Directory
Loyola University Chicago School of Law
Loyola University Chicago School of Law
Law School Pro Bono Programs
Contact Information
Mary Bird
Director of Public Service Programs
[email protected]
312.915.7661
Category Type
Loyola Chicago has borth a formal voluntary pro bono program with staff/administrative support as well as independent student pro bono group projects.
Description of Programs
Pro bono opportunities are offered to students through programs organized by Loyola Law and through pro bono programs in the community that Loyola law students are able to join on their own, communicated to them via the pro bono coordinator, student organizations, or other faculty. Examples of pro bono activities include, among others, working with Election Protection, volunteering at workshops for immigrants related to Temporarly Protected Status, Employment Authorized Documents, and citizenship organized by community-based centers and legal aid programs, volunteering with Illinois Legal Answers (ABA program coordinated by the Public Interest Law Initiative), and volunteering to assist with advance directives with the Center for Disability and Elder Law.
Location of Programs
The Center for Public Interest Law is a standalone program. Loyola Chicago also has the Rodin Social Justice Center, which has a separate physical space and a separate director. Within Career Services, Loyola Law also has someone working on public interest career advising. Loyola Law also has several clinics and public interest externship placements. All programs collaborate with each other.
Staffing/Management/Oversight
Coordinating pro bono opportunities is one of the roles of the Director of Public Service programs. The Director also teaches a class and has other advisory roles, oversees the summer public interest stipends with others, and coordinates the Public Interest and Social Justice Certificate, among other responsibilities.
Funding
Funded through the law school.
Faculty and Administrative Pro Bono
None.
Awards/Recognition
Graduating students are recognized for their pro bono and public service work as well as leadership at a program in the spring semester of their 3L year. Their names also appear in the graduation program. All grade levels of law students are recognized at a spring public interest luncheon. Students who complete particular pro bono or volunteer work and course requirements can earn the Public Interest and Social Justice Certificate.
Spring or Winter Alternative Break Option
Loyola Law Chcago has two different spring break public interest options, both include an immersive trip, and both are for-credit courses. 1. Access to Healthcare, a course that includes a trip to Mississippi to examine healthcare access and issues of racism, among other issues. The course involves a policy project benefiting an organization in Mississippi 2. Immigration Detention Project, which includes a spring break trip to detention centers in Arizona, Texas, or Louisiana and supervised casework.
Law School Public Interest Programs
Contact Information
Mary Bird
Director of Public Service Programs
[email protected]
312.915.7661
Certificate/Curriculum Programs
- ChildLaw Certificate
- Health Law Certificate
- Public Interest and Social Justice Certificate
Public Interest Centers
Center for Public Interest Law oversees public interest programming, pro bono opportunities, supports access to stipends for unpaid summer public interest work, and oversees the Public Interest and Social Justice Certificate, among other activies. The Rodin Center for Social Justice, which includes a director and several faculty and staff, supports four students as Rodin Fellows and sponsors a social justice conference, among other activities. Loyola Law also has a Center for the Human Rights of Children and the Education Law and Policy Institute within the Civitas ChildLaw Center.
PI Career Support Center
All career service advisors assist students interested in public interest careers. One part time staff person in the Career Services Office works specifically on public interest career assistance.
Loan Repayment Assistance Programs (LRAP)
The Loan Repayment Assistance Program provides forgivable loans to graduates working in public interest positions. The loan is cancelled following qualifying employment for a specified period of time.
Post-Graduate Fellowships/Awards
Rodin Social Justice Fellowship, ChildLaw Fellowship, Health Law Fellowship, Center for the Human Rights of Children Fellowship, unnamed summer Loyola-supported public interest stipends, post-graduate public interest fellowships.
https://www.luc.edu/law/stories/banner/rodin-fellows-pursuing-social-justice/
Last Updated 3/21/2024