LAW 5910 - Pro Bono Scholars Program
Students who participate in the Pro Bono Scholars Program spend a 12-week period from the beginning of March to the middle of May during their final semester of law school working full-time as unpaid legal externs at an approved pro bono field placement. In addition, students are required to attend a 2-credit weekly seminar on “Pro Bono Practice”, as well as a mandatory 5-hour orientation program prior to the first day of their field placement.
The Pro Bono Scholars Program provides law students with an unparalleled educational opportunity by allowing them to have a total immersion and “hands-on” experiential learning experience in pro bono practice and enjoy the added benefit of being eligible to take the New York Bar Exam in February of their final semester of law school. The Pro Bono Scholars Program is designed as a capstone experience that bridges the gap between formal law school education and the practice of law, while also providing critical pro bono legal assistance on behalf of indigent clients.
Students who are interested in being considered for admission into the Pro Bono Scholars Program for the spring semester of their final year in Law School must submit their applications by the announced deadline and schedule a mandatory advisory meeting with the faculty member directing the Program. Full-time students who have completed four semesters or the equivalent, as well as part-time students who have completed six semesters or the equivalent, are eligible to apply. Applicants must demonstrate that they have met or will have met all of the Law School’s graduation requirements and must submit all of the required application materials in a timely fashion.
Once accepted into the Program, students will work in consultation with the Law School and the New York Court Unified Court System’s Pro Bono Scholars Task Force to identify and approve an appropriate field placement for the student’s pro bono experience. In addition, field placement supervisors must be approved and receive training materials in connection with the Program. Approved students will register for the bar in November, study for the bar during January and February, and then take the bar exam at the end of February.
Students who successfully complete the requirements of the Pro Bono Scholars Program and all remaining graduation requirements will graduate with their class in May of that same year. Graduates will be informed about their bar passage results in June and will be expected to complete their bar application materials in a timely fashion to the appropriate Appellate Division Department of the Supreme Court of New York.
Prerequisites & Notes
Pre-Requisites/Co-Requisites: Completion of all Law School graduation
requirements and/or demonstration that such requirements will be completed by the
end of the spring semester of the student’s final semester of law school.
Other Limitations: Only full-time third-year law students and part-time fourth year law students who are willing to transfer into the full-time program for their final semester will be permitted to enroll in this externship program. Students must apply and receive approval of the pro bono field placement and the proposed supervisor at the placement. As part of the approval process, the faculty supervisor of the program must ensure that the student has been advised about the 23-credit limit on non-classroom hours, and must certify that the student will not exceed that limit if enrolled in the Pro Bono Scholars Program and that all other graduation requirements will be met. Students are prohibited from receiving any compensation in connection with their work at the placement, with the exception of any financial aid they receive in connection with their tuition for the law school.
Credits: 10
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