Two discussions I recently had at an Italian university constituted a perspicuous proof of how much the tradition of pro bono has to do with the legal education.
What triggered my meetings with over a hundred law students was a blooming initiative of a legal clinic in the city of Turin. I was asked to introduce the concept to the future lawyers, as it is still a pioneering enterprise in the country (surprisingly enough, if you consider how much the European legal culture owes to the Romans). The approach I adopted was to explain the rationale and the challenges of the clinical adventure through the lenses of ethical dilemmas usually anticipated and often actually faced by clinical students.
The students were very enthusiastic about the clinical project and genuinely brainstormed the ethical issues. Admittedly, the first-year students interacted less but they got the message: lawyering is not (only) about books, but (also) about clients, many of whom are underprivileged in their access to justice, and it is also up to the community of lawyers to remedy the situation.
At a certain moment a professor I gave the class together with asked these fresh participants: Why did you enroll for the law studies? What are usually the reasons why an individual decides to be an avvocato? What is the viewpoint of the society at large on this? Whereas there were diverse answers to the first two questions, ranging from purely materialistic to highly missionaire, the latter issue was unequivocal to all gathered: the Italian society considers the avvocati indifferent to their service, their responsibility for the rule of law and for the access to justice to all. We received the same negative feedback on the question whether the university endeavours to sow in the students' minds and hearts the seeds of pro bono approach and, more generally, some sense of mission.
Each group of students I encountered that day, despite different studying record, was similarly immature. Their alma mater gives them only a very technical, book-oriented training, which leaves them deprived of any tools and sensitivity useful in resolving ethical issues. Often, they are not aware of the need for pro bono.
Also recently a Spanish colleague asked me how an initiative of promoting pro bono in his country can be relevant for the efforts of developing clinical programs (they have been running there for a few years). I pinpointed to the casual provision in pro bono declarations of lawyers' associations where the necessity of improving legal education is underlined (see para. 4 of the IBA Pro Bono Declaration) and argued that it must not be understood as offhand. Accordingly, I suggested that establishing cooperation between abogados and the academia is natural and should be fruitful to both. Fortunately, I have met quite some Italians who believe it as well.
Posted by
Jacek Kowalewski
University of Warsaw graduate
Pro bono activist in Poland and Italy
Showing posts with label clinics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label clinics. Show all posts
Tuesday, 20 April 2010
Monday, 29 March 2010
New York Law School’s Safe Passage Immigration Project
The Safe Passage Immigration Project is a unique pro bono model. We are part of the Justice Action Center of New York Law School. The project’s co-directors are Professor Lenni B Benson and Adjunct Professor Lindsay A Curcio. Safe Passage trains and mentors pro bono attorneys to represent children needing immigration assistance.
A recent study found that an estimated 43,000 unaccompanied illegal immigrant children were removed from the US in 2007 and that 50 to 70 percent of unaccompanied minors who appeared before an immigration judge that year did so without legal representation. [Read a PDF of the report here.] Some of these children are escaping abuse or political turmoil in their home countries. Others have been victims of smugglers or trafficking. In some situations, children have lived most their lives in the US unaware that their parents or guardians failed to secure a legal immigration status for them. While these children are entitled to counsel in immigration proceedings, the federal government does not provide this legal representation as immigration is a civil matter.
US immigration laws provide special relief for some, but not all these children. Special Immigrant Juvenile Status is extraordinary relief leading to permanent residence for eligible children, teens and young adults under the age of 21. The Safe Passage Immigration Project helps social service providers, foster care agencies and non-profit organizations screen juvenile populations and identify immigration issues and relief available to these children. Safe Passage brings together pro bono attorneys, including New York Law School alumni, and current volunteer law students dedicated to providing direct client services for special immigrant juvenile status cases. Safe Passage continues to monitor each case throughout the process.
New York Law School students may volunteer for the Safe Passage Immigration Project to develop training and intake materials for special immigrant juvenile status cases. Our students also provide language translation assistance between volunteer attorneys and clients and assist in research and case preparation. In addition to their volunteer work with Safe Passage they participate in other immigration events such as clinics and initiatives sponsored by the New York City Bar Association, Justice for Our Neighbors and the American Immigration Lawyers Association.
In Spring 2008, Safe Passage received the New York State Bar Association’s President’s Pro Bono Award for its innovative program. For more information about Safe Passage and special immigrant juvenile status, please visit the site, which also contains our current newsletter.
