Golden Gate University School of Law

Law School Pro Bono Programs

Contact Information

Category Type

Formal Voluntary Pro Bono Program Characterized by a Referral System with a Coordinator

Description of Programs

All law students are encouraged to contribute to the local legal community through the Law Student Pro Bono Project co-sponsored by Golden Gate University School of Law and OneJustice.

The Law Student Pro Bono Project matches students with short-term and long-term volunteer projects at legal aid agencies, court-based programs, and social service providers. Students may sign up to receive the Pro Bono News of the Week and learn about projects on the Law Student Pro Bono Project website. Flexible and varied opportunities provide students with options that fit their busy schedules.

Student projects include certified court practice; client intake and interviewing; fact investigation; legal research and writing; legislative advocacy; policy analysis; translation; and trial preparation.

Location of Programs

The Law Student Pro Bono Program is administered by One-Justice. The Assistant Director for Public Interest programs promotes public interest and pro bono programs and opportunities independently and through the general outreach of the Law Career Services Office. The Assistant Director for Public Interest Programs has an office in the Law Career Services Office.

Staffing/Management/Oversight

The full-time Assistant Director for Public Interest Programs maintains a list of current pro bono opportunities. The Assistant Director also continually develops new pro bono opportunities. Students can discuss their interest areas, skills and scheduling needs with the Assistant Director who will counsel them on the appropriate placement. New opportunities are promoted through workshops, the law school's social media, at all law career services events and via a weekly newsletter.

Funding

GGU annually commits resources to the Law Student Pro Bono Programs

Student Run Pro Bono Groups/Specialized Law Education Projects

The following student groups organize pro bono projects:

Student Bar Association (SBA): SBA is the official voice of School of Law students. An umbrella organization funded by student fees, the SBA coordinates various programs, activities, and events to meet the educational, recreational, and interpersonal needs of the student body. All JD students are members of the SBA and pay a fee of $20 per semester to fund SBA activities. In turn, the SBA disburses these funds to support other student groups and activities. Students elect SBA officers and representatives each spring. The representatives come from each class of the day and evening divisions. The officers of the SBA are the president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer. Together with the representatives, these officers constitute the board of directors. The president of the SBA serves on the School of Law's hearing panel and attends meetings of the Golden Gate University Board of Trustees.

ACLU-NC Student Chapter: The ACLU of Northern California works to preserve and guarantee the protections of the Constitution's Bill of Rights. We aim to extend these freedoms to segments of our population who have traditionally been denied their rights, including people of color; lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transgendered people; women; mental-health patients; prisoners; people with disabilities; and the poor. In addition to the litigation for which the ACLU-NC has been known over the past seven decades, we also educate the public, inform the media, lobby legislators, organize grassroots activists, and disseminate information about our constitutional freedoms.

American Bar Association Law Student Division (ABA/LSD): ABA/LSD seeks to further academic excellence by encouraging law students to participate in the efforts of the organized bar in the formation and revision of standards of legal education. In the past, the School of Law's chapter sponsored a "Surviving Law School" program, introducing both day and evening division firstyear students to the reality of law school, and organized an annual Homeless Luncheon.

American Constitution Society (ACS): ACS is a progressive organization comprised of law students, lawyers, scholars, judges, policymakers, activists, and other concerned individuals working to ensure that the fundamental principles of human dignity, individual rights and liberties, genuine equality, and access to justice are in their rightful, central place in American law. The GGU ACS chapter initiates and organizes events and debates that foster intelligent discussion and thought on current and future legal issues.

Asian Pacific American Law Student Association: APALSA is open to all law students enrolled at Golden Gate and is dedicated to providing academic, professional, and social support to all of its members. APALSA also encourages and fosters greater minority enrollment at the School of Law and teaches awareness of issues involving Asian Pacific American individuals, minorities, and the surrounding community.

Black Law Students Association (BLSA): BLSA is a national organization dedicated to the recruitment, support (including academic support), and development of African-American law students. The BLSA chapter at Golden Gate promotes academic success and achievement by sponsoring a mentoring program and conducting review sessions and workshops for first-year students. BLSA promotes career development by participating in job fairs and the School of Law's annual Law Career Focus Day and by sponsoring presentations by practicing attorneys.

