Directory
Washington and Lee University School of Law
Washington and Lee University
Law School Pro Bono Programs
Contact Information
Keri Gould
Director of Externships, Pro Bono and Public Service and Professor of Practice
[email protected]
Phone: 540-458-8133
Category Type
Graduation Requirement Program
Description of Programs
Washington and Lee University School of Law provides both voluntary and mandatory pro bono and public service opportunities. All third-year law students are required to complete a course load consisting primarily of clinics, externships and practicums. A number of these offerings give students the opportunity to provide service to indigent clients or to investigate poverty law issues. Students must enroll in one "actual practice course," the majority of which are programs engaged in pro bono service. In addition, the Law School requires that all students complete at least 40 hours of law related service to the public and/or the legal profession during their third year. Those who complete more than 100 hours of uncompensated service are awarded a certificate and honored during commencement.
Students also have the opportunity to participate in the Shepherd Program for the Interdisciplinary Study of Poverty and Human Capability. The Shepherd Program is a university-wide program in which law students interested in public interest or poverty law participate. The program consists of curricular and co-curricular components. These include course work and experiential opportunities available to those in the Shepherd Program but are also generally available to all law students. The Law School also facilitates and encourages the work of student organizations interested in poverty law issues, including the Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice , the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance/Tax Society, the Public Interest Law Students Association, the American Constitution Society and the National Lawyers Guild. Finally, the Law School offers the Shepherd Loan Repayment Assistance program, designed to provide financial assistance to graduates working in the public interest.
The Law School also facilitates summer internships and career placements focusing on service to indigent clients and hosts speakers and symposia addressing topics important to poverty and the law.
Location of Programs
Portions of the program exist as a "stand-alone" program and others exist within the clinical or externship program.
Staffing/Management/Oversight
Assistant Dean for Clinical Education and Public Service
Funding
Law School Operating Budget
Faculty and Administrative Pro Bono
Faculty and administrators serve as advisors to student groups. Faculty are required to report their community work, including pro bono activities, annually in their Faculty Activities Report, which is submitted to the Dean, the Provost and the President.
Awards/Recognition
Law students that complete more than 100 hours of uncompensated law related service are awarded a certificate and honored at commencement.
Alternative Winter or Spring Break Programs
Law School Public Interest Programs
Contact Information
Keri Gould
Director of Externships, Pro Bono and Public Service and Professor of Practice
[email protected]
Phone: 540-458-8133
Certificate/Curriculum Programs
The Shepherd Program for the Interdisciplinary Study of Poverty and Human Capability
Public Interest Centers
The Transnational Law Institute engages in human rights work globally. The Frances Lewis Law Center promotes faculty scholarship that describes or promotes legal change. The Shepherd Program for the Interdisciplinary Study of Poverty and Human Capability works locally and globally.
PI Career Support Center
Lorri T. Olan
Director of Career Planning
540-458-8534
[email protected]
Loan Repayment Assistance Programs (LRAP)
The Washington and Lee University School of Law Shepherd Loan Repayment Assistance Program (the "LRAP") is designed to provide financial assistance to graduates working in the public interest at salaries below what their counterparts in the private sector are earning.
Fellowships
Students working in the public sector during the summer are eligible for a limited number of work study position through The Shepherd Program for the Interdisciplinary Study of Poverty and Human Capability and through Career Planning. In addition, funding is available through Career Planning Grants, and the Sarah Eckhoff Fellowship. The Public Interest Law Student Association (PILSA) provides first and second year law students with summer grants supporting their work in the public interest. The grants are funded by a combination of sources including the Law School and community donations.
6/20/2024