The Duke Law School Pro Bono Project began at Duke Law School in 1991 - one of the earliest formal law school pro bono programs in the country. The Pro Bono Project connects volunteer Duke law students with attorneys in nonprofit and governmental organizations as well as with attorneys engaged in private pro bono practice. Students help those in need of legal assistance - predominantly at locations in North Carolina but in some cases reaching nationwide or internationally.
Mission, Administration & Overview
Information for Individuals Seeking Legal Assistance
Information for Duke Law Students
Information for Public Interest Organizations & Supervisors
External Pro Bono Sites
Mission, Administration and Overview
Mission
The Pro Bono Project provides Duke law students with an opportunity to explore public service, sharpen their legal and professional skills, build relationships important to their future careers, and contribute an important public service. Law students gain an opportunity to learn about the many ways that attorneys perform public service, whether in a nonprofit organization, a governmental agency, or a private law firm. The Pro Bono Project brings classroom learning alive by providing law students real-life opportunities to use their new knowledge and skills. Students also are educated about the gaps in the legal delivery system and are given an opportunity to become involved in work that benefits the community, such as helping provide direct legal services to low-income individuals, researching important policy issues, participating in the legislative or judicial system, or teaching constitutional law to high school students.
The ultimate goal of the Pro Bono Project is to help shape law students into lawyers who are committed to public service -- whether that commitment is made by working full-time in a nonprofit or governmental organization or by devoting time in their careers to pro bono work and other important civic and community activities.
Administration
The first director of Duke Law School's Pro Bono Project was Carol Spruill who started the project in 1991 and is now the Associate Dean for Public Interest and Pro Bono. Before coming to Duke she worked in Legal Services for 15 years and was formerly the Deputy Director of Legal Services of North Carolina. After five years, Cindy Adcock and then Brenda Berlin were the directors of the Pro Bono Project. Both are still teaching clinics at Duke Law School.
Beginning in the 2003-2004 academic year, Kim Burrucker became the Coordinator of Public Interest and Pro Bono. Placements will be made by a team, including Dean Spruill, Ms. Burrucker, and students in charge of various pro bono groups.
Overview
At Duke, pro bono service is a key component of the leadership development provided for law students, assisting them in many aspects of their law school education and preparing them for the practice of law. Pro bono is academic because it is ethics and professionalism training, and it is also experiential education that supplements classroom learning. It is career preparation because it exposes students to a variety of job settings, helps them start their professional networking, and develops a track record of their commitment. It is "public interest" because it acquaints them with, and enlists them in, the neglected areas of access to justice and the legal and economic difficulties faced by the poor. It spills over into student affairs as some of the opportunities are non-legal or one-day projects sponsored by student associations, and it generally improves self-esteem and a sense of well-being as students are connected to the Law School and larger community.
Today the Pro Bono Project is part of a much larger structure, the Office of Public Interest and Pro Bono, which offers pro bono placements, programs to engage students in public interest issues, life counseling, and enhancement of the public interest employment assistance provided by the Career Services Office.
At Duke Law School, while all students are encouraged to participate, pro bono is a voluntary activity. All students are invited to sign The Pro Bono Pledge, in which they commit to contributing a minimum of 50 hours of law-related community service over their time as students, including pro bono or clinic field work. While arguments can be made both ways about whether pro bono progrfams should be mandatory or voluntary, the voluntary approach fits best with Duke's emphasis on taking responsibility for one's own professional path, and on self-awareness and self-motivation.
In keeping with the fact that pro bono participation is voluntary, the Pro Bono Project seeks a wide variety of placements since students' interests and motivations vary widely. Thus the placements include a wide range of locations, substantive law areas, job functions and time requirements.
Over 100 choices of placements are available to students. Students have worked, for example, in Legal Services, for Public Defenders, for District Attorneys, in various divisions of the NC Attorney General's Office, for judges, with non-profit advocacy groups, as court-appointed Guardian Ad Litems for abused and neglect children, and with private attorneys doing pro bono work.
Available placements cover over thirty subject matter areas and have included: criminal prosecution and defense; environmental issues; health access and mental health; community economic development; consumer protection; child abuse and neglect; child support; migrant law; land loss; education; employment; civil rights and liberties; death penalty; family law; domestic violence; international law; immigration law; tax preparation; and social security and other government benefits. New topics and projects are added each year at an organization's or student's request.
