Directory
Georgia State University College of Law
Georgia State University
Law School Pro Bono Programs
Contact Information
Darcy Meals
Assistant Director, Center for Access to Justice
[email protected]
404-413-9253
Category Type
Formal Voluntary Pro Bono Program Characterized by a Referral System with a Coordinator Program
Description of Programs
The Center for Access to Justice’s Student Pro Bono Program connects students with legal volunteer opportunities to address unmet legal needs of people of limited means and to enhance the capacity of law and legal institutions to do justice, under the supervision of practicing attorneys in the nonprofit, public, and private sectors.
Location of Programs
Center for Access to Justice
Staffing/Management/Oversight
The Pro Bono Program is housed within the Center for Access to Justice and managed by a student board with oversight from the Center’s Assistant Director.
Funding
Law school/Center for Access to Justice’s operating budget.
Student Run Pro Bono Groups/Specialized Law Education Projects
Faculty and Administrative Pro Bono
Awards/Recognition
Students who complete at least 50 hours of pro bono or public service work are eligible to receive recognition upon graduation. Students graduate with “distinction” for 50-99 hours; with “high distinction” for 100-149 hours; and with “highest distinction” for 150 or more hours of pro bono and public service work.
Community Service
Law School Public Interest Programs
Contact Information
Darcy Meals
Assistant Director, Center for Access to Justice
[email protected]
404-413-9253
Certificate/Curriculum Programs
The Center for Access to Justice’s Public Interest Law and Policy Certificate Program provides students with the training and legal knowledge necessary to serve traditionally underrepresented individuals, communities and interests and to facilitate the development of problem-solving skills relevant to working with and on behalf of public interest issues and underserved populations.
The program is designed to allow students to focus on a particular substantive area specific to their interests and career goals or to explore more broadly the kinds of issues that might arise in doing public interest or pro bono work. Students pursuing the certificate must satisfy the general J.D. requirements and satisfy the curricular elements detailed in the Certificate Information Packet
http://law.gsu.edu/center-access-justice/public-interest-law-policy-certificate/
Public Interest Centers
Center for Access to Justice : https://law.gsu.edu/faculty-centers/center-for-access-to-justice/
Center for Law, Health & Society: https://law.gsu.edu/faculty-centers/center-for-law-health-society/
Center for the Comparative Study of Metropolitan Growth https://law.gsu.edu/faculty-centers/center-for-the-comparative-study-of-metropolitan-growth/
Public Interest Clinics
Our three in-house clinics, HeLP Legal Services Clinic, Investor Advocacy Clinic, Philip C. Cook Low Income Taxpayer Clinic, operate as a law firm in the Center for Clinical Education, where they serve clients who cannot afford legal help. Clinic students develop their legal skills by directly representing clients. These real lawyering experiences provide rich opportunities for students to learn about the lawyer’s role and ethical engagement.
HeLP Legal Services Clinic
Students develop professional skills in a variety of civil subject matter areas by representing low-income children receiving health care services at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta facilities.
Philip C. Cook Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic
The tax clinic promotes professional skills and training as students represent low-income people during the post-audit stage of their Internal Revenue Service disputes.
Off-Site Clinics
Students take clinical courses and perform legal work off-site in the areas of criminal law and mediation under the supervision of adjunct faculty.
Capital Defender Clinic
Capital Defender Clinic students help the capital defender attorneys effectively represent individuals facing the death penalty, and build factual and legal narratives that will lead to the reversal of death sentences on appeal.
Landlord-Tenant Mediation Clinic
Landlord-Tenant Mediation Clinic students receive training and certification as registered neutrals. They mediate landlord/tenant disputes and other disputes, including cases handled in the State and Magistrate courts; particularly small claim civil issues such as disputes between neighbors, consumers and businesses and creditors and debtors.
v Olmstead Disability Rights Clinic
Taught in partnership with the Atlanta Legal Aid Society’s Disability Integration Project, the clinic focuses on advocacy arising out of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Olmstead decision.
Externships/Internships
Students in our Externship Program experience tremendous learning opportunities outside the classroom. Externships provide students with practical skills and substantive training while they earn course credit.
Through externships, students gain great insight into the operation of the legal system and develop a heightened sense of professional responsibility. Students are paired with site-supervising attorneys who work one-on-one with students as they develop their legal skills. Students also work throughout the semester with a faculty supervisor who helps guide their learning experience.
Students work in a wide range of Atlanta-area legal placements, government agencies, nonprofit organizations and judge’s offices. Part-time and full-time students are eligible for externships. Placements are offered each semester.
http://law.gsu.edu/experiential-learning/externships/
Classes with a Public Service Component
Public Interest Journals
PI Career Support Center
Center for Professional Development and Career Strategies
https://law.gsu.edu/student-experience/career-development/
Loan Repayment Assistance Programs (LRAP)
Post-Graduate Fellowships/Awards
Law School Funded:
Graduate Student Funded:
Other Funding Sources:
Term Time Fellowships/Scholarships
Law School Funded:
Graduate Student Funded
Other Funding Sources:
Summer Fellowships
Law School Funded:
Graduate Student Funded:
Other Funding Sources:
Public Interest Law Association
Federal Defender Fellowship, administered through Center for Access to Justice
Extracurricular and Co-Curricular Programs
Student Public Interest Groups
2/16/2021