Posted by
Lindsay A Curcio
New York Law School
A recent study found that an estimated 43,000 unaccompanied illegal immigrant children were removed from the US in 2007 and that 50 to 70 percent of unaccompanied minors who appeared before an immigration judge that year did so without legal representation. [Read a PDF of the report here.] Some of these children are escaping abuse or political turmoil in their home countries. Others have been victims of smugglers or trafficking. In some situations, children have lived most their lives in the US unaware that their parents or guardians failed to secure a legal immigration status for them. While these children are entitled to counsel in immigration proceedings, the federal government does not provide this legal representation as immigration is a civil matter.
US immigration laws provide special relief for some, but not all these children. Special Immigrant Juvenile Status is extraordinary relief leading to permanent residence for eligible children, teens and young adults under the age of 21. The Safe Passage Immigration Project helps social service providers, foster care agencies and non-profit organizations screen juvenile populations and identify immigration issues and relief available to these children. Safe Passage brings together pro bono attorneys, including New York Law School alumni, and current volunteer law students dedicated to providing direct client services for special immigrant juvenile status cases. Safe Passage continues to monitor each case throughout the process.
New York Law School students may volunteer for the Safe Passage Immigration Project to develop training and intake materials for special immigrant juvenile status cases. Our students also provide language translation assistance between volunteer attorneys and clients and assist in research and case preparation. In addition to their volunteer work with Safe Passage they participate in other immigration events such as clinics and initiatives sponsored by the New York City Bar Association, Justice for Our Neighbors and the American Immigration Lawyers Association.
In Spring 2008, Safe Passage received the New York State Bar Association’s President’s Pro Bono Award for its innovative program. For more information about Safe Passage and special immigrant juvenile status, please visit the site, which also contains our current newsletter.
Posted by
Lindsay A Curcio
New York Law School
Tuesday, 12 January 2010
Student Support for International Pro Bono Work
We at the HOPE Public Interest Resource Center at the University of Miami School of Law are always looking for new ways to collaborate and support innovative pro bono programming. Because of my background with the UNICTR and the UNHCR, I am particularly interested in engaging students in international human rights and am very interested in exploring ways to partner with members of the International Bar Association’s Pro Bono and Access to Justice Committee, particularly in the following ways: (1) support of litigation remotely via the Pro Bono Legal Research Project and (2) HOPE Fellowship placement.
First, at the HOPE Office I manage the Pro Bono Legal Research Project (PBLRP). The PBLRP is a way to help support practitioners doing crucial work when they might not have the legal research or drafting support they need. In the past we have had students working on a number of different cases dealing with issues such as constitutional law related to housing rights, reparations for Holocaust victims, and a recent case dealing with criminal procedure that was heard by the Florida Supreme Court. The typical format has been for an attorney with a pro bono or public interest case to contact our office for research support and complete a short form. I then send an e-mail to our PBLRP students with the information to determine which students are able to provide research and have an interest in the specific topic. At that point I either connect the attorney with the interested students or, I provide the student resumes for the attorney to decide the appropriate match. After that, the HOPE office is a point of contact for the students and the attorney regarding ongoing management of the research project but the specific scheduling and content of the work product is between the students and the attorney. We have a number of students who are very keen to be involved in international litigation and would surely be thrilled to contribute to the work of the members of the IBA Pro Bono and Access to Justice Committee.
Second, at the University of Miami School of Law we have a unique HOPE Fellowship program available to students during their 1L and 2L summers. HOPE Fellows work with domestic and international public interest agencies and non-governmental organizations to provide much-needed legal advocacy. Over the years, the program has grown from two local agencies to include international placements in countries such as Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Lebanon, England, and China. The HOPE Public Interest Resource Center sponsors the program and helps students to identify agencies that match their passions for service. Students receive a stipend for their work and are required to identify ways in which they can uniquely contribute to the agencies and constituencies they serve. When they return to campus, Fellows then design a project to involve other UM Law students in advocacy related to the their area of concentration. HOPE is eager to establish relationships with organizations needing support and receptive to HOPE Fellows applications. I am happy to provide more information and learn about your organization's specific needs.
I look forward to supporting the work of the members of the IBA Pro Bono and Access to Justice Committee. Please contact me at loneill@law.miami.edu for more information and to learn more about the HOPE Office. Additionally, I welcome ideas for further collaboration not addressed above.
