Golden Gate University School of Law
Golden Gate University
School of Law
536 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA 94105
www.ggu.edu/law
Law School Pro Bono Programs
Contact Information
Leeor Neta
Assistant Director for Public Interest Programs
Golden Gate University School of Law
536 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA 94105
Phone: 415.369.5391
Fax: 415.543.6680
Doan Trang T. Nguyen
Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps Legal Fellow
Public Interest Clearinghouse
dnguyen@pic.org
(415) 834-0100 ext. 311
Category Type
Formal Voluntary Pro Bono Program Characterized by a Referral System with a Coordinator
Description of Program
The Public Interest Clearinghouse (PIC) runs its Law Student Pro Bono Program at Golden Gate University School of Law. PIC's Law Student Pro Bono Project in the SF/Bay Area matches students with short-term and long-term volunteer projects in the surrounding urban and suburban communities, as well as remote research projects with organizations outside of the immediate area.
There are flexible and varied pro bono opportunities available to provide students with options to fit their busy schedule. The projects involve supervised legal work, and we ask organizations to keep the work to a maximum of 10 hours per week. Student projects include:- Alternative dispute resolution
- Case investigation
- Certified court practice
- Client intake/interviewing
- Community outreach
- Courtroom observation
- Legal research and writing
- Legislative advocacy
- Policy analysis
GGU students can view the list of available opportunities by joining the website www.lawstudentprobono.org. Students can also subscribe to the school's Pro Bono News of the Week, a weekly e-newsletter announcing new opportunities. With the help of GGU and PIC staff, students will identify a placement that best matches their interests and the amount of time they can commit.
In addition, students receiving the Public Interest Certificate are required to perform 25 hours of community service (not for money or credit) and 150 hours of supervised public interest legal work (can be paid or for credit).
Location of Program
The Law Student Pro Bono Program is administered by the Public Interest Clearinghouse. The Assistant Director for Public Interest Programs promotes public interest and pro bono programs and opportunities independently and through the general outreach of the Law Career Services Office. The Assistant Director for Public Interest Programs has an office in the Law Career Services Office.
Staffing/Management/Oversight
The Assistant Director for Public Interest Programs spends approximately twenty percent of her time managing the pro bono program.
Funding
GGU makes funding available for the Law Student Pro Bono Program.
Student Run Pro Bono Groups/Specialized Law Education Projects
Latino Law Students Association (LALSA):Students staff a monthly Workers Rights Clinic through La Raza Centro Legal.
The IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (VITA):Tax LLM students help low-income clients with tax returns every April.
Faculty and Administrative Pro Bono
GGU encourages all faculty and staff to engage in pro bono activities.
Awards/Recognition
Pro Bono Honor Society: The Pro Bono Honor Society recognizes students who have performed a set amount of pro bono work each year. The membership induction criteria differ by law school year. The students inducted into the Pro Bono Honor Society are honored at the Public Interest Graduation in the Spring.
Public Interest Graduation Reception: The annual Public Interest Graduation Reception celebrates the accomplishments of 3Ls, alumni, current students, student leaders, faculty and staff who have been active in the public interest community on campus. PILF grants and other summer funding awards are announced, and faculty and alumni give speeches. Those receiving the Public Interest Specialization Certificate are also honored at this event.
Outstanding Public Interest Student Award: The Outstanding Public Interest Student Award is given to a student who has excelled in public interest coursework, community service and pro bono legal work outside the classroom.
Community Service
Public Interest Specialization Certificate: One of the requirements for students enrolled in the Public Interest Specialization Certificate Program is that they perform 25 hours of community service work to promote the public interest either on campus or in the community. Students who are enrolled in the program are on an email list to which the Public Interest Advisor sends information about community service opportunities.
Food Drive: The Law School has a food drive each December holiday season, organized by administrators/faculty and students.
Food from the Bar: The Law School participates in the annual “Food from the Bar” food drive organized by the Bar Association of San Francisco every spring.
