Nearly every Duke Law student contributes to public interest or pro bono work, whether by participating in the various programs and projects offered by the School or by creating a new public interest activity to fill an identified need. The wealth of student-led public interest and pro bono programs at Duke demonstrate students’ commitment to providing public and law-related service in a broad array of areas. See the history of the development of administration/student collaboration in the Office of Public Interest and Pro Bono.
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. It is composed of 40-50 students who 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. The 2008-2009 Board. The 2007-2008 Board. The 2006-2007 Board. The 2005-2006 Board. The 2004-2005 Board. The 2003-2004 Board. The original 2002-2003 Board.
Public Interest Law Foundation (PILF)
The PILF Co-Chairs are always invited to be on the board by virtue of their key role in public interest at the Law School. Historically, and long before the Board was created, PILF leaders were the chief advisers to the Office of Public Interest and Pro Bono and to Dean Spruill between 1991 and 1999 when the Office was created. Before PILF, the group was known as the Public Interest Law Society (PILS) and before that, Student Funded Fellowship (SFF). PILF Chairs continue to be valued as all-around advisors in addition to their job as leaders of the student fellowship fund-raising effort. Duke’s Public Interest Law Foundation (PILF) undertakes a wide range of activities to encourage students to remain engaged in their communities as students and throughout their careers. The annual PILF Gala and Auction has raised thousands of dollars for PILF summer public interest employment. PILF also works with the Office of Public Interest and Pro Bono on many events and programs.
Student Pro Bono Groups
In recent years, the number of student-led pro bono groups have grown to around 20. Some groups are for a specific purpose and time-limited to as short as a semester. Others have been around since the early 1990s but grow in size and complexity. Some of the student-led and other pro bono groups and are described below:
Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Advocacy Project
The Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Advocacy Project (DVSAAP) addresses issues of violence against women. As part of its mission DVSAAP uses a holistic approach to raise awareness in the Duke Law community about domestic violence and sexual assault, foster student advocacy on behalf of domestic violence and sexual assault survivors and identify gaps in services available to domestic violence and sexual assault victims in the triangle.
Innocence Project
Sponsored by The North Carolina Center on Actual Innocence, the Innocence Project involves more than 60 students in cases of actual innocence. Working under the supervision of Duke Law faculty, students assist the Center in reviewing the hundreds of inmate requests for help received each year.
Refugee Asylum Support Project
The Refugee Asylum Support Project, affiliated with Association of the Bar of the City of New York’s (ABCNY) asylum outreach center, got its start in the fall of 2002 under the leadership of John Bolin ’03, who first worked with the center as part of his summer firm’s pro bono effort. The center recruits and trains attorneys to represent immigrants who have suffered torture and other forms of repression in their native countries and are seeking political asylum in the United States. Under the supervision of an Asylum Project attorney in New York, students participating in the Refugee Asylum Support Project do case specific research, provide translation services, and promote awareness of refugee and asylum issues. In more recent years students have affiliated with additional asylum and immigration organizations.
Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA)
Duke’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program provides income tax assistance to low-income people in the Durham community, including elderly, handicapped, and non-English taxpayers in Durham. A long-standing community service project that was revitalized in 2004 under the leadership of Janna Lewis ’05, VITA student volunteers have helped hundreds of low-income taxpayers receive free tax preparation assistance, maximize their tax credits and refunds, and avoid paying excessive fees and interest charges to for-profit tax preparation companies. VITA student volunteers receive two days of tax preparation training from the Internal Revenue Service so that they are qualified to prepare and file tax returns electronically.