Employment Law Association (ELA): ELA members promote employment and labor law, uncover the hot issues in these areas, and build a network together.

Environmental Law Society (ELS): ELS discusses current developments in environmental law and works to further the goals of protecting the environment as well as securing placements in the legal field. ELS also participates in the annual Earth Day cleanup and the annual beach cleanup, hosts speakers on environmental issues, and periodically cosponsors a symposium dealing with emerging issues in environmental law. ELS participates each spring in the Environmental Conference in Eugene, Oregon, which provides a setting for interested students to meet and share information about events, school programs, jobs, and new developments in the field of environmental law.

Federalist Society (FS): The Federalist Society is a nationwide organization of conservative and libertarian law students, lawyers, and members of the judiciary. The society is founded on the principles of individual liberty, limited government, and the rule of law.

Intellectual Property Law Association (IPLA): IPLA seeks to forge and maintain relationships among students, the School of Law and firms, corporations, businesses, and other organizations involved in all areas of intellectual property law to educate students about intellectual property law, aid students in obtaining IP-related employment, and promote the integrity of the School of Law's IP law program to the legal community. IPLA has surveyed local firms to determine their hiring preferences regarding recent graduates and summer associate positions, sponsored presentations by local attorneys regarding issues in IP law, and cosponsored activities with professional organizations such as California Lawyers for the Arts.

International Law Society (ILS): ILS brings together students of diverse backgrounds and interests with a common goal of promoting and fostering an increased understanding and appreciation of international law at all levels, whether public, private, comparative, theoretical, or practical. ILS is an active member of the International Law Student Association (ILSA), a worldwide umbrella student organization.

Iranian Law Student Association (ILSA): The Iranian Law Students Association ("ILSA") of Golden Gate University seeks to promote the professional and cultural advancement of the Iranian community in the Bay Area. ILSA strives to strengthen the Iranian and Middle Eastern communities by participating in cultural, social, and charitable events.

Jewish Law Students Association (JLSA): JLSA plans social and culturally enriching events for Jewish students and faculty as well as events designed to educate the School of Law community about Jewish concerns.

Latino Law Students Association (La RAZA): A main objective of La Raza is to provide academic and moral support for first-year students. La Raza provides direction and advice to first-year students through its mentor/mentee program and scheduled general meetings. La Raza also strives to facilitate bonds among students who are interested in Latino issues and serves as an information resource group for its members. Upper division students can benefit from the host of career and scholarship/fellowship opportunities that are available for people of color. Additionally, La Raza brings Latino community issues back to the law student through e-mail postings and announcements at its general meetings.

Law Students for Reproductive Justice: Law Students for Reproductive Justice is committed to educating, organizing, and supporting pro-choice law students to ensure that a new generation of lawyers will be prepared to successfully defend and expand reproductive rights.

Middle Eastern LAW Students Association (MELSA): MELSA was founded to facilitate information sharing and collaboration among law students of Middle Eastern background. The group strives to build a strong alliance with other School of Law associations and to foster a greater understanding between Middle Eastern and non-Middle Eastern law students.

National Italian American Foundation (NIAF): NIAF seeks to provide a unified and effective voice for Italian Americans so that their beliefs and views may be heard by the social, economical, cultural, educational, and political institutions of this country. NIAF also educates members of the Italian American community on issues that are of interest to them and may affect government policy, and aims to protect the history, heritage, and accomplishments of Italian Americans. In addition, NIAF seeks to help young Italian Americans attain their educational goals. This group is also known as "CIAO," the California Italian-American Advocates Association.

National Lawyers Guild (NLG): NLG is a progressive group of lawyers, law students, and legal workers that provides legal support for workers and for persons who are racially, sexually, or politically oppressed. The Bay Area chapter strives to expose law students to a variety of public interest law practices and connect students with practitioners working in areas of particularly urgent need. The Bay Area chapter of the NLG recently organized projects on SSI reapplications, affirmative action, prisoner's rights, and immigrant rights.

Phi Alpha Delta: Phi Alpha Delta aims to unite law students, teachers, judges, and attorneys in a fraternal fellowship designed to advance the ideals of liberty and equal justice; to stimulate excellence in scholarship; to inspire compassion and courage; to foster integrity and professional competence; to promote the welfare of its members; and the encourage members' moral, intellectual, and cultural advancement.

