelpLine, a project of SeniorLAW Center, provides free and confidential legal counseling, information and referrals to older Pennsylvanians throughout diverse communities of the Commonwealth, including rural areas where there are few, if any, legal resources. The HelpLine handles a wide and interesting universe of civil legal issues, including real estate/housing, consumer protection, family law, estate and advance planning tools, public benefits, elder abuse, and neighbor disputes. After training, students will handle client intake activities – returning calls, collecting demographic information, and determining eligibility – and will elicit additional information to identify the legal issues. Interested students may have the opportunity to conduct research and/or writing updates for the SeniorLAW website and other written resources. As scheduling permits, students may also have the opportunity to accompany staff attorneys to Family, Landlord/Tenant, and/or Mortgage Foreclosure Court. The HelpLine Coordinator and Legal Director will supervise all student work. Students must commit to work at least one half-day per week (4 hour shift) for the entire semester to participate in this project. Recruiting for this project will take place at the beginning of both the Fall and Spring semesters. |
Direct Legal Services |
Campaign for Working Families Tax Clinic
The Campaign for Working Families provides free tax service to low income people in Philadelphia. It seeks to improve the economic well being of low and moderate income individuals, families, and communities by building a movement to dramatically increase access to tax credits and benefits and asset-building opportunities. The Campaign for Working Families will hold training sessions on tax return preparation for student volunteers. Once trained, student volunteers will have their choice to volunteer at one of the 17 sites around the city where the tax clinics are hosted. The tax clinics are open for tax season, from mid-January to mid-April. All sites have evening and weekend hours to fit your individual schedules. Recruiting for this project will take place in late-November and again at the beginning of January. |
Direct Legal Services |
SOAR: Rapid Access to Public Benefits
The Homeless Advocacy Project (HAP) provides comprehensive legal assistance on a broad range of civil legal matters, including access to Social Security (SSI) benefits. Specifically, under a federal initiative entitled “SOAR” (SSI Outreach, Access and Recovery), HAP assists homeless individuals in gaining rapid access to SSI benefits. Once trained, students will conduct client interviews, obtain medical records, complete SSI application forms, write letters of support for clients in the SOAR Project, and participate in all other aspects of case development. Due to the expedited nature of the SOAR process, students will have the opportunity to work on cases from start to finish. The SOAR Project was recently expanded to address the needs of youth (18 – 21 years old) aging-out of the child welfare system and student cases will likely include this population. Students are asked to volunteer two to four hours a week for the entire year and can set their own schedules each semester. Recruiting for this project will take place at the beginning of the Fall and Spring semesters. |
Working with Youth |
Immigrant Youth Advocacy Project
Law students will work with Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society and Counsel (HIAS Pennsylvania) attorneys in handling cases of unaccompanied minors. Students will engage in comprehensive case representation of minors with respect to immigration matters. Students work will include interviewing clients, conducting legal research, writing legal memoranda, interviewing witnesses, preparing affidavits, managing files, and, when practicable, attending court hearings. Students must commit to participate in this project for the entire academic year. Recruiting for this project will take place at the beginning of the Fall and Spring semesters. |
Working with Youth |
Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project
The Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project sends law students (known as “Fellows”) into inner-city public schools to teach high school students their rights and responsibilities under the Constitution. The Fellows go to the schools in two-person teams once a week for one-hour sessions during the entire academic year. The substantive classroom visits culminate in local and national Constitutional Moot Court Competitions in the winter and spring. In order to participate in this Project, law students will need to enroll in a two-credit, pass/fail course which will be offered in the fall semester. The class will give Fellows the tools to teach the substantive constitutional law and moot court skills to the high school students. Pro Bono credit will be given to the Marshall-Brennan Fellows for their work in the field teaching and coaching the students. Students must commit to participate in this project for the entire academic year. |
Working with Youth |
Pennsylvania Innocence Project
The Pennsylvania Innocence Project is an organization dedicated to exonerating persons imprisoned in Pennsylvania for crimes they did not commit and to eliminating the causes of wrongful convictions. Law student volunteers may work on either evaluating a case (referred to as a Stage 2 review) or a full analysis of a case (referred to as Stage 3). New students and those who are looking for a shorter assignment will be assigned to a case in Stage 2. The goal of a Stage 2 review is to determine whether the inmate has a plausible claim for innocence. This will involve reviewing a questionnaire submitted by the inmate and reading the appellate documents from the case. When the review is complete, each student fills out both a Questionnaire Review Form and a Completion Memo with a recommendation of either to close the case or pursue it further. Students who can commit to coming to the office for at least 2 hours a week for one semester can have the chance to work on a Stage 3 case. This involves an in-depth review and analysis of all of an inmate’s case documents (i.e. transcripts, discovery, briefs, etc.). Stage 3 review also focuses on whether the inmate is actually innocent, but also involves trying to determine whether evidence may exist to submit in court. If the students can finish the review within their time with the Project, they will prepare an extensive memo for the Board of Directors to review and can present the case for potential acceptance to the Board. Recruiting for this project will take place at the beginning of both the Fall and Spring Semesters. Summer placements are also available for this project. |
Social Justice |
STAR - Federal Reentry Court
Supervision to Aid Reentry (“STAR”) is an initiative of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania that assists previously incarcerated federal prisoners, who live in Philadelphia, to successfully reenter the community. As part of the program, participants attend bi-monthly open court sessions before a judge for fifty-two weeks and receive support and supervision from the U.S. Probation Office. The program features myriad objectives, including preventing recidivism, reducing the high rate of violent crime in Philadelphia, and assisting high-risk ex-offenders with the multiple social, family, and logistical issues they must confront upon their return to society after years in prison.
Students will assist participants in overcoming legal barriers to successful reentry. Under the supervision of practicing attorneys, students will interview and counsel clients, draft pleadings, conduct fact investigations, and represent clients in court proceedings. This project requires a year-long commitment of 8-10 hours per week of client representation, including mandatory attendance at either Morning or Afternoon Reentry Court, and participation in a seminar. The seminar will meet every other Thursday from 4-6 p.m. at the federal courthouse. Morning Reentry Court occurs every other Tuesday from 8:35-11:30 a.m. and Afternoon Reentry Court occurs every other Wednesday from 2:45-6:15 p.m. Students will receive 1 credit per semester for the seminar, and may receive either pro bono hours for their client representation or 1-2 additional field practicum credits per semester. Applicants must be 3Ls who are eligible for certification for formal participation in legal matters under P.A. Bar 321 and 322. Recruiting for this project will take place during course registration. |
Social Justice |
| Irish Immigration Clinic – Brehon Society Project
Law students will work with a licensed immigration attorney to conduct intake interviews and help fill out immigration paperwork, including N-400s and I-95s. Students will have the opportunity to gain firsthand information about immigration law and the immigration process. The clinic is held on the first and third Monday of every month from 3 to 6 p.m. at the Irish Immigration and Pastoral Center in Upper Darby, which is easily accessible via public transit. The clinic provides legal services to clients of all nationalities. Along with assisting Irish Immigrants, the clinic has seen an uptick in immigrants from West Africa, Central Africa and Southeast Asia. While organized by the Drexel Brehons, the clinic is open to the entire student body. Scheduling needs vary on a monthly basis, depending on how many appointments are scheduled. Students are not required to attend every clinic in order to volunteer. Scheduling is typically done one week before the clinic date, in order to properly accommodate the scheduled appointments. The Brehons will set the recruiting and training schedule for this project.
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Student Organization Run Projects |
Employment Advocacy Project
The Employment Advocacy Project advocates for the rights of employees and represents unemployment claimants who are appealing their denials of unemployment compensation. In partnership with Philadelphia Legal Assistance, this project offers student advocates the opportunity to interview clients, research applicable law, and then conduct direct and cross examinations and give closing statements before an administrative law judge. This project requires an 8-12 hour weekly commitment. Recruiting for this project will take place at the beginning of both the Fall and Spring semesters. |
Student Organization Run Projects |
Escorting Project – LSRJ Project
Students are trained in relevant law and observe protesters outside of abortion clinics to help ensure women have safe and legal access to services under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act. Should a student escort perceive a potential violation of a woman's safe and lawful access to services, he or she will take a full report of the incident and file his or her notes with appropriate officials. The project is open to all members of LSRJ, and all other students are welcome to join. LSRJ will set the recruiting and training schedule for this project. |
Student Organization Run Projects |
Judicial Bypass Intake - LSRJ Project
Some young women decide they cannot tell their parents about their pregnancy. A judicial bypass is an order from a judge that allows a minor to have an abortion without telling or receiving consent from her parent or legal guardian. Students assist young women seeking attorney representation at their judicial bypass hearing by conducting in depth intake interviews and filling out the Petitions to file with the Court. The project is open to all members of LSRJ, and all other students are welcome to join. LSRJ will set the recruiting and training schedule for this project. |
Student Organization Run Projects |
Legal Observer Program – NLG Project
Students will be trained as Legal Observers to observe and record incidents and the activities of law enforcement in relation to the demonstrators. This includes documenting, for example, any arrest, use of force, intimidating display of force, denial of access to public spaces like parks and sidewalks, and any other behavior on the part of law enforcement that appears to restrict demonstrators’ ability to express their political views. Trainings are roughly held each semester and students sign up to observe as dates of protests and rallies are made public. The project is open to all members of NLG, and all other students are welcome to join. NLG will set the recruiting and training schedule for this project. |
Student Organization Run Projects |
Medical Legal Community Partnership - Health Center #3 & #4
Philadelphia Legal Assistance (PLA) and the Philadelphia Department of Public Health (PDPH) have formed a Medical Legal partnership (MLP) in order to provide free legal assistance to patients on-site at public health centers in Philadelphia. MLP is the integration of legal staff into a health setting, so that they can work collaboratively with the health care team to meet the complex and critical needs of low-income patients in a comprehensive manner. Law student volunteers will serve as MLP Legal Advocates at Health Center #3 and Health Center #4, high-volume health centers located in University City. Under the supervision of an experienced PLA staff attorney, students will interview clients, provide legal information and brief legal services, and give group presentations on legal topics to clients in the waiting area. Students must commit to staffing one shift per week of four consecutive hours at the Health Center and must attend a one and a half hour weekly group supervision meeting on Fridays. This is a demanding pro bono project that requires a strong commitment to service and reliability, but is a highly rewarding project. Recruiting for this project will take place at the beginning of the Fall and Spring semesters. |
Direct Legal Services |
| Small Business Development Project
The Small Business Development Project will provide free start-up legal assistance to selected area businesses and non-profit organizations. Student volunteers will create and host workshops at the Dornsife Center for community members interested in learning more about forming and operating a small business or non-profit organization. After attending a workshop, if a community member or group meets our requirements, we will take them on as a client and student volunteers will handle the transactional legal issues that arise when forming and running a business. Recruiting for this project will take place at the beginning of the Fall semester. A full year commitment is required.
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Direct Legal Services |