Orientation Service Project: The Law School also offers an Orientation Service Project as part of the first-year orientation program. Students participating in this program have typically worked on environmental restoration projects in the Presidio National Park.
Student Groups: Many of our student groups organize community service programs each year by partnering with local non-profit organizations.
Law School Public Interest Programs
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Contact Information
Leeor Neta
Assistant Director for Public Interest Programs
Golden Gate University School of Law
536 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA 94105
Phone: 415.369.5391
Fax: 415.543.6680
Certificate/Curriculum Programs
Public Interest Specialization Certificate:Golden Gate offers a Public Interest Specialization Certificate Program in which students take at least 14 units from our public interest course offerings, perform 150 hours of supervised legal work in a public interest or government agency setting AND complete 25 hours of community service working to promote the public interest, either on campus or in the community.
Participation in this program includes: specialized academic and career counseling by a public interest counselor; regular updates about public interest employment, conferences, events, fellowships, and other opportunities via email; a special Public Interest graduation ceremony and reception; and transcript notation.
Golden Gate also offers four other certificate programs in more specialized areas related to public interest:- Criminal Law
- Environmental Law
- International (Public) Law
- Labor & Employment Law
Public Interest Centers
Clinical Programs:
Susan Rutberg, Director of Externship Programs, oversees the school's field placement clinical courses. Those courses include Judicial Externships as well as clinics offered in the following fields: Civil Law, Criminal Litigation, Environmental, Real Estate, Tax, and two collaborative programs: Homeless Advocacy (with the Bar Association of San Francisco) and Post-Conviction Capital Defense (with the California Appellate Project). New Family Law and Youth Law field placement programs will begin in Spring 2010.
On Site Clinics:
Environmental Law & Justice Clinic (ELJC)
The ELJC provides free legal and technical services and education on environmental justice issues primarily to residents, community groups, and public-interest organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Clinic assists communities bearing disproportionate environmental burdens, particularly communities of color and low-income neighborhoods. The Clinic also provides students with an opportunity to learn practical legal skills while serving these communities by conducting client interviews, counseling, problem solving, drafting legal documents and appearing at hearings. ELJC received U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 9’s 2009 Outstanding Achievement Award. Director: Professor Helen Kang, 415-442-6647.
Women's Employment Rights Clinic (WERC)
The Women's Employment Rights Clinic provides free legal services to low-wage and immigrant workers in a wide range of employment disputes, often working in collaboration with community based organizations. WERC students and faculty advise, counsel and represent clients in areas including sex and race discrimination and harassment, wage and hour claims, unemployment benefits, pregnancy disability, and family leave. WERC also regularly participates in amicus curiae filings on key employment law issues. Director: Professor Marci Seville, 415-442-6647.
Public Interest Clinics
Environmental Law & Justice Clinic (ELJC): The Clinic focuses on addressing environmental justice issues. Students work on active litigation in court, make presentations at administrative proceedings, and carry out the clinic's community education activities.
Women's Employment Rights Clinic (WERC): Students provide advice, counseling, and legal representation to low-income workers in areas including: sex and race discrimination and harassment, wage and hour claims, unemployment benefits, pregnancy disability, and family leave.
Pro Bono Tax Clinic: Students provide advice, counseling, and legal representation to low-income individuals in certain tax disputes with the California Board of Equalization. This course is offered through the LL.M. Tax program and JD students must obtain pre-approval from the program director.
Externships/Internships
Students become eligible to enroll in an internship for credit/clinical field placement after completing 29 units (1 year) of coursework (for judicial externships, students must have completed 40 units) and may take one clinical course per semester, for a total of 13 units of clinical coursework during law school. Students perform 45 hours of work at their placement per unit. Additionally, students attend weekly seminars relating to their clinical work.
Capital Post-Conviction Defense Clinic: Students work on representation of indigent defendants challenging their convictions and death sentences on direct appeal and through habeas corpus proceedings. Students receive training and supervision through working directly with attorneys from the California Appellate Project.