Phi Delta Phi: The purpose of Phi Delta Phi, which is open to all students, is to form a strong bond uniting law students and professors with members of the bench and bar in a fraternal fellowship designed to advance the ideals of justice and community service.

Public Interest Law Foundation (PILF): PILF is dedicated to advancing public interest through law by encouraging and supporting members who give back to the community. PILF assists students in finding legal employment and involvement opportunities in public interest and in government. It also provides forums to hear from faculty and practicing attorneys about their public interest experiences and to discuss issues within public interest fields. PILF helps administer the Loan Repayment Assistance Program, which provides grants to help repay a portion of educational loans to School of Law graduates who work in low-paying public interest jobs. Each spring, PILF awards summer grants to current students working in public interest positions and holds an auction and raffle to raise money for these programs.

Public Policy Project (PPP): PPP, a non-partisan organization, aims to promote awareness of the relationship between law and politics and to engage and participate in the public policy sector by facilitating the understanding of the many considerations and tenets that underlie policy and how it serves the community.

Queer Law Student Association (QLSA): QLSA is concerned with individual rights and legal issues affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. Members are committed to playing an active part in legal and social reform. QLSA has spearheaded dialogue within the School of Law community on the issue of gays in the military by publishing information and bringing in speakers on the subject. QLSA also engages in networking by way of a mentor program with Bay Area attorneys through BALIF (Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom).

Student Elder Law Forum (SELF): The Student Elder Law Forum (SELF) creates opportunities for students to get involved in the rapidly growing field of elder law. SELF invites leading elder law attorneys to address students on campus, maintains a website and other resources for interested students, and regularly sponsors events to encourage students to apply their skills in the important and rewarding practice of elder law.

South Asian Law Student Association (SALSA): SALSA is an organization that aims to build networks between South Asian law students and lawyers that will continue throughout their professional careers. SALSA strives to come together to help the community through volunteer work and fundraising. SALSA hopes to educate the community about South Asian issues and promote social synergy throughout the school's South Asian community.

Student Animal Legal Defense Fund (SALDF): SALDF provides a forum for education, advocacy, and scholarship aimed at protecting the lives and advancing the interests of animals through the legal system and raising the profile of the field of animal law.

The Women's Law Association (WLA): WLA is dedicated to educating and fostering dialogue on issues that impact women's rights, especially in the legal field. It sponsors social and educational activities for the entire student body as well as events primarily of interest to women. In the past, WLA has provided a mentor program for first-year students.

Youth Law Association (YLA): The Youth Law Association aims to open up the field of Youth Law at GGU through panels and networking events. We strive to assist students in their exploration of this dynamic area of practice.

Faculty and Administrative Pro Bono

Community and public service are considered affirmatively in promotion and tenure decisions. Community and public service includes contributions to community organizations and the organized bar; law-related public service; community outreach; and work related to the improvement of legal institutions and procedures and development of the law.

Golden Gate does not collect data on lawyer administrative staff pro bono activities.

Awards/Recognition

Pro Bono Honor Society: The Pro Bono Honor Society recognizes students who have performed a set amount of pro bono work each year. The membership induction criteria differ by law school year. The students inducted into the Pro Bono Honor Society are honored at the Public Interest Graduation in the Spring.

Public Interest Graduation Reception: The annual Public Interest Graduation Reception celebrates the accomplishments of 3Ls, alumni, current students, student leaders, faculty and staff who have been active in the public interest community on campus. PILF grants and other summer funding awards are announced, and faculty and alumni give speeches. Those receiving the Public Interest Specialization Certificate are also honored at this event.

Outstanding Public Interest Student Award: The Outstanding Public Interest Student Award is given to a student who has excelled in public interest coursework, community service and pro bono legal work outside the classroom.

Community Service

Canned Immunity: Phi Delta Phi presented Canned Immunity, a food drive and fundraiser for the San Francisco Food Bank. Students brought canned goods or cash to exchange for tickets, and used the tickets for immunity from questions from their professors. Each ticket gave a student immunity from one question. Professors could also buy tickets to trump students' immunity. All proceeds from ticket sales went towards buying additional food for the San Francisco Food Bank.

ACLU Book Drive: The ACLU Student Chapter collected book donations for the Prisoners Literature Project's Books Through Bars program. Through its affiliