University of South Dakota School of Law
University of South Dakota
University of South Dakota School of Law
414 East Clark Street
Vermillion, SD 57069
www.usd.edu/law
Law School Pro Bono Programs
Contact Information
Thomas L. Sorensen
Associate Dean
tom.sorensen@usd.edu
(605) 677-5393
Category Type
Independent Student Pro Bono Group Projects with no school-wide program
Description of Program
The University of South Dakota School of Law offers substantial opportunities for students to participate in pro bono activities through various organizations. ACCESS TO JUSTICE (A2J), the pro bono program of the State Bar of South Dakota, has expanded its pro bono lists of attorneys and students to work with them in providing legal services to the public in the state. A2J also hires an AmeriCorps Fellow, who is provided office space at the USD School of Law in Vermillion, S.D., to work with student volunteers.
The R.D. Hurd Volunteer Law School Society, established by the 2nd Circuit Bar of South Dakota, has given law students regular opportunities to provide pro bono legal services to low-income persons. Students work under the supervision of attorneys at East River Legal Services in Sioux Falls, S.D., mainly helping divorce clients.
The Minnehaha County Public Defender’s Office in Sioux Falls, In coordination with the USD School of Law and Access to Justice, established the Law School Defender Project. The students are selected each semester to participate by working 4-8 hours per week under the supervision of individually assigned attorneys in the Sioux Falls office and on behalf of the Public Defender's Office, often on juvenile matters and A&N’s.
The purpose of the Innocence Project of South Dakota (IPSD) is to provide pro bono legal assistance to South Dakota inmates who have cognizable claims of wrongful conviction. The IPSD is an entirely voluntary endeavor that provides services of volunteer attorneys, law professors, and law students. The IPSD Law Student Organization, located at the USD School of Law, provides law students valuable experience and important service in working with lawyers in the community. IPSD law student responsibilities may include researching an inmate's claim, conducting follow-up investigations, and interviewing clients, witnesses, or law enforcement personnel.
The Elderlaw Forum is a public service of USD School of Law. It is an extension of the SENIOR LEGAL HELPLINE available at no cost to persons 55 and older, who may contact the supervising professor, who is frequently is assisted by law students. The Elderlaw Forum delivers information and educational material by radio, a weekly newspaper column, and Law School research papers placed on the School of Law website. The supervising professor teaches elder law and health law and policy.
Law students also actively work with the local Domestic Violence Legal Program, a pro bono organization primarily providing services to victims of domestic violence, such as assisting in ex parte protection orders and actions for permanent protection orders. There are also opportunities to conduct research for community attorneys. The Domestic Violence Legal Program works closely with the South Dakota Network Against Family Violence and the South Dakota Bar pro bono coordinator in the Access To Justice Program.
A tax-service activity involving law-student services is the Voluntary Income Tax Assistance VITA) program, which for many years, the USD School of Law has been involved by helping the local community prepare tax forms by properly supervised and trained volunteers. The help sessions are held “at tax time” downtown at the Vermillion Public Library.
Law students also find pro bono opportunities through other student organizations getting involved in public service, including Women In Law (WIL), law fraternities, Native American Law Students Association (NALSA), Black Law Students Association (BLSA), and the Public Interest Law Group (which helps provide support donated through fund-raising activities to help students pay travel expenses while working pro bono ).
Location of Program
USD School of Law
Staffing/Management/Oversight
Each individual group is made up of student volunteer, with budget oversight by Dean’s Office.
Funding
Limited funding is provided through the Law School Foundation to student organizations which annually submit funding requests to the Dean.
Student Run Pro Bono Groups/Specialized Law Education Projects
R.D. Hurd Volunteer Law School Society - Second- and third-year law students have the opportunity to provide pro bono legal services to low-income persons in collaboration with East River Legal Services and Dakota Plains Legal Services. The students interview selected clients off-campus at Legal Services locations, perform research, prepare documents and, in some instances, make court appearances. Students are assigned an attorney supervisor who offers assistance to the students throughout the cases. All law students have an opportunity to perform client intake at the Law School through the use of telephone and specialized intake software. Students can then conference via polycom units with Legal Services attorneys on the issues presented by the client.
