Directory
Yale Law School
Yale Law School
Law School Pro Bono Programs
Contact Information
Norma D’Apolito
Public Interest Director
Yale Law School
Career Development Office
(203) 436-2580
Category Type
Formal Voluntary Pro Bono Program Characterized by Administrative Support for In-house and Collaborative Group Projects
Formal Voluntary Pro Bono Program Characterized by Administrative Support for In-house and Collaborative Group Projects
Description of Programs
The Pro Bono Network is a student organization at Yale Law School that matches all types of domestic public interest organizations in need of pro bono assistance with Yale law students who want to work on important issues and build legal experience
Location of Programs
Staffing/Management/Oversight
The Public Interest Advisor and the Assistant Director of Administration in the Career Development Office provide oversight of the Pro Bono Network. The Student Public Interest Director provides administrative support to the Network and liaises with employers and student groups. The Public Interest Advisor provides counseling to YLS students interested in public interest opportunities—including public interest fellowships.
Funding
The Law School funds the pro bono program and provides office space, computers, and student organization funding to the student groups that do pro bono work. Faculty members who are engaged in pro bono work that overlaps with their faculty activities may use the resources of the Law School to support their efforts.
Faculty and Administrative Pro Bono
There is no formal faculty pro bono policy. Students frequently work with faculty members on projects which often include research and publication.
Awards/Recognition
The work of the student groups is celebrated at the bi-annual Public Service Reception. The reception serves to celebrate the service of the Law School community. An important part is to honor one student organization and one clinic that have performed especially noteworthy public service. This selection is based on student nominations and votes, which the Student Representatives administer on behalf of the Career Development Office.
Alternative Winter or Spring Break Projects
Law School Public Interest Programs
Contact Information
Norma D’Apolito
Public Interest Advisor
Yale Law School
Career Development Office
(203) 436-2580
Certificate/Curriculum Programs
N/a
Public Interest Centers
The Arthur Liman Center for Public Interest Law provides fellowships for graduates to work full-time in the public interest for one year, as well as modest grants to legal service organizations under the auspices of the Liman Fund. It also sponsors a weekly workshop during the fall semester. Finally, student associates of the Liman Center work with current and former Liman Fellows on various research projects arising from the fellows' work. The Liman Center also holds an annual public interest law colloquium during the spring semester. More information can be found here.
The Orville H. Schell J. Center for International Human Rights coordinates a diverse program of human rights activities—from lectures and conferences to the Human Rights Workshop, a weekly gathering of students, scholars, and practitioners in the field of human rights. In addition, the center administers several human rights fellowships for students and recent graduates. The Schell Center is directed by Jim Silk, who can be reached at E-mail. More information can be found here.
The Paul Tsai China Center is the primary home for activities related to China at the Law School. In recent years, the Paul Tsai China Center has expanded its work to issues of U.S.-China relations more generally. The Center seeks to increase understanding of China's legal system outside of China and to support the legal reform process within China. To these ends it carries out research and teaching, promotes academic exchanges with China, and undertakes cooperative projects with legal experts in China on important legal reform issues. The Center's current activities focus on the areas of judicial reform, criminal justice reform, administrative and regulatory reform, constitutional law and public interest law. Project activities include research visits to Yale and to China, workshops and seminars in the United States and China, and publications. Yale Law School students are encouraged to participate in the work of the Center. For information, contact 203-436-0517 or email E-mail. More information can also be found here.
The Gruber Program for Global Justice and Women's Rights is a Yale University Program administered by Yale Law School. It was established in 2011 by philanthropists Peter and Patricia Gruber as part of the Gruber Foundation. The Gruber Program at the Law School consists of three core components: l) the Global Constitutionalism Seminar; 2) the Gruber Distinguished Lectures in Global Justice and Women's Rights; and 3) the Gruber Global Justice and Women's Rights Fellowships. Mindy Jane Roseman is the Director of the Gruber program and can be reached at E-mail. More information can be found here.
The Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy, a joint undertaking between the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies and the Yale Law School, seeks to incorporate fresh thinking, ethical awareness, and analytically rigorous decision-making tools into environmental law and policy. In addition to its research activities, the Center aims to serve as a locus for connection and collaboration by all members of the Yale University community who are interested in environmental law and policy issues. The Center supports a wide-ranging program of teaching, research, and outreach on local, regional, national, and global pollution control and natural resource management issues. These efforts involve faculty, staff, and student collaboration and are aimed at shaping academic thinking and policymaking in the public, private, and NGO sectors. The Center coordinates an Environmental Protection Clinic that undertakes long-term projects for clients (environmental groups, government agencies, community organizations, and private sector enterprises) and is staffed by interdisciplinary teams of law and environmental studies students. Projects include legislative drafting, litigation, multiparty negotiation, and policy development, and focus on topics including environmental justice, sustainable agriculture, and global warming. More information can be found here
PI Career Support Center
The Career Development Office at Yale Law School (CDO) maintains a focus on public service careers and pro bono work through programming, counseling, and resources, and employs a full-time counselor dedicated to this area. Each year, CDO conducts over 40 educational and mentoring programs regarding public interest work, sponsors several recruitment events involving service opportunities, and produces many service manuals and other resource materials.
Our public service manuals include:
Criminal Defense
Criminal Prosecution
Environmental Law
International Public Interest Law
Public Interest Careers
Public Interest Fellowships
Working on Capitol Hill
More information about CDO, its programs, and its resources is available at www.law.yale.edu/cdo.
Loan Repayment Assistance Programs (LRAP)
The Career Options Assistance Program (COAP) allows students to choose public service after graduation by paying all or a portion of their academic loans. COAP provides full loan repayment to any and all graduates who are earning less than $50,000 a year (more with deductions) and partial repayment for those with salaries quite a bit higher. In 2018 alone, COAP provided over $5.3 million in loan forgiveness to 400 YLS graduates. To date, COAP has provided over $54 million in loan repayment.
Fellowships
Learn about fellowships here.