The Pro Bono Project also provides a variety of choices of job functions. These include legal research and writing, client interviewing, case investigation, trial preparation, policy analysis, or certified court practice. One project gives students a chance to teach constitutional law to high school students. In the Guardian Ad Litem project, students are the court-appointed guardians of allegedly abused or neglected children and will prepare a report for the court, probably including testifying in court.
Students contribute thousands of hours each year to their pro bono placements. The amount contributed by each student varies from just a few hours to over a hundred. Supervisors state the time they need and students decide which placements fit their schedules. Typical placements may be a commitment of 20 to 30 hours on flexible time over the course of a semester, or a set time of two to five hours per week. First-year students are cautioned to pick less demanding placements.
Students who wish may turn their placement decision into a counseling session. The Associate Dean is available to talk with them about their background, their aspirations, and the criteria they would like to use for selecting a placement. If the right placement is not already available, new opportunities are found.
The Pro Bono Project is also a tool for leadership development in that students with an idea larger than their singular participation are encouraged to design and implement a project for a group of students. Many students have created group projects or serve as coordinators of placements in various subject areas.
While it is not possible in this space to review all the pro bono activities undertaken by students, a few highlights of 2002-2003 demonstrate particularly well how the values of leadership and commitment to community are furthered through the Duke program.
Example: The Refugee Asylum Support Project (RASP)
The Refugee Asylum Support Project was started in the fall of 2002 by a third-year student, John Bolin. John had just spent the summer working for a New York City law firm, Morgan Lewis & Bockius, and as part of that firm's pro bono effort, John was assigned for two weeks to the asylum outreach center operated by the Association of the Bar of the City of New York (ABCNY). This organization recruits and trains attorneys for immigrants who have suffered torture and other forms of repression in their home countries and are seeking political asylum in the United States. ABCNY screens indigent asylum applicants and coordinates pro bono representation by local attorneys. As an intern, John researched country conditions and other aspects of client applications. He enjoyed the experience so much that he brought the work back to Duke Law School and created a new group pro bono placement. Lauris Wren, an attorney for the Asylum Project in New York, works long distance with the law students at Duke.
Students in the Refugee Asylum Support Project at Duke Law School are doing case specific research, providing translation services and promoting awareness of refugee and asylum issues: 1) Case-specific research. As of March of the first year of the project, twelve Duke Law students had participated in 13 case research projects, devoting approximately 150 hours of pro bono support. 2) Translation services. Many asylum applications include non-English documentation. Duke Law students who are proficient in foreign languages volunteer to translate documents, materially supplementing ABCNY's translator resource base. Twelve students helped with 12 translation projects, devoting approximately 24 hours of pro bono translation support. (3) Refugee and asylum issues and awareness. Refugee & asylum law bridges an intersection of domestic U.S. law and international public law. Although this has always been an important area, it has become increasingly significant in the aftermath of 9/11 and the expansion of relevant U.S. laws. RASP aims at increasing student awareness and understanding of relevant issues through curriculum development and topical student events. In February 2003, RASP was recognized by the Law School's student government as a permanent student organization, and has begun planning for an intensive speaker program for the coming school year to complement its pro bono work.
Elizabeth Noble, a second-year student in 2003-04, who led the program in its second year, was one of 12 students working on cases in the first year of the project. In support of an important asylum hearing in New York, Elizabeth researched and documented a client's eligibility under overlapping theories of political and social group persecution. The client's application was approved, due in part to the timely research support provided by Elizabeth. Other clients who received the assistance of Duke Law students in its first year include a Kenyan woman claiming persecution by a right wing paramilitary element, a Chinese ethnic Christian in Djakarta claiming persecution based on ethnicity and religion, and an ethnic Serb Muslim from Kosovo claiming persecution based on ethnicity and religion.
Example: Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Advocacy Project (DVSAAP)
The Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Advocacy Project (DVSAAP) is a student-run pro bono group placement that was created in the fall of 2002 on the foundation of a previous student-created group DVAP (Domestic Violence Advocacy Project) which was created by students in1993 under the leadership of Elizabeth Catlin. In 2002, Jill Martin, a second-year student with pre-law school experience in domestic violence prevention wanted to contribute some of her time to this issue while a student. The previously vibrant DVAP group had become dormant for the past several years, so Jill decided to revive it. She spent the summer contacting the many possible organizations that the Office of Public Interest and Pro Bono suggested, evaluated them for the best possibilities, and selected the Durham Crisis Response Center (DCRC) as its closest community collaborator.