Faculty and Administrative Pro Bono
Members of the faculty serve as advisors to the various student organizations that offer pro bono opportunities, such as IPSD, Women In Law, Domestic Violence Program, PIN, and VITA, and NALSA, in addition to projects or other service on Bar committees and with the ABA or other organizations.
Professor Chris Hutton is the faculty advisor and handles much of the heavy lifting for the Innocence Project of South Dakota, which is based at USD School of Law. She supervises law students who volunteer to investigate claims of innocence raised by inmates in the South Dakota State Penitentiary. Approximately forty students are involved in IPSD, which requires review of trial records, interviews with inmates and counsel, and evaluation of evidence used to obtain the conviction. Volunteer attorneys and IPSD's student officers are instrumental in the success of the project.
Professor Thomas Earl Geu has been working on setting up a tax-exempt, nonprofit corporation on a pro bono basis.
In 2006, Professor Baron worked closely with ATLA and other groups by providing pro bono assistance to Congress in its work on the 2006 Pension Reform Act as its provisions impacted ERISA reimbursement actions. He estimates that he devotes about two hours per week doing pro bono work for similar or subrogation/ERISA-related cases. As the family law professor as well, Baron continues spending a lot of pro bono time on help in family law cases.
Professor Elizabeth Burleson will be a National Wildlife Federation Delegate to the Copenhagen Climate Conference, Dec. 2009, building upon her work as a UNICEF Delegate to the Bali conference and ongoing participation in international treaty negotiations.
Professor Michael Myers also actively assists through the Elderlaw Forum , as a public service of USD School of Law and an extension of the SENIOR LEGAL HELPLINE. The services are available at no cost to persons 55 and older who may contact Myers as supervising professor, who then is frequently assisted by law students. The Elderlaw Forum delivers information and educational material by radio, a weekly newspaper column, and Law School research papers placed on the School of Law website, as well as via the nationwide, toll-free helpline. Myers teaches elder law and health law and policy.
Awards/Recognition
The State Bar of South Dakota created and now presents during its annual meeting the William F. Day, Jr., Pro Bono Award, which in 2010 was presented to law student Andrea Rosenburg of Buffalo, NY.
Community Service
In addition to student assistance described above, members of the USD School of Law administration, faculty, and staff are actively involved in a number of community organizations that provide pro bono service.
Law School Public Interest Programs
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Contact Information
Elizabeth Burleson
Assistant Professor
elizabeth.burleson@usd.edu
605-677-6341
Certificate/Curriculum Programs
Public Interest Centers
Public Interest Clinics
Externships/Internships
Career Services/Internships: Assistant Dean Angela Ericson, angela.ericson@usd.edu, (605) 677-6356; Externship Education Program Director: Associate Dean Thomas L. Sorensen, tom.sorensen@usd.edu, (605) 677-5393.
Classes with a Public Service Component
Public Interest Journals
Public Interest Career Assistance
Angela Ericson
Assistant Dean
angela.ericson@usd.edu
605-677-6356
Loan Repayment Assistance Programs (LRAP)
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Post-Graduate Fellowships/Awards
Law School Funded:
Graduate Student Funded:
Other Funding Sources:
Term Time Fellowships/Scholarships
Law School Funded:
Graduate Student Funded:
Other Funding Sources:
Summer Fellowships
Law School Funded:
Graduate Student Funded:
Other Funding Sources:
Extracurricular and Co-Curricular Programs
Student Public Interest Groups
Women In Law (WIL)
Law Fraternities
Native American Law Students Association (NALSA)
Black Law Students Association (BLSA)
Public Interest Law Group (helps provide support donated through fund-raising activities to help students pay travel expenses while working pro bono )