Civil Field Placement Clinic: Students work in law firms, corporations, public interest organizations, or government agencies in: Intellectual Property, Tax, Entertainment, Bankruptcy, Disability Rights, Corporate Counsel, Immigration, Government, Domestic Violence, and General Civil Practice.
Criminal Litigation Clinic: Students participate in a criminal justice seminar with an emphasis on ethical, reflective lawyering, while externing in a wide variety of state and federal prosecution or defender agencies.Environmental Law Clinic: Students study environmental law and regulations and extern in government agencies, environmental organizations, or public interest groups, working on environmental, natural resources, or land use issues.
Family Law Clinic: Students learn the nuts and bolts of family law practice and are placed in government agencies, non-profits, or private family law offices assisting low-income clients with urgent family law issues.
Homeless Advocacy Clinic: Students learn interviewing, counseling, and negotiation skills and advocate on a variety of issues for clients of the Bar Association of San Francisco’s Homeless Advocacy Project.
Judicial Externships: Students work in judges’ chambers or with court staff. Positions are in all levels of state and federal courts, with a full range of judicial assignments, including civil work, family and juvenile law, bankruptcy, law and motion, and criminal work.
Real Estate Clinic: Students work with law firms or government agencies involved with real property development. The primary focus is on issues of acquisition, disposition, financing, development, and operation of real estate.
Youth Law Clinic: Students work in non-profit law offices, government agencies or private offices engaged in litigation, administrative hearings, or other advocacy on behalf of children or youth. Students also attend a seminar with an emphasis on reflective lawyering, professional responsibility, skills and practice issues. Students may work in a wide variety of substantive law areas.
Classes with a Public Service Component
Honors Lawyering Program Skills Lab- Students in the Honors Lawyering Program work with supervising faculty to provide direct legal representation over the summer as part of their program requirement. Students work with clients through the Tenderloin Housing Clinic and the Homeless Advocacy Project of the Bar Association of San Francisco.
Street Law- Students enrolled in this course teach law to students at high schools throughout the Bay Area. Contact: Professor Thomas Nazario, 415/422-6832 or nazario@beta.usfca.edu.
Public Interest Journals
Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal http://www.ggu.edu/lawlibrary/environmental_law_journal
Public Interest Career Assistance
The Law Career Services Office (LCS) maintains a resource center with current information about public interest careers, including an online database of employment listings, fellowship opportunities, and pro bono projects. LCS hosts networking events that bring public interest attorneys to campus to meet students and talk about public interest careers and topics. LCS conducts informational sessions on various topics such as funding options for summer public interest employment. LCS offers an extensive resume review service, as well as interviewing and networking skills workshops, to help students obtain the internship or job they desire. LCS offers individualized counseling to students interested in public interest careers and pro bono opportunities.
LCS also offers an on-campus interview program in the fall and spring, which features public interest employers.
The Assistant Director for Public Interest Programs sends out a semi-monthly e-newsletter, highlighting public interest events, both on and off campus, as well as internship, externship, and post-graduate fellowship opportunities. The e-newsletter also contains public interest articles, networking resources and other relevant information.
Golden Gate is a member of PSLawNet, a global network of more than 120 law schools and 10,000 public service organizations working to foster law student community service and encourage all future lawyers to incorporate public service into their careers. PSLawNet offers comprehensive, current information on a broad range of pro bono and public service opportunities, as well as resources and expertise.
Golden Gate is also a member of Equal Justice Works, an organization dedicated to leading the path in creating more opportunities for students and young lawyers to pursue public interest careers. Membership in Equal Justice Works offers Golden Gate exclusive access to the Equal Justice Works benefits, including eligibility for Fellowships and AmeriCorps programs and the annual Conference and Career Fair.
Golden Gate participates in the annual Northern California Public Interest/Public Sector Legal Career Day (PI/PS Day) and sponsors students to attend the annual Equal Justice Works Career Fair. Golden Gate provides funding for students to attend specialized job conferences and career fairs. Students can apply for such funding through the Student Leadership Programs Advisor.
