Albany Law School
Albany Law School
80 New Scotland Avenue
Albany, NY 12208
www.albanylaw.edu/
Law School Pro Bono Programs
Contact Information
Susan J. Feathers, Esq.
Assistant Dean
sfeat@albanylaw.edu
518-445-3376
Category Type
Formal Voluntary Pro Bono Program Characterized by a Referral System with a Coordinator
Description of Program
The Law School’s Pro Bono Program provides a broad range of law related service opportunities to Albany Law School students. Last year nearly 150 law students participated in the program with community partners including the ACLU of Mississippi, New York State Attorney General’s Office, Legal Aid of Northeastern New York, the Legal Project, the Rural Law Center, and Prisoners’ Legal Services. The program has expanded to include several statewide initiatives including work on reentry issues for prisoners and veterans; legal education workshops for rural seniors and youth; and a NYSBA Leadership Program through which students work with taskforces and sections on statewide pro bono initiatives including Elder Law, Environmental Law, and Dispute Resolution.
Prior to enrolling in the pro bono program, students are required to participate in the following trainings: Cultural Competency - taught by Adjunct Professor, Lillian Moy
- Ethics in the Context of Poverty Law - taught by Associate Dean, Connie Mayer
- Client Interviewing - taught by Clinic Director, Joseph Connors
The program has a detailed practice manual for both students and supervisors which includes details about the administration of the program and suggestions for supervision and information about confidentiality, conflicts of interest, and unauthorized practice of law. In addition, the Program will offer CLE trainings for community partners on ‘Best Practices for Supervision of Pro Bono Interns.’
Location of Program
Student Affairs Office
Staffing/Management/Oversight
Assistant Dean Susan J. Feathers manages and oversees the program with student volunteers
Funding
Student Run Pro Bono Groups/Specialized Law Education Projects
Albany County Family Court Desk - In conjunction with the Albany County Bar Association, students provide assistance to those conducting business with family court.
Animal Law Project - This project provides research to a broad range of organizations devoted to animal law.
Homeless Assistance Project - This project assists residents of a homeless shelter by preparing for, and representing them at, hearings to appeal home relief denials. Members of the law school's clinical and non-clinical faculty supervise the students.
NYSBA Leaders Program - Through this program, students work with select Chairs, Sections, and Taskforces of the New York State Bar Association.
Prisoners Legal Services- Through this project students provide assistance to Prisoners Legal Services. Projects include research and writing and administrative hearings including disciplinary hearings.
Prisoner Reentry Project – In collaboration with several organizations, students provide legal education to prisoners on issues that will impact their reentry including how to find housing, employment and seek benefits.
Pro Bono Donor - This project assists with fundraising for the pro bono program through using a ‘contribution by hour of service’ model.
Pro Se Divorce Project - Following a four-hour substantive training by the Legal Aid of New York, students provide legal assistance to low-income individuals seeking to file for pro se divorce. Student assistance is particularly vital in determine the proper grounds for divorce, and writing a convincing application of why those grounds apply. Through participation in this project, the students are exposed to a broad range of topics including: custody/visitation, support and equitable distribution.
Rural Legal Services - Following a full-day training with Rural Legal Center, students educate low income rural seniors throughout the State of New York about issues including Medicaid, Advance Directive Documents, Avoiding Senior Scams, and Estate Planning.
Veterans Legal Assistance Project - Students assist clients of the Albany VA Medical Center with any legal problems they may have. The students have their own office space at the medical center and are supervised by members of the law school clinical faculty, non-clinical faculty, and other students.
Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program - During the tax season, student volunteers provide free income tax assistance to the disadvantaged.