Under Jill's leadership, DVAP was changed to DVSAAP, and the project has adopted a holistic approach to addressing the issue of violence against women. DVSAAP includes a variety of projects that involve students with various interests and talents, and it has partnered on projects with national, local, and law school organizations. Its mission is threefold: 1) to raise awareness in the Duke Law community about domestic violence and sexual assault; 2) to foster student advocacy on behalf of domestic violence and sexual assault survivors; and 3) to identify gaps in services available to domestic violence and sexual assault victims in the Triangle area and develop projects to fill the gaps.
In 2002-2003, twenty-one students participated in DVSAAP to develop and carry out four main projects:
1) The Court Observance and Advocacy Project: The primary goal of this project was to train law students to help the Durham Crisis Response Center provide legal advocacy, information and support to domestic violence victims for civil hearings and domestic crime prosecutions at the Durham County Courthouse. The secondary goal was to provide an in-depth training to future lawyers about the dynamics of domestic violence and law enforcement's response to the problem. The Project teamed up with the Durham Crisis Response Center to provide a 12 hour training to 14 law students. After the training, these law students began providing services, including preparing clients for court; helping clients with safety planning; helping clients complete and file Domestic Violence Protective Orders; supporting clients during their court proceedings; referring clients to civil or criminal law legal advocates; keeping statistics of court cases;
2) Domestic Violence Awareness Month at Duke School of Law: DVSAAP and the Women in Law Student's Association (WLSA) teamed up to raise awareness about domestic violence throughout the month of October, National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, to draw attention to the epidemic of violence that afflicts 3 to 4 million women a year.
3) Safe and Sound Race to End Domestic Violence. DVSAAP recruited help from community service groups at Duke Medical School and the Fuqua Business School, as well as the Duke Bar Association and the Women in Law Students Association, to co-sponsor the race to raise over $5000 for the Durham Crisis Response Center.
4) Sexual Assault Awareness Month at Duke Law School. DVSAAP sponsored a variety of activities in April, National Sexual Assault Awareness Month, to raise awareness about sexual assault including the viewing of a movie, Body Shots, that addresses date rape; distribution of safety whistles to the student body; writing an article regarding four students' experience with rape which was published in the school's student newspaper; and distribution of teal Sexual Assault Awareness ribbons.
Example: Innocence Project
The Innocence Project is a group of over 60 Duke Law students who work with a non-profit organization called The North Carolina Center on Actual Innocence. The North Carolina Center on Actual Innocence was established as a collaborative effort with the University of North Carolina's Law School and Department of Journalism. The Center is staffed solely by volunteers and began as two small student groups formed in 1998.
The Center receives hundreds of requests for help from inmates each year. At Duke, law students - supervised by faculty - review the letters and prepare case memos. These students are both pro bono students and students from the Wrongful Convictions: Causes and Remedies Class offered each spring. Cases that survive the initial review must involve a North Carolina felony conviction, a substantial remaining sentence to be served and a claim of actual innocence. These cases are investigated by pro bono students. The Duke students are aided by Pete Weitzel, volunteer Director of the NC Center on Actual Innocence and former managing editor of The Miami Herald; Associate Dean Theresa Newman; and James Coleman, Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Professor of the Practice of Law.
Over the last several years, pro bono students have put in hundreds of hours working on a case of a man believed to be innocent of the murder conviction for which he has a life sentence. Dean Coleman is volunteering his time to prepare the case for litigation.
Example: NC Department of Justice Consumer Protection Division
The Consumer Protection Division of the North Carolina Department of Justice has consistently provided intriguing projects for students to work on, fighting scams perpetrated against the vulnerable. In the 2002-03, one first-year student and one second-year student assisted the Consumer Protection Division in a case against a man who has been scamming people desperate to get their inmate relatives out of jail. The Attorney General's office sued a Mr. X for civil fraud and successfully enjoined him to stop his business, and then sought repayment to inmates and their families. The students interviewed ten people who lost money and drafted the affidavits for the case. Assistant Attorney General David Kirkman, the students' supervisor, said, "Thanks to the help of [the two students], we were able to document $445,000 in consumer losses for the court ...."
Example: Southern Justice Spring Break Mission Trip
The Southern Justice Spring Break Mission Trip is a relatively new program of the Office of Public Interest and Pro Bono. It was organized by a third-year student Jennifer Sikes in 2002-2003. It was expanded in 2003-2004 to include additional social justice placements in the South.
In the spring of 2003, four students spent their spring breaks at two prestigious organizations located in the South - the Appalachian Citizens Law Center (associated with the Appalachian Research and Defense Fund of Kentucky or "Appalred") and the Equal Justice Initiative of Alabama. In Kentucky, one student - who gave up a planned spring break trip to Paris - reviewed Benefits Review Board decisions, worked on securing an injunction relating to sediment ponds, and examined medical records of a deceased coal miner claiming to have black lung disease. The other student in Kentucky wrote comment letters on environmental issues. She is an international LL.M. student from South Africa who was interested in comparing poverty in her own country with conditions in the Appalachian area of the United States. The two students who went to Montgomery, Alabama, assisted the attorneys at the Equal Justice Initiative with their representation of death row inmates.
The students in Kentucky were treated to a tour of the region and one said, "Everyone in the community, from a teacher to an artist to a coal miner, was welcoming and willing to spend time discussing issues with us. They encouraged us to explore incredibly gratifying careers in public service." The students' hosts introduced them to the landscape and culture of Eastern Kentucky, including a tour of a strip mine and of a golf course on a reclaimed strip mine, a visit to a sediment pond, a hiking trip at a state park, a trip to a Pentecostal service in very poor community, a visit to an alternative school, a Catholic mission/food pantry, the community college, and a local crafts store; they arranged sessions with a Kentucky Supreme Court judge, and a colorful local defense attorney; and they attended a community action group meeting to discuss recent passage of a bill relating to oil and gas, attended a meeting on poverty in famous Hazard County with governmental and community activists and attended a deposition of a coal miner's widow relating to a black lung claim.
Recognition
Each spring, the Office of Public Interest and Pro Bono has a dinner honoring the students and supervisors who participate in the Pro Bono Project and other public interest leadership positions.
Also, the Law School faculty selects graduating students who have excelled in academics as well as public and community services for three awards. These are presented to in a special ceremony prior to the hooding ceremony each May.
Pro Bono Service Award: This award is presented to the graduating student who has most distinguished himself or herself by employing the education gained at DLS to provide free legal services, thereby carrying forward one of the finest traditions of the legal profession. In evaluating candidates, the selection committee may consider clinical course work and summer activities.
Public Service Award: This award is presented to the graduating student who has most distinguished himself or herself in activities involving service to the broader community outside the Law School, demonstrating that a life in the law can be a life of public service. This award is based upon public interest activities other than pro bono legal services. In evaluating candidates, the selection committee may consider course work in public law and summer activities.
Law School Community Award: This award is presented to the graduating student who has most distinguished himself or herself in serving and strengthening the law school community, contributing to the tradition of collegiality that is a hallmark of DLS.
Information for Individuals Seeking Legal Assistance
THE DUKE LAW SCHOOL PRO BONO PROJECT AND DUKE LAW STUDENTS CANNOT DO LEGAL WORK OR GIVE LEGAL ADVICE DIRECTLY TO MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC. DUKE LAW STUDENTS MAY ONLY WORK UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF A LICENSED ATTORNEY AT AN ORGANIZATION APPROVED AND SCREENED BY THE PRO BONO PROJECT.
Please refer to Legal Referrals & Links for information on organizations in North Carolina and nationwide that may be able to assist you with your legal needs.
Information for Duke Law Students
We hope that you will make pro bono and community service a significant part of your time as a student at Duke Law School. You, and the community, will be rewarded for your efforts.
If you are new to the Pro Bono Project, please read the Mission, Staff and Overview section above.
The Pro Bono Pledge
Even if you are not yet ready to accept a pro bono placement, but think you will in the future, we encourage you to sign the new Pro Bono Pledge where you commit to contributing at least 50 hours of law-related community service through pro bono, or clinics, while you are a law student at Duke. We will keep the form on file for you in the Office of Public Interest and Pro Bono (suite 4050).
If you have participated in pro bono in the past, we would like you to sign the Pledge and fill in your hours, past and future, for each semester that you do pro bono. Our aim is to have a high participation rate from the student body that will encourage others.
Description of Placements
Descriptions of available placements, both new and established, will be made available in several ways. The Pro Bono Placement Master List is the longer version of the list that is compiled mainly in August and updated periodically throughout the year. (To access the Master list, use the general login and password provided to Duke Law students.) Since it includes so many offerings, it is very important that you take the time to review it and rank your top choices, as it would take too long for someone to verbally recite all the opportunities.
The Master List is also available in hard copy in the Public Interest and Pro Bono Suite (Room 4050).
Even if you don't find a project or organization that matches your interests, you should still contact the Pro Bono Project. We will be happy to work with you to explore new placements that may better meet your particular interests and needs.
