Directory
William and Mary Law School
William and Mary
Law School Pro Bono Programs
Contact Information
Robert E. Kaplan
Associate Dean and Professor of the Practice
William & Mary Law School
P.O. Box 8795
Williamsburg, Virginia 23187-8795
757-221-3804
Category Type
Formal Voluntary Pro Bono Program Characterized by a Referral System with Coordinators
Description of Programs
Pro bono service takes many forms at William & Mary Law School, including:
Eviction Diversion Program: A partnership among the Greater Richmond Bar Foundation, Housing Opportunities Made Equal of Virginia, and Central Virginia Legal Aid Society, EDP protects low-income tenants from eviction. Attorneys and students serve as third-party neutrals by facilitating payment plans that help people stay in their homes.
Student Legal Services: Students assist and provide referrals for members of the William & Mary community.
Students for the Innocence Project: Assisting the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project to exonerate wrongly-convicted inmates, students participate in investigation and research of claims of actual innocence.
Wills for Seniors: Students work with attorneys from the law firm of Williams Mullen to conduct intake interviews and help draft, execute, and witness wills and advance medical directives for low-income clients referred by the Peninsula Agency on Aging.
Wills for the Arts: Students work with attorneys from the law firm of Williams Mullen to conduct intake interviews and help draft, execute, and witness wills and advance medical directives for low-income performing artists.
Students also provide substantial unpaid, credit-bearing legal service through externships, clinics, and a practicum.
The range and breadth of student nonlegal community service is as diverse as our students themselves. They volunteer on campus, in greater Williamsburg, in their home communities, and throughout the United States and the world.
Location of Programs
All programs are administered through the Office of Externships and Public Service or the Clinics Office.
Staffing/Management/Oversight
All programs are managed through the Office of Externships and Public Service or the Clinics Office.
Funding
Funding for staff and programmatic activities is provided through the Law School operating budget. Several clinics are funded through a mix of private support and grant funding.
Student Run Pro Bono Groups/Specialized Law Education Projects
A list of student run groups, including those focusing on pro bono and specialized law education projects, is here.
Faculty and Administrative Pro Bono
Members of the faculty and administration provide pro bono service, but that service is not tracked formally.
Awards/Recognition
The Virginia State Bar has honored the volunteer attorneys and students of William & Mary's Lewis B. Puller, Jr. Veterans Benefits Clinic with the Lewis F. Powell, Jr., Pro Bono Award. Students’ work in other clinics and the Coastal Policy Practicum also has garnered recognition.
William & Mary students have won the Virginia State Bar’s Oliver White Hill Law Student Pro Bono Award numerous times. The award annually recognizes one recipient among all Virginia law schools for extraordinary achievement in pro bono and undercompensated public service in Virginia.
The Law School confers student awards for which public service is a criterion.
Community Service
Information on student organizations that have a community service mission and/or sponsor community service activities is available here.
Law School Public Interest Programs
Contact Information
Robert E. Kaplan
Associate Dean and Professor of the Practice
William & Mary Law School
P.O. Box 8795
Williamsburg, Virginia 23187-8795
757-221-3804
Certificate/Curriculum Programs
J.D. students may earn academic concentrations, including one in Public Interest and Social Justice.
Public Interest Centers
Information about public interest centers is here.
Public Interest Clinics
Students provide substantial unpaid, credit-bearing legal services through clinics and the Coastal Policy practicum.
Externships/Internships
Externships offer opportunities for students to provide substantial unpaid, credit-bearing legal services.
Classes with a Public Service Component
Faculty often infuse public service issues into classroom discussion. A representative list of classes is here.
Public Interest Journals
Scholarly work in William & Mary's journals encompasses public interest issues. Information about journals is here.
PI Career Support Center
Through individual advising, programs and workshops, and library resources, the professionals in the Office of Career Services devote substantial time to helping students and graduates secure public service jobs. Students accept post-graduate and summer positions with government agencies, private nonprofit organizations, prosecutors, public defenders, and judges. An overview of recent employment outcomes, including the number of new graduates employed in government and public service, is here.
Public interest and government employers recruit William & Mary students through a variety of interview programs. Our students also participate in annual interview programs exclusively for government and public interest employers, including the Equal Justice Works Conference and Career Fair and the Government and Public Interest Interview Program.
Loan Repayment Assistance Programs (LRAP)
Information about William & Mary's Loan Repayment Assistance Program is here.
Post-Graduate Fellowships/Awards
Law School Funded:
The Public Service Post-Graduate Fellowship (PGF) Program provides stipends to select members of the most recent graduating class who, after passing the bar, work with an eligible private nonprofit organization, public defender, prosecutor, or government agency. Students apply for funding during the spring of their 3L year and are selected through a rigorous, competitive application process.
Graduate Student Funded:
None
Other Funding Sources:
None
Term Time Fellowships/Scholarships
Law School Funded:
The Law School Admission Office awards scholarships based on commitment to public service.
Graduate Student Funded
None
Other Funding Sources:
None
Summer Fellowships
Law School Funded:
The Law School has a robust summer public service fellowship program. Funding sources include money allocated by the Dean, endowments, and alumni donations.
Graduate Student Funded:
The William & Mary Public Service Fund, a student organization, raises money for summer public service fellowships and loan repayment assistance.
Other Funding Sources:
The Law School receives grants for summer fellowships from the Virginia Law Foundation and the Virginia State Bar's Criminal Law Section.
Extracurricular and Co-Curricular Programs
The Law School hosts many speakers each year. They run the gamut from prominent senior scholars who deliver named lectures to more junior scholars with fresh perspectives. They participate in conferences such as the Institute of Bill of Rights Law’s Supreme Court Preview and the Brigham Kanner Property Rights Conference. Our own faculty, judges, practicing lawyers, and public figures also frequently participate as lecturers and conference panelists. Some events have a designated subject matter (for example, international human rights, national security, election law, civil liberties, post-conflict justice); others are designed based on the intellectual imagination and professional backgrounds of the participants. Speakers frequently meet, in-person or virtually, with students in small groups to facilitate networking and to establish professional contacts.
Our students play a pivotal role in the richness of the Law School’s intellectual life. All lectures and programs are open to student attendance. Students also organize symposia, panels, and individual guest speakers.
Student Public Interest Groups
Information about student organizations with a public interest mission and/or that sponsor public interest activities is here.
6/3/2022