Tulane University School of Law
Tulane University
Tulane University School of Law
6329 Freret Street
John Giffen Weinmann Hall
New Orleans, LA 70118
www.law.tulane.edu
Law School Pro Bono Programs
Contact Information
Julie H. Jackson
Assistant Dean for Public Interest Programs
jjackso1@tulane.edu
(504) 865- 5733
Eileen Ryan
Program Coordinator
eryan@tulane.edu
(504) 865-5733
Category Type
Pro Bono Graduation Requirement
Description of Program
Every Tulane Law student must donate a minimum of 30 hours of approved uncompensated, law-related pro bono service under the supervision of an attorney. Many students, however, choose to contribute significantly more than the basic requirement. Tulane is the first law school to establish a pro bono requirement for all graduates.
Pro bono service may be performed in the New Orleans metropolitan area or elsewhere, as long as the service proposed is approved. The pro bono hours contributed are ungraded, but are noted on the student’s transcript as pro bono credit. Among the approved pro bono placements are student-run programs such as VITA (Voluntary Income Tax Assistance) and Street Law, law school sponsored programs such as POPS (Project for Older Prisoners) and ELLA (Entertainment Law Legal Assistance), as well as numerous placements with public-interest non-profit organizations and with local, state or federal government entities. See http://www.law.tulane.edu/tlsabout/index.aspx?id=4074&ekmensel=d90be9cc_106_0_4074_2
Location of Program
Stand-alone Program, located physically in Suite 216.
http://www.law.tulane.edu/tlsNews/newsItem.aspx?id=9800&terms=pro+bono+program
Staffing/Management/Oversight
The pro bono program is the principal focus of the Assistant Dean for Public Interest Programs . A full-time program administrator serves as coordinator and liaison. Pro bono program staff communicate on a regular basis with the students who have signed up for academic-year placements and with the staff and supervisory attorneys of local non-profits. Forms required to be completed by each student include a time sheet, supervisory report, and student survey.
Funding
The Program was originally funded by a grant from the Legal Services Corporation. It is now funded through the law school budget.
The school provides space and equipment to student-run and school-sponsored programs such as POPS, VITA and ELLA, and meeting rooms for training purposes for many other pro bono activities.
Student Run Pro Bono Groups/Specialized Law Education Projects
Street Law Program – Sponsored by the TLS Public Interest Law Foundation, the Street Law program familiarizes students in under-resourced public high schools with laws and legal principles likely to be relevant to their daily lives.
Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (VITA)– Tulane Law students staff the IRS-sponsored Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program on up to 10 Saturdays each spring. Since 1992, well over 9300 hours have been donated to this program by Tulane Law students. Through the VITA program, students assist hundreds of individuals who could not otherwise afford assistance with their income tax returns. Students help prepare basic tax returns for taxpayers with special needs, including persons with disabilities, non-English speaking persons, and elderly taxpayers.
Faculty and Administrative Pro Bono
Awards/Recognition
Tulane Law School holds a ceremony and reception each year during which graduates are recognized for their unique contributions to pro bono and to community service. The Brian P. McSherry Community Service Award is given to the graduating student who has demonstrated the greatest dedication to the Law School's pro bono program. The General Maurice Hirsch Award is presented to the graduating student who has contributed most distinctively and constructively to university or community needs. In addition, University-wide awards are given to graduate students on the basis of outstanding service contributions.
There is an annual recognition lunch in the spring term of the academic year. Students who have excelled in their individual pro bono contributions or in the leadership of organizations responsible for pro bono work are recognized at this event.
Community Service
Law School Public Interest Programs
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Contact Information
Julie Jackson
Assistant Dean for Public Interest Programs
Jjackso1@tulane.edu
504-862-8772
Carney Ann Chester
Public Interest Career Counselor, CDO
cchester@tulane.edu
504-865-5942
Certificate/Curriculum Programs
Tulane offers both depth and breadth in the variety of course offerings that might be considered a part of a "public interest" curriculum. An example of such an offering is our certificate of specialization in environmental law. Examples of recent course offerings with a public interest emphasis include State Reform and Human Rights in Latin America, Inter-American System of Human Rights, and Gender, Law and Equality. See http://www.law.tulane.edu/uploadedFiles/PublicInterest_Brochure.pdf
Public Interest Centers
Pro Bono Program - http://www.law.tulane.edu/tlsNews/newsItem.aspx?id=9800&terms=pro+bono+program
Tulane Institute for Environmental Law and Policy– http://www.law.tulane.edu/tlsAcademicPrograms/index.aspx?id=3564&terms=tulane+institute+for+environmental+law+and+policy
Public Interest Clinics
Public Interest Clinics http://www.law.tulane.edu/uploadedFiles/PublicInterest_Brochure.pdf
Environmental Law Clinic– http://www.law.tulane.edu/tlsAcademicPrograms/index.aspx?id=4182&terms=environmental+law+clinic
Externships/Internships
The largest number of externships fall in the judicial category. Students are placed with the Federal District Court and the Federal Bankruptcy Court. Students are required to enroll in a year-long Externship Seminar. Five semester credits are awarded upon successful completion of the year-long externship and seminar.
Tulane Law school also offers year-long externship placements in the following government and non-profit settings: the Regional Office of the NLRB in New Orleans; the E.E.O.C., New Orleans District; and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Louisiana. In addition there is a semester-long Public Interest Externship offering a variety of non-profit agency settings.
Classes with a Public Service Component
Public Interest Journals
The Tulane Environmental Law Journal – http://www.law.tulane.edu/tlsstudentlife/index.aspx?id=626&terms=environmental+law+journal
Law & Sexuality – http://www.law.tulane.edu/tlsjournals/tlas/index.aspx?id=3598&terms=law+and+sexuality
Public Interest Career Assistance
Tulane Law School's Career Development Office (CDO) has one career counselor assigned to be CDO's point person on public service opportunities. The CDO website includes sections on public interest and fellowship opportunities as well as government opportunities, and the office provides a variety of resources beyond counseling to students interested in public service careers. The Career Development Office sponsors several public interest-oriented speaker panels each year in conjunction with student groups on campus. Also, each year the CDO public interest counselor accompanies a large group of students to the Washington DC Equal Justice Works Career Fair and Conference. The CDO also sponsors students to attend the Peggy Browning Fund Conference each year.
Loan Repayment Assistance Programs (LRAP)
For a description, see http://www.law.tulane.edu/uploadedFiles/PublicInterest_Brochure.pdf
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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:
Twenty-nine students were awarded PILF (Public Interest Law Foundation of Tulane) fellowships in the summer of 2009. The PILF fellowships were funded jointly by the law school and by the student organization of the same name.
Extracurricular and Co-Curricular Programs
Tulane Annual Environmental Law Conference – Tulane Law School holds its annual environmental law in the spring of each year.
Human Rights Awareness Week – The Human Rights Law Society sponsors a series of sessions focusing upon various topics in human rights.
Pro Bono Fair – The Community Service Office holds an annual Pro Bono Fair featuring representatives from a variety of local public interest organizations offering students pro bono opportunities.
PILF (Public Interest Law Foundation) – Lunchtime Speaker Series 2009-10. Speakers representing a broad array of public interest legal organizations engage students in discussion of critical issues in their respective fields.
Student Public Interest Groups
Student Public Interest Groups– see http://www.law.tulane.edu/tlsOrgs/pilf/
