by Elana KonstantAssistant Director of Public Interest Programs
The Pro Bono Open House Celebration on October 27 was a great success! Thank you to all of the students who turned out to hear Dean Ramey, Julia Wilson and Steven MacDonald speak about the value of pro bono work. Over 100 students also came to mingle with twelve pro bono project representatives from various organizations, including Bay Area Legal Aid, Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach and Volunteer Legal Services Program. The event was an impressive kick off to the new Law Student Pro Bono Program that we are running with the Public Interest Clearinghouse (PIC).
For those of you who were not able to make it to the open house, the pro bono program will connect GGU students with short-term and long-term volunteer projects all around the Bay Area. As volunteers, students can staff client intake clinics, engage in legislative advocacy and policy work, and represent low-income families in a variety of substantive legal areas. The diversity of available pro bono opportunities is designed to be flexible to fit your busy schedules. Performing pro bono work allows you to contribute to the betterment of your community while simultaneously developing your legal skills. If you have any questions about pro bono projects or about PIC, please feel free to contact the coordinator of the Law Student Pro Bono Project, Doan Nguyen, who is also the Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps Legal Fellow at PIC. You can reach her by email (dnguyen@pic.org) or telephone (415-834-0100, ext. 311).
To gain access to the online database of pro bono projects and sign up to receive the pro bono e-newsletter, please visit www.lawstudentprobono.org. Doan will be updating this site continuously and you can access the latest postings once you sign up. The site also provides a calendar of events and trainings.
Please get involved today to start paving the way for justice.