Posted by
Lara O’Neill
Project Coordinator
HOPE Public Interest Resource Center
University of Miami School of Law
First, at the HOPE Office I manage the Pro Bono Legal Research Project (PBLRP). The PBLRP is a way to help support practitioners doing crucial work when they might not have the legal research or drafting support they need. In the past we have had students working on a number of different cases dealing with issues such as constitutional law related to housing rights, reparations for Holocaust victims, and a recent case dealing with criminal procedure that was heard by the Florida Supreme Court. The typical format has been for an attorney with a pro bono or public interest case to contact our office for research support and complete a short form. I then send an e-mail to our PBLRP students with the information to determine which students are able to provide research and have an interest in the specific topic. At that point I either connect the attorney with the interested students or, I provide the student resumes for the attorney to decide the appropriate match. After that, the HOPE office is a point of contact for the students and the attorney regarding ongoing management of the research project but the specific scheduling and content of the work product is between the students and the attorney. We have a number of students who are very keen to be involved in international litigation and would surely be thrilled to contribute to the work of the members of the IBA Pro Bono and Access to Justice Committee.
Second, at the University of Miami School of Law we have a unique HOPE Fellowship program available to students during their 1L and 2L summers. HOPE Fellows work with domestic and international public interest agencies and non-governmental organizations to provide much-needed legal advocacy. Over the years, the program has grown from two local agencies to include international placements in countries such as Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Lebanon, England, and China. The HOPE Public Interest Resource Center sponsors the program and helps students to identify agencies that match their passions for service. Students receive a stipend for their work and are required to identify ways in which they can uniquely contribute to the agencies and constituencies they serve. When they return to campus, Fellows then design a project to involve other UM Law students in advocacy related to the their area of concentration. HOPE is eager to establish relationships with organizations needing support and receptive to HOPE Fellows applications. I am happy to provide more information and learn about your organization's specific needs.
I look forward to supporting the work of the members of the IBA Pro Bono and Access to Justice Committee. Please contact me at loneill@law.miami.edu for more information and to learn more about the HOPE Office. Additionally, I welcome ideas for further collaboration not addressed above.
Posted by
Lara O’Neill
Project Coordinator
HOPE Public Interest Resource Center
University of Miami School of Law
Monday, 15 June 2009
Day Laborer Wage Clinic redresses abuse of immigrant employment rights
A legal services organization in the United States encountered a serious access to justice issue involving its immigrant population. The legal aid attorneys discovered that there was a street in a major city where immigrants gathered daily to be "picked up" in trucks by employers to do landscaping, construction work and housekeeping chores.
In spite of the fact that United States laws require employers to pay at least a minimum wage regardless of whether a worker is in the country legally, employers often refused to pay these day laborers the wages they had earned. Due to a combination of factors, including ignorance of their legal rights and fear of threatened deportation if they complained, many of these immigrants simply did nothing and allowed their employers to benefit from their work, without having to pay for it.
In response to this gross inequity, the legal service organization opened a Day Laborer Wage Clinic and called upon the local bar association for assistance in staffing it. With the help of volunteers, pro bono lawyers and paralegals, the Clinic is open one night a week where immigrants, primarily non-English speaking, can come without any appointment for assistance in enforcing their employment rights and in obtaining the wages illegally withheld by their employers.
Employers are quickly learning of the existence of the Day Laborer Wage Clinic and that its legal aid and pro bono attorneys, paralegals, and interpreters will not tolerate the abuse of immigrant employment rights.
Posted by Patricia Blair
IBA Pro bono and Access to Justice Committee
In spite of the fact that United States laws require employers to pay at least a minimum wage regardless of whether a worker is in the country legally, employers often refused to pay these day laborers the wages they had earned. Due to a combination of factors, including ignorance of their legal rights and fear of threatened deportation if they complained, many of these immigrants simply did nothing and allowed their employers to benefit from their work, without having to pay for it.
In response to this gross inequity, the legal service organization opened a Day Laborer Wage Clinic and called upon the local bar association for assistance in staffing it. With the help of volunteers, pro bono lawyers and paralegals, the Clinic is open one night a week where immigrants, primarily non-English speaking, can come without any appointment for assistance in enforcing their employment rights and in obtaining the wages illegally withheld by their employers.
Employers are quickly learning of the existence of the Day Laborer Wage Clinic and that its legal aid and pro bono attorneys, paralegals, and interpreters will not tolerate the abuse of immigrant employment rights.
Posted by Patricia Blair
IBA Pro bono and Access to Justice Committee
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