We will announce newly-received placement opportunities throughout the year on the home page of this Public Interest and Pro Bono website at News, Events & Announcements. Also, please see Communications about how you can sign up to be on a Public Interest listserv. Announcements may also be made in Herald and posted on the Bulletin Board outside JDs.
New Student Sign-Up Procedure for Fall 2004
Returning 2Ls and 3Ls can contact the Office of Public Interest and Pro Bono to select a placement, if they are continuing a former placement or are familiar with the placement. The Office will make sure that organizations accepting only a limited number of placements are not over-booked.
A special session will be announced for new students several weeks after the fall semester begins. [The New Student Sign-Up for fall 2004 was Sept.16, 12:10 p.m., Room 3043.] At that session, students and administrators working with the Pro Bono Project give a brief description of all the areas of placements available to first-year and LL.M. students. In most cases, the presentations will be followed by an opportunity to sign-up for a placement and complete forms. In some cases, student leaders may use this as an introductory session and schedule another workshop for a more thorough program on their group pro bono project. Second and third year students are also welcome to attend the sign-up for new students.
Counseling on Placement Selection and Student Information Sheet
Throughout the year, students may meet with Associate Dean Carol Spruill, if they need help deciding on which direction to go with their pro bono placement selection. Because of the heavy demand at the beginning of each fall, we will place as many people as possible through the special sign-up session and through students leaders in charge of pro bono substantive areas. However, following the New Student Sign-Up, Dean Spruill will meet with those who would like advice in selecting a placement.
If you wish to make an appointment with Dean Spruill, please be sure that you first read the Pro Bono Placement Master List and fill out relevant portions of the Student Information Sheet for Pro Bono & Employment Advice.
If you know that the placement you want is in a single issue area - such as environmental law, domestic violence law, or asylum law - please see the student pro bono coordinator in charge of that area (they are named on the Master List of Placements).
Acceptance of a Placement
Once you have selected your placement:
1) You will be asked to sign a Acceptance of Placement form with the Pro Bono Project indicating your choice of placement and agreeing to the terms of acceptance set forth.
2) You should contact your supervisor immediately (preferably within 3 days), arrange to meet, and jointly fill out the Student/Supervisor Placement Agreement.
3) Return the Student/Supervisor Placement Agreement to Kim Burrucker in the Office of Public Interest and Pro Bono immediately in order to confirm your placement.
4) Notify the Pro Bono Project immediately if a problem develops with your placement. We will assume the placement is on-track and prevent other students from accepting the same placement unless we hear from you otherwise.
5) Use this Time Log to begin keeping track of your hours during the semester.
End of Semester Wrap-Up
1) At the end of the project, or the semester, whichever is sooner, please turn your completed time log in to Kim Burrucker.
2) Please fill out this Evaluation of your placement so that the Pro Bono Project and other students will be able to assess this placement for future selection.
3) For Fall Semester placements, Inform Kim Burrucker whether you will be keeping the same semester in the spring.
4) For Spring Semester placements, you may be asked for an estimate of placement hours early so that we can prepare for the annual Recognition Event.
Keep Us Informed
We would love to hear from you during the semester with tidbits and stories about how your placements are going, what you are doing (no client names please), and what it means to you. We use these stories to promote the pro bono spirit among the student body. So keep those emails coming!
Should a First-Year Student Do Pro Bono?
The lawyer's answer: maybe. Some law schools do not let first-year students do pro bono, and we too have considered limiting participation to upperclass students. Especially during your first semester you are busy getting settled and do not know yet how much time you need to study in your new environment. Sometimes first-year students pick a placement and then back out of it, which leaves supervisors unhappy. Also, you do not yet have a lot of legal skills to apply, and we don't want you to only do community service in your first year when you don't know as much, and then never repeat it when you have more to offer.
On the other hand, many first-year students have had very meaningful pro bono experiences, and some say it has their best "grounding" as they go through their difficult first year of law study. Each semester brings its challenges to finding the time to do pro bono. Many find the first semester of second year an impossible time because of job interviewing. And as second year students, many move into leadership positions with student groups, and participate in journals and moot court. Some students do their later community service through clinics rather than pro bono.
The bottom line is, whatever the pros and cons, over the years, first-year students really like to do pro bono and participate in the largest numbers! So we are not pressuring you to jump right in, but, if you do, we welcome you, and only ask that you carefully select what you commit to do so that you do not shortchange either yourself or those you serve in the community.
