It is a requirement that JD students must perform at least 50 hours of pro bono service through a project that has been approved by the Director in order to graduate.

In order to qualify for credit towards the requirement, the pro bono service must be law-related. In addition, students may not receive financial compensation or academic credit for providing pro bono service. Moreover, a licensed attorney or other qualified supervisor must adequately supervise and review all of the student’s work. The service must be:

(1) on behalf of people who cannot afford to pay for legal services, have limited access to legal services, or are underserved by the private bar, or
(2) aimed at protecting the rights of an individual or individuals in situations raising important public interest concerns and/or important rights belonging to a significant and underserved segment of the public.

Government work, including working for the district attorney or public defender (or their federal/local equivalents) qualifies for credit towards the Pro Bono Service Requirement under our definition of pro bono. Judicial internships, however, do NOT qualify for credit towards the Pro Bono Service Requirement because they do not fall within the parameters of pro bono service for the law school's program.

Students can start work on the requirement beginning in the second full-time semester of the 1L year of law school. Traditional 3-year law students who start school in the Fall can begin pro bono work in the Spring semester of the first year. 3-year law students who start school in the summer can begin pro bono work in the Spring of the first year. Accelerated “Fast-Forward” law students can begin pro bono work in the Fall of the first year.

The 50 required hours of pro bono service, as well as submission of all required time sheets and evaluation forms, must be completed, at the latest, on the last day of classes of the student’s final semester of law school.

The mandatory Pro Bono Service Requirement is required for graduation. If the requirement is not completed, the student will not be allowed to graduate or be certified for admission to the bar.

Students have the option of performing all their hours on one project or electing to provide services on more than one project. Note that not all pro bono projects are structured to yield 50 hours of work.

To receive credit for pro bono service, all required forms must be completed and returned to the Director for Pro Bono and Public Interest Programs:

• Project Registration Form 
• Student Timesheet 
• Student Evaluation 
• Supervisor's Evaluation 

No. Training is connected to service and you may only get credit for training hours if you participate in the project.

No. Travel time does not count. If you have an exceptional circumstance, please meet with the Director for special consideration.

Work performed for a public interest co-op placement or clinic will not qualify for credit towards the Pro Bono Service Requirement. However, with approval from the Director, work performed beyond the requirements of a co-op placement or clinic, so long as it meets the definition of pro bono service, will qualify for credit.

Work funded by a Public Interest Summer Stipend or Work Study will not qualify for credit towards the Pro Bono Requirement. However, with approval from the Director, work performed beyond the terms of the Summer Stipend or Work Study, so long as it meets the definition of pro bono service, will qualify for credit.

No. Work performed on a political campaign does not qualify for credit towards the Pro Bono Service Requirement because it does not fall within the parameters of pro bono service for the law school's program.

No.  Judicial internships do not qualify for credit towards the Pro Bono Service Requirement because they do not fall within the parameters of pro bono service for the law school's program. However, court projects assisting pro se litigants are eligible for pro bono credit.

No. Some full time coaching and teaching (such as Marshall-Brennan) may count, but, in general, simply judging a competition or acting as a bailiff does not qualify for credit towards the Pro Bono Service Requirement.

Assisting a professor on scholarship generally does not count. However, if a professor is doing work that would otherwise qualify under our definition of pro bono service, and you are assisting on that project, then it will qualify for credit towards the Pro Bono Service Requirement.

While most of our projects will meet state pro bono bar admission requirements, please meet with the Director to review the state requirement and confirm that you have a pro bono project that will satisfy it.