Loan Repayment Assistance Programs (LRAP)
Golden Gate University School of Law sponsors a Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP) for GGU Law School graduates (JD program) who are working in public interest law and require assistance to repay their law student loans. Qualifying applicants must be working in a law-related advocacy position that requires a JD and must be engaged in one of the following types of work: (a) providing direct legal representation to underrepresented populations; (b) providing legal assistance to organizations that provide direct legal representation to underrepresented populations; (c) conducting efforts to change legislation affecting underrepresented populations through policy or impact litigation work; (d) environmental law or policy work; or (e) local, state, or federal government employment. Golden Gate University School of Law JD graduates may apply to the program even if they have previously received an LRAP award.
Additional eligibility criteria Income: Applicant's total salary cannot exceed $60,000/year. Bar Exam: Applicant must have become a member of the bar within two calendar years of graduation. Date of Graduation: First application must be within five years of graduation. Judges/Clerks: Judges and judicial clerks are not eligible to apply for LRAP. However, time spent in those positions will not toll the five-year post-graduation application deadline. Private/Self Employment: At least 50% of the applicant's practice must be devoted to “low bono,” pro bono, or representation of underrepresented populations or issues. Self-employed applicants must be members of a state bar and may be required to submit additional information.
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Post-Graduate Fellowships/Awards
Law School Funded:
The law school has provided funding for students serving as post-graduate judicial law clerks.
Graduate Student Funded:
Other Funding Sources:
Golden Gate has two post-graduate fellowships funded by an endowment fund (alumni contributions):
- Environmental Law & Justice Clinic Fellowships: A one- to two-year fellowship funded by the law school and outside donations, with the ELJC fellow working on all clinic projects.
- Baxter Fellowship in Trial Advocacy: A one-semester fellowship, which is funded by an endowment fund established by an alumna.
Term Time Fellowships/Scholarships
Law School Funded:
Public interest fellowships/stipends are supported by the Public Interest Law Scholars Program, Environmental Law Scholars Program, and Public Interest Work Study.
Graduate Student Funded:
Other Funding Sources:
Public Interest Work Study: GGU pays the employer's portion of work-study for nearly all of the students in the Honors Lawyering Program, who work full-time in the fall for public interest employers who are unable to pay them. GGU also pays the employer’s portion of work-study for students working in a public interest summer internship for employers who are unable to pay them.
Public Interest Law Foundation (PILF) Grants: PILF supports students pursuing public interest summer internships through grants with money raised in an annual auction.
Summer Fellowships
Law School Funded:
The Law School provides $5,000 of salary assistance to all Public Interest and Environmental Law Scholars doing unpaid public interest summer internships.
The Law School also pays the employer's portion of work-study for students who are working full-time in the summer (or fall, for Honors Lawyering Program students) for public interest employers who are unable to pay them.
Graduate Student Funded:
None
Other Funding Sources:
Public Interest Law Foundation (PILF) Grants: PILF organizes an annual auction, the proceeds of which are used to fund summer grants for students working at public interest organizations or government agencies. These grants may be used in conjunction with other funding. The number and amount of grants vary, depending on the amount of money raised each year. In Summer 2009, 12 grants were awarded for a total of $30,000.
Extracurricular and Co-Curricular Programs
The Ronald M. George Chief Justice Distinguished Lecture Series: The inaugural program in October 2009 featured an address by The Honorable Ronald M. George discussing, "Access to Justice in Times of Fiscal Crisis."
Minority Bar Coalition Unity Conference: In October 2009, the School of Law hosted the Minority Bar Coalition Unity Conference. The annual Unity Conference celebrates diversity in the profession and provides a variety of programming issues varying from civil rights to professional development. The 2009 event, which honored California Supreme Court Justice Carlos Moreno, included a luncheon; panels on marriage equality, hate crimes, and diversity in the judiciary; and an awards reception.
The Intellectual Property Law Center IP Law Conference: The School of Law and IP Law Center hosted the 8th Annual Conference on Recent Developments in Intellectual Property Law in October 2009. Speakers included Lynne Beresford, US Commissioner for Trademarks; Hon. James Ware, US District Court, Northern District of California; and leading IP attorneys.
Environmental Law Symposium: The Law School is hosting a conference titled, "Farming and Food: How We Grow What We Eat," in November 2009. Topics include Feedlot Runoff, Organic Certification, Irrigation Subsidies, Genetically Modified Crops, and the Mexico-U.S.Corn Trade. Presenters include attorneys from law firms and nongovernmental organizations and professors from several universities. Co-sponsors include the Environmental Law Sections of the State Bar of California and the Bar Association of San Francisco and Fitzgerald, Abbott & Beardsley LLP.
Poverty Law Conference: Golden Gate University School of Law and the Society of American Law Teachers (SALT) are presenting a two-day teaching conference in San Francisco in March 2010. This event will bring together new data and theories from the social sciences, communications and media, and legal education about our most vulnerable populations for use in law teaching across the curriculum. The conference will explore questions such as: how can law teachers integrate economic issues precipitated by class, race, and gender into a broad range of courses, including, for example, first-year Contracts or Professional Responsibility, Health or Environmental Law, Clinics and Externships? What types of nontraditional classes would most effectively focus student interest on the economic needs of vulnerable populations? How do law schools initiate and encourage collaborative alliances to broaden discussions and promote positive change? The conference will consider these issues from the perspectives of interdisciplinary academics, practitioners, and activists.
Orientation Service Project: As part of the first-year orientation program, student volunteers spend a day working on environmental restoration projects in the Presidio National Park.
Student Public Interest Groups
The Ronald M. George Chief Justice Distinguished Lecture Series: The inaugural program in October 2009 featured an address by The Honorable Ronald M. George discussing, "Access to Justice in Times of Fiscal Crisis."
Minority Bar Coalition Unity Conference: In October 2009, the School of Law hosted the Minority Bar Coalition Unity Conference. The annual Unity Conference celebrates diversity in the profession and provides a variety of programming issues varying from civil rights to professional development. The 2009 event, which honored California Supreme Court Justice Carlos Moreno, included a luncheon; panels on marriage equality, hate crimes, and diversity in the judiciary; and an awards reception.
The Intellectual Property Law Center IP Law Conference: The School of Law and IP Law Center hosted the 8th Annual Conference on Recent Developments in Intellectual Property Law in October 2009. Speakers included Lynne Beresford, US Commissioner for Trademarks; Hon. James Ware, US District Court, Northern District of California; and leading IP attorneys.
Environmental Law Symposium: The Law School is hosting a conference titled, "Farming and Food: How We Grow What We Eat," in November 2009. Topics include Feedlot Runoff, Organic Certification, Irrigation Subsidies, Genetically Modified Crops, and the Mexico-U.S.Corn Trade. Presenters include attorneys from law firms and nongovernmental organizations and professors from several universities. Co-sponsors include the Environmental Law Sections of the State Bar of California and the Bar Association of San Francisco and Fitzgerald, Abbott & Beardsley LLP.
Poverty Law Conference: Golden Gate University School of Law and the Society of American Law Teachers (SALT) are presenting a two-day teaching conference in San Francisco in March 2010. This event will bring together new data and theories from the social sciences, communications and media, and legal education about our most vulnerable populations for use in law teaching across the curriculum. The conference will explore questions such as: how can law teachers integrate economic issues precipitated by class, race, and gender into a broad range of courses, including, for example, first-year Contracts or Professional Responsibility, Health or Environmental Law, Clinics and Externships? What types of nontraditional classes would most effectively focus student interest on the economic needs of vulnerable populations? How do law schools initiate and encourage collaborative alliances to broaden discussions and promote positive change? The conference will consider these issues from the perspectives of interdisciplinary academics, practitioners, and activists.
Orientation Service Project: As part of the first-year orientation program, student volunteers spend a day working on environmental restoration projects in the Presidio National Park.
