Intellectual Engagement and Reflection on Values of Service and Commitment

It is a rare day when there is not an outside speaker, panel discussion, conference, symposium, "town meeting," brown-bag lunch forum, faculty workshop, or public lecture happening at Duke Law School. The programming is part of a deliberate strategy to nurture the values of leadership and professionalism in our students.

The Office of Public Interest and Pro Bono sponsors numerous events throughout the year to underscore that commitment, keeping students engaged in the discussion of public issues and public service.

• Public Interest and Pro Bono Board
• Public Interest Kickoff
• Public Interest Retreat
• Southern Justice Spring Break Mission Trip
• Faculty Lives in Public Service
• Public Interest Book Club and Speakers Series
• Women Judges' Forum
• Pro Bono & Public Interest Recognition Dinner
• Table Talk and Public Interest Summer Employment Recognition Day

Public Interest and Pro Bono Board

Created in 2002, the Public Interest and Pro Bono Board works with the Office of Public Interest and Pro Bono to institutionalize Duke’s long-standing commitment to student leadership and service. Students assume leadership of the various pro bono projects or public interest activities available at the Law School, support each other on projects, and generally advise the work of the Office of Public Interest and Pro Bono. Learn more about Student Leadership at Duke Law.

Public Interest Kickoff and Sign-up

Each fall the Office of Public Interest and Pro Bono sponsors the Public Interest Kickoff and Sign-up, an annual event promoting public interest and public service activities at the Law School, where students have the opportunity to sign up for pro bono or public interest event planning committees.

Public Interest Retreat

Started in 1998, the annual Public Interest Retreat is an opportunity for students, faculty, and administrators interested in and committed to public service to spend a weekend reflecting on their public service aspirations and achievements. Speakers working in public interest are invited to address participants and participate in small group activities and workshops.

Southern Justice Spring Break Mission Trip

The Office of Public Interest and Pro Bono’s Southern Justice Spring Break Mission Trip allows students to spend their spring break working on public interest and pro bono projects in high-profile legal Southern legal institutions such as the Southern Human Rights Center and the Mississippi Center for Justice.

Faculty Lives in Public Service

The Office of Public Interest and Pro Bono sponsors “Faculty Lives in Public Service,” a lunch speaker series that offers students an opportunity to meet and listen to the stories of faculty who have held positions in government or non-profit organizations, participated in pro bono opportunities, or used their scholarship for public service.

Faculty participants include:

• Professor Carolyn McAllaster, on her inspiration for starting Duke’s AIDS Legal Assistance Project and the valuable service it provides for a highly stigmatized, largely indigent segment of the population.
  
• Professor James Coleman on his representation of death-row inmate Ted Bundy.
  
• Professor Erwin Chemerinsky on his experience representing before the Supreme Court a California man serving 50 years to life under California’s “three strikes” law for stealing nine videotapes from Kmart.

Public Interest Book Club and Speakers Series

Public Interest Book Club and Speakers Series offers students a chance to explore and discuss current legal issues in a literary context through a series of presentations and discussions.

Women Judges’ Forum

Each spring, female judges from several trial and appellate levels of the North Carolina court system visit Duke Law School to encourage female students to consider the judiciary as a career choice.

Pro Bono & Public Interest Recognition Dinner

Each spring the Office of Public Interest and Pro Bono hosts a recognition dinner to honor students and supervisors participating in pro bono, as well as student leaders of pro bono groups and pro bono activities.

Table Talk and Public Interest Summer Employment Recognition Day

The fall Public Interest Summer Employment Recognition Day honors students who spent the previous summer working in the public sector. Activities marking the day include a celebratory breakfast and a noon “Table Talk,” a series of roundtable discussion in which honorees share their experiences with and offer public interest career advice to their fellow students in such areas as Civil Rights and Legal Aid and Criminal Law.