Pro Bono:
For the Public Good

Students are asked to commit to deliver 45 hours of pro bono services over the course of their three years at UC Hastings by signing the Pro Bono Pledge. The hours may be satisfied in a gradually increasing manner (10 hours in first year, 15 in 2nd and 20 in 3rd) or may be satisfied in a single year.  Those students meeting the 45 hour goal prior to graduation will be inducted into the Pro Bono Society and recognized in the graduation program.  This achievement will also be noted on the student’s transcript.

The legal needs of low-income Californians have increased in complexity as well as scope; the recent economic downturn has only served to magnify the impact of these unmet needs.  Legal services organizations, already unable to meet the demand for services, are more challenged than ever to protect the legal rights of the clients they serve.

In recognition of the overwhelming need for civil legal assistance in California, UC Hastings encourages and recognizes the efforts or our students who strive to meet this need.  For purposes of graduation recognition, UC Hastings defines pro bono as volunteer work in law-related services provided directly to or on behalf of under-represented individuals or communities.

Examples of what may be counted as Pro Bono work:

• Direct legal services.  Under the supervision of an attorney, students may provide direct legal services to an individual, may interview individuals seeking legal assistance, conduct factual investigation, legal research and writing, legislative analysis and policy interpretation, development of legal education materials and presentation of legal education workshops.
• Work with recognized student organizations.  Organizations like Homeless Legal Services (HLS) and Volunter Income Tax Assistance (VITA) are student-run and -directed and are clearly law-related.  All work with organizations serving the under-represented count.
• Summer work.  Work performed in summer positions that are full-time for up to 10 weeks does not count.  Pro Bono work performed in those positions beyond the 10-week commitment may be counted. One-off opportunities in the summer may be counted.
• Clinic work.  General clinic work for which students receive credit does not count. Similar to summer work, though, if a student’s work goes above and beyond the semester in which they received credit, and all requirements for the clinic have been fulfilled, subject to approval by the clinical faculty member supervising the student work, volunteer hours beyond the semester in which credit was received may be counted.
• Externship work.  During the semester in which a student receives academic credit for work with a non-profit or governmental law office, time spent at the placement does not count as pro bono.  If a student continues to volunteer beyond the semester in which academic credit was received and the work meets the definition of pro bono for graduation recognition, these hours may be counted as pro bono. If the work is law-related but does not meet the definition of pro bono, these hours may be counted as public service hours.
• Public Service.  This is any law-related work in the public sector, which does not otherwise meet UC Hastings’ definition of pro bono. At least 50% of your pro bono goal must be traditional pro bono work but the other 50% may be fulfilled with a combination of public service and community service work (with a cap of 25% on community service – see below for details). This includes work that is in the public interest, and law-related, but where it is not expanding the number of underrepresented people being assisted in the justice system.  This includes PD/DA offices, judicial chambers, and other government offices.  If you work at one of these offices and are doing work that expands legal access–for example, clean slate work at a PD office, or file reviews for resentencing at a DA office–that can count as traditional pro bono work instead of public service.
• Community Service.  Any non-law related work falls into this category.  Up to 25% of your pro bono goal can be from general community service, with a cap of 11.25 hours of community service work towards the 45-hour requirement and 22.5 hours towards the 150-hour requirement. This includes work with one of the enumerated student groups (if not law related), tutoring/ mentoring youth, or volunteering with St. Anthony’s and other community organizations.  Note that at least 50% of your pro bono hours goal must be traditional pro bono, and the combined total of Community Service and Public Interest hours cannot exceed 50% of your pledge total.

• Administrative work –  will only count if the administrative services are directly related to the provision of legal services.  Examples of what would not count are – making travel arrangements, fundraising, HPILF applications logistics, etc.  An example of what would count is the updating and preparation of training materials.
• Training time – individuals presenting the training may count these hours.  Individuals receiving the training in a group setting without the actual delivery of service may not count this time.  However, if the training is one on one in a shadowing type of role, these hours may be counted.

The Pro Bono program at UC Hastings has converted to a new online tracking and submission system – Track It Forward. You can sign in, register, and log hours by clicking here. Instructions for timesheet submission can be found here.

JD students who perform a minimum of 45 hours of volunteer services to under-represented individuals or communities during their tenure with UC Hastings will be inducted in the Pro Bono Society and recognized for their achievement at graduation. Those who complete at least 150 hours will receive recognition for Outstanding Achievement in Pro Bono. Hours requirements are pro rated for other programs/circumstances: transfer, LLM, MSL, & Foreign Exchange students are required to complete 15 or 50 hours for each year spent at UC Hastings.

There are a lot of great pro bono placements for students to work with in the Bay Area. Consult the intranet for more information. If you are unsure if the work you are doing counts as pro bono, you may email the program assistant Jayme Jackson at jacksoja@uchastings.edu.

The New York State Court of Appeals adopted a new rule requiring applicants for admission to the New York State bar to perform 50 hours of pro bono services. This page lists the links you can use for further information. It is important to understand the requirements for the NY State Bar because they are slightly different than requirements for the UC Hastings Pro Bono Program. Consult the New York State Board of Law Examiners website for more information.