Southern Justice Spring Break Trip
The Southern Justice Spring Break Trip started in spring 2003. The program was first developed by former Board member Jennifer Sikes '04, and then by Keri Richardson with assistance from Carolin Spiegel '05 and Janey Rountree '05. Over the first few years, students went to four locations in three states (Mississippi, Alabama, and Appalachian Kentucky) and no more than five participated. In 2005-2006, under the leadership of Amy Curry '07 and Mike Murphy '07, the program expanded greatly. In all, 22 students participated. They went back to Mississippi and Appalachian Kentucky, and added New Orleans and Fort Worth hurricane-relief work and the Southern Center for Human Rights in Atlanta. Also, Joel Cohen '08 took the initiative of adding the Hawaii Public Defender's Office in spring 2006 and 2007. In 2006-2007, under the direction of Amy Curry '07 with Lauren Mandell '07 in charge of New Orleans, the participants expanded to 25 in New Orleans and 34 overall. Lauren also planned fund raising activities to support the spring break hurricane-relief work. The next year, Emily Jura '08 agreed to be the director focusing on the overall trip and Michael Kaplan '09 and Matt Lipsky '09 focused on New Orleans. In all, 42 students participated in spring 2008. The spring 2009 directors are Lisa Hoppenjans, Kat Shea and Stephanie Lam. The directors and coordinators work with the Office to develop placement opportunities, recruit law students to participate, seek funds and in-kind contributions to supplement coverage of the participants' expenses, and work with students to coordinate travel arrangements.
The Guardian ad Litem Program
The GAL program has been very active at Duke Law since the 1980s, even before the Pro Bono Project started at Duke Law in 1991. Law students are trained and certified by the court system to represent children in cases where the Department of Social Service is alleging abuse and neglect, and the GAL report back to the court. The placement provides a great opportunity for first-year and other students to have a responsible law-related position that includes interaction with the court system. The program expanded in the mid-2000s under the student leadership of Matt Leerberg '06. He worked with the local GAL program to try to reserve positions for Duke Law students. To do this, he organized a panel presentation early in the year, in time for students to enroll and to receive the GAL training program in September training. Chris Richardson took over in spring 2005 and took the same approach with an early fall GAL sign-up - in time to catch the Durham GAL training. In June, 2005, Chris and Matt traveled to Asheville to accept the NC Bar Associations' 2005 Pro Bono Award for best student pro bono group. Marisa Darden led the program in 2007-08 and 2008-09. She had a wonderful orientation program for students and dealt with new obstacles - an earlier training and a requirement that volunteers be in Durham in the summer but was able to resolve them. Eric Teasdale is the 2008-09 student leader and has one of the largest participation groups yet engaged in the GAL program
Duke Law GAL Litigation Project Director
Wyley Proctor '06 had been a GAL volunteer for two years; then in spring 2005, she worked for the GAL attorney, Wendy Sotolongo, as part of her externship with the Poverty Law seminar. She helped the GAL attorney appear in court, did case preparation, and made court appearances herself. Wyley decided that she would like to not only continue her work with Sotolongo in her third year of law school but would like to train 2Ls to continue the work. She was able to get her project approved as one of the new domestic externships and she herself organized it for her Capstone Project. She recruited several 2Ls who she trained and taught them how to do case preparation. Those who continued into the spring were able to be certified and appear in court. Some did the work pro bono. April Hathcock did both pro bono and used it as her Poverty Law externship, and led the program in its second year. We were forced to drop the program for one year when Wendy Sotolongo left the program, but fortunately a new GAL attorney, Christy Hamilton Malott, was able to become the supervising attorney for the project, starting in spring 2008. Eric Teasdale, with assistance from Jenn Ma, is heading this program in 2008-2009.
Other Pro Bono Groups
Street Law and Citizens Schools
Public Interest Environmental Pro Bono Placements
RASP Unaccompanied Minors Project
International Human Rights Project
Immigration Education Project
Veteran's Project
Mediation Project
Legal Aid Volunteers
Children's Special Education Project
Foreclosure Project
Death Penalty Reform Project
Teen Court
DVSAAP Sexual Assault Project (in development)
Other Pro Bono Group Projects in Recent Years
Duke Law Hurricane Relief Project
Duke Organizing
Duke Law Civil Liberties Project
Students Advocating Felony Murder Reform
Hispanic Intoxilyzer Rights Project
Medicare Part D Access Project