Seeking Student Pro Bono Entrepreneurs
Do you know of an organization that would be a good pro bono placement? Have you worked for an attorney doing public interest or pro bono work who might be a good supervisor? If so, please contact Dean Spruill about making the organization or attorney a part of the Pro Bono Project. (You may wish to read the section for Supervisors below to see the type of information we need on the placements.)
Would you like to develop a group pro bono project? Duke Law School has enjoyed many successful student group pro bono efforts. Please fill free to contact Dean Spruill if would like her assistance in designing a new group project.
All Forms Considered
If you missed the Master List and the forms mentioned above, here they are in one handy place:
- Pro Bono Placement Master List
- Pro Bono Pledge
- Information Sheet for Pro Bono & Employment Advice
- Acceptance of Placement Form
- Student/Supervisor Placement Agreement
- Time Log
- Evaluation
- Project Request Form for Supervisors (to use if you are helping to set up a new placement)
Information for Potential Supervisors who are Attorneys Engaged in Pro Bono, in Public Interest Organizations, or in Government
In order to qualify for pro bono assistance from a Duke law student, you should be one of the following: (1) an attorney in a nonprofit organization; (2) an attorney working in governmental agency; or (3) an attorney engaged in pro bono or reduced-fee work. (In exceptional circumstances, non-attorneys can be supervisors as long as any legal work is reviewed by an attorney.)
Organizations interested in hosting a Duke law student are screened by the Office of Public Interest and Pro Bono to determine whether they meet the requirements of the Project. Accepted organizations are asked to send project proposals to the Office once or twice a year, and are encouraged to submit specific project requests throughout the year as needed. Information regarding the projects is disseminated to the Law School student body. Interested students are put in touch with the organizations in need of assistance.
Supervisors have a great deal of flexibility in designing placements. Placements vary by subject, by job function, by amount of time required, by whether students must work on-site at prescribed hours or can work where and when they choose. In overall hours, placements vary from 20 hours per semester to 100 hours per semester with a typical placement being 3-5 hours per week.
We are especially interested in good placements for first-year students who have limited time and skills, but lots of enthusiasm.
Eligible attorneys who would like to list a placement should provide the following information:
1) Name/Address/Phone/FAX/Website and Email for Organization.
2) Contact person (with phone number and email address, if different).
3) A paragraph describing the mission of your organization.
4) A paragraph describing the specific project with which you need assistance. Any number of projects may be submitted. We encourage you to submit at least one for first-year students and one for upper-class students.
5) The name and contact information of the supervisor for the project (note, if the project is legal in nature the supervisor must be a licensed attorney).
6) Any requirements of each project, for example, whether the student should be a second or third year law student, should have already taken certain classes, should have specific interests or background, or should speak particular languages. Please indicated if these requirements are preferred or are absolute.
7) Your best estimate of the time commitment for each project - in total and by the week where relevant.
8) The number of students that you are willing to supervise.
9) Any other information you believe would be relevant.
Obtain a printer-friendly form for submitting this information or fill in on-line.
Please submit this information either:
1) on-line;
2) email it to spruill@law.duke.edu and/or burrucker@law.duke.edu;
3) send it via FAX at 919 613-7231; or
4) mail to:
Office of Public Interest and Pro Bono
Duke University School of Law
Science Drive & Towerview Road
P.O. Box 90360
Durham, North Carolina 27708-0360
External Pro Bono Sites
The American Bar Association's Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service and its Center for Pro Bono sponsor this site on the ABA's efforts to promote public service among lawyers. Among the site's many excellent features is The Directory of Law School Public Interest and Pro Bono Programs that is "designed to assist prospective law students interested in public interest and pro bono programs find the law school that best matches their interests and to assist individual law schools seeking to develop strong pro bono and public interest programs." (Duke Law School's Cindy Adcock was one of the authors of this Directory.)
The Pro Bono Institute, housed at Georgetown University Law Center, explores and identifies "new approaches to -- and resources for -- the provision of legal services to the poor, disadvantaged, and other individuals or groups unable to secure legal assistance to address critical problems." The Institute is a participant in the Law Firm Pro Bono Project, that focuses on the nation's 850 largest law firms to expand their pro bono efforts.
Pine Tree Legal Assistance, a Legal Services office that was a pioneer in web communications, has links to many Pro Bono sites around the country.
The North Carolina Bar Association's pro bono activities are described in detail.
For other links to external sites for legal assistance and public interest, go to the Legal Referrals and Links.