Faculty and Administrative Pro Bono
A number of Albany Law faculty are involved in pro bono work and in many instances work closely with student pro bono interns. The following is a sampling of faculty involvement by interest area:
- Professor Patricia Salkin: Government Practice
- Professors Ray Brescia and Connie Mayer: Poverty Law
- Professor Laurie Shanks: Criminal Defense
- Professor Joe Connors and Alicia Ouellette: Health Law
- Professor Mary Lynch and Professor Melissa Breger: Domestic Violence and Family Law
- Professor David Pratt and Danschera Cords: Tax Law
- Elizabeth Renuart: Consumer Law
- Keith Hirokawa: Environmental law
- Steven Gottlieb and Vincent Bonventre: Supreme Court Practice and Civil Rights
- Professor Paul Finkelman: Native American Indian Law
- Professors Donna Young, Paul Finkelman and Christian Sundquist: Race and the Law
- Peter Halewood: International Law
- Professors Nancy Ota and Stephen Clark: LGBT Law
Awards/Recognition
We host an Annual Pro Bono Fair recognizing community partners and an Annual Recognition Event for Students who do exemplary pro bono work
Community Service
In addition to law related opportunities, we have a range of community service projects. For example, students have worked with Habitat for Humanity, the Iraqi Refugee Project and various local non-profits.
Hackett Middle School Tutoring Program: Law students work with school teachers at the local junior high school. Members of the administrative staff, non-clinical faculty, and other students serve as supervisors.
Albany School District Mentoring Program: Law students mentor children attending public schools in the City of Albany under the supervision of the program administrators.
Law School Public Interest Programs
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Contact Information
Susan J. Feathers, Esq.
Assistant Dean
sfeat@albanylaw.edu
518-445-3376
Certificate/Curriculum Programs
ALS Students can focus their field of study on particular areas of interest including: Civil and Constitutional Rights, Civil Litigation, Criminal Law, Environmental Law, Family and Elder Law, and Governmental Administration and Regulation. The concentrations include required courses, elective courses, field placements, moot court competitions and clinical projects.
Public Interest Centers
The Government Law Center (GLC) - introduces students to methods of policy analysis and to public service. In operation for a quarter of a century, the GLC's programs and publications educate law and policy makers on the growing number of societal challenges they must address. Students are encouraged to participate in all GLC activities, including law-related employment and internship opportunities, and to initiate and develop new and exciting projects. The GLC sponsors programs on a wide range of topics, as well as public service career seminars, a community educational event for seniors, and exclusive opportunities to meet prominent government leaders.
Public Interest Clinics
Clinical Legal Studies Program - Albany Law School's Clinical Legal Studies Program includes six specialty law projects: Domestic Violence, Litigation, Health Law, Civil Rights & Disabilities, Low Income Taxpayer and Securities Arbitration that combine classroom education with hands-on legal experience while providing a free public service to the abused, discriminated against and disadvantaged in the community. Legal presentation by law students under supervision by faculty attorneys is provided to the victims of domestic violence, disabled children denied access to appropriate health care or education, HIV/AIDS infected parents planning for their children's future, the unemployed and low income taxpayers. Albany Law School's Clinical Program consists of in-house projects, field placement programs, and one-hour practicum courses. A combined maximum of 12 credit hours may be selected from Clinical courses
.
Externships/Internships
Albany Law School offers the following field placement programs:
- Government Program - This field placement program, a joint initiative of the Clinical Legal Studies Program and the Government Law Center, is available in the spring semester. Students spend time in the office of counsel to one of New York's state agencies, executive departments, or in the NYS legislature. Depending on the particular placement selected, students may assist in drafting legislative initiatives, legal research and writing projects, policy analysis, bill negotiations, and/or litigation. A course in government ethics is required.
- Semester in Government Program- Students spend time working in the office of counsel to a federal government agency in Washington DC, performing the legal work of a judicial, governmental, or public interest office under the direct supervision of experienced attorneys. A course on government ethics also is required.
- Semester in Practice - Second and third year students will be afforded a unique opportunity to immerse themselves in exceptional judicial, governmental, and public interest offices for an intense semester long placement experience. Under the direct supervision of highly experiences mentor attorneys, students will spend time participating and conducting the legal work of their chosen office including, depending on the placement, witness interviewing, trial preparation, legal research and writing, drafting opinions, fact investigation, taking depositions, and the conducting of full trials or hearings.
Classes with a Public Service Component
Mediation Assistance Program - Mediation Assistance Program provides 25 hours of training equivalent to the NYS Unified Court System training program for community mediators. It prepares students to serve as court-affiliated mediators and to counsel clients more effectively.
Public Interest Journals
The Government Law & Policy Journal is a scholarly, yet dynamic, periodical covering issues of importance to attorneys working in government and for non-profit organizations. It is published twice yearly by the NY State Bar Assn Committee on Attorneys in Public Service and is produced by ALS's Government Law Center. Several students serve on the Journal's editorial board under the direction of ALS professor and editor-in-chief Vincent Bonventre.
Public Interest Career Assistance
There is dedicated public interest career support staff.
Career support assistance includes the following:
The annual Public Interest Legal Career Fair provides Albany Law School students and alumni with an opportunity to learn about legal careers in public interest and government through career panel discussions and information tables. Past career fairs have included representatives from more than 150 public sector organizations and interviews for summer and entry-level positions.
Public Interest/Public Service Jobs Forum - This Career Center program developed exclusively for Albany Law School students is a "how-to" on developing a lifelong commitment to working on behalf of under-represented individuals, communities and causes.
Annual Career Center panel entitled "Fellowships, Internships, and more. (How to Launch a Public Interest Career)" gives students an opportunity to explore and learn about the resources available to help advance a public law career directly from an Equal Justice Works representative.
Annual program co-sponsored by the Career Center and the Government Law Center of Albany Law School on "Finding the Perfect Job in State/Local Government-Practical Strategies and 'Nuts and Bolts' Advice" helps students explore different career options, and make contacts with alumni working in the public sector.
Albany Law School's Career Center sponsors a series of Career Education Programs including public service related topics such as: "Careers in State Legislative," "New York State Civil Service Opportunities," "Judicial Clerkships," and Employer Information Sessions featuring, for example, the U.S. Attorney's Office, and state agencies.
For more information, visit www.albanylaw.edu/careers.
Loan Repayment Assistance Programs (LRAP)
Albany Law School has always been committed to making rewarding public interest careers move viable to its graduates. To further this commitment, the Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP) was launched in December 2004. This program is designed to help alleviate the financial burden of educational loan repayment upon students who wish to pursue careers in public interest law, as well as city, county and state attorney's offices, and agencies operated by a city, county or state.
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Post-Graduate Fellowships/Awards
Law School Funded:
None
Graduate Student Funded:
None
Other Funding Sources:
None
Term Time Fellowships/Scholarships
Law School Funded:
Graduate Student Funded:
Other Funding Sources:
The Margaret and Edgar Sandman Fellowship Program
Established in 1992 by Morris Silverman, class of 36, and the children of Edgar and Margaret Sandman, up to two second-year students are selected each year to participate in this initiative. Fellows immerse themselves in a topic of law, host a roundtable discussion with key policy makers and advocates involved with the issue, and publish a report which is disseminated nationwide.
Summer Fellowships
Law School Funded:
Honorable Con G. Cholakis Fellowship - Albany Law School has established The Con G. Cholakis Public Service Fellowship as an endowed fund to provide underwriting support for law students working in public offices during the summer months. By establishing this fellowship, the law school recognizes that frequently there are no funds to compensate law students for their important efforts in the public interest and, given today's costs of a legal education; many are forced to turn away from the beneficial experience afforded by such service. As Chalices Fellows, Albany Law School students will have the opportunity to assist in providing crucial legal services to the public and in so doing will encourage those students to pursue public service careers. The fellowship recipient will demonstrate compassion and commitment to public service through prior public service, volunteer work, or other indicia of such commitment, be in academic good standing, and provide evidence of the recipient's independence, individualism, integrity and other strengths of character.
Summer Public Interest Stipend Program - For several years Albany Law School has offered a stipend program to encourage students to pursue public interest and public service opportunities. Each summer, the program provides modest stipends to approximately 50 Albany Law School students who intend to work for public interest and public service organizations during the summer months. The awards range from $700 to $1,000.To be considered for awards, student applicants must be planning to: (1) perform legal work for a federal, state, or local government agency; or (2) provide legal services (criminal or civil) through a not-for-profit tax-exempt organization qualified under section 501 (c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Applicants must demonstrate that they will work a minimum of 200 hours at their qualified organizations during the summer months. Moreover, student applicants must be uncompensated or receive reduced compensation. The Summer Public Interest Stipend Program is funded, in part, through the Dean's Public Interest Auction, an annual event made possible through donations by members of the ALS community and local businesses.
Graduate Student Funded:
Joseph C. Foiadelli Public Service Stipend - The families and friends of Joseph C. Foiadell, Esq. established a stipend in his honor in 2000. Joe was a member of Albany Law School's Class of 1997 who tragically lost his life in a car accident on November 28, 1998. Joe was a gifted student with a unique ability to befriend anyone, whatever the circumstance. He worked tirelessly in the AIDS Clinic going the extra mile for each and every client he represented. He was devoted to the public service aspect of the legal profession and was working as an Assistant Public Defender for Columbia County, New York at the time of his death. To honor Joe for his outstanding character and for his extraordinary devotion to the practice of law, a $1,500 stipend is offered to a law student who will be working in public legal service during the summer. The fellowship recipient must be in good academic standing and have any interest in and commitment to public interest service.
Other Funding Sources:
The Dan Dwyer Law Fellowship Program
Established in 2001, this fellowship program provides a stipend to a law student to work as an intern in the Albany County District Attorney's Office. The intern assists in the prosecution of DWI cases. The fellowship recipient must be in good academic standing, have a demonstrated interest in criminal law, and have a demonstrated interest in pursuing a public interest career.
Edward Cameron Jr. Public Service Fellowship
The Lyric Foundation has established this $1,000 fellowship to be awarded to a first or second year law student who will service as an intern with a legal public service provider over the summer. The fellowship recipient must be in good academic standing with a demonstrated interest in pursuing a career in public service.
The Marty Silverman Internship Program at the New York Legal Assistance Group
The New York Legal Assistance Group has established this fellowship in honor of Marty Silverman. This $3,500 fellowship funds a summer intern to obtain experience working with NYLAG's various public interest projects such as the Elder Law Project, The HIV Project, the Holocaust Compensation Assistance Project and the Child Advocacy Project. The Fellowship recipient must be in good academic standing and have a demonstrated interest in public service work.
Joseph C. Foiadelli Public Service Stipend
The families and friends of Joseph C. Foiadell, Esq. established a stipend in his honor in 2000. Joe was a member of Albany Law School's Class of 1997 who tragically lost his life in a car accident on November 28, 1998. Joe was a gifted student with a unique ability to befriend anyone, whatever the circumstance. He worked tirelessly in the AIDS Clinic going the extra mile for each and every client he represented. He was devoted to the public service aspect of the legal profession and was working as an Assistant Public Defender for Columbia County, New York at the time of his death. To honor Joe for his outstanding character and for his extraordinary devotion to the practice of law, a $1,500 stipend is offered to a law student who will be working in public legal service during the summer. The fellowship recipient must be in good academic standing and have any interest in and commitment to public interest service.
Extracurricular and Co-Curricular Programs
Speaker series - Established by ALS professor Tim Lytton in 2001, this town hall style program promotes the exchange of ideas between ALS Student, faculty, and staff, and the greater community. The free series features notable speakers who examine topics of great significance locally, in the country, and around the world, often focusing on public interest topics, such as the inaugural program on "Searching for Justice on Death Row: Administration of the Death Penalty."
Student Public Interest Groups
Women's Law Caucus (WLC)
National Lawyers Guild
Public Interest Law Society
Environmental Law Society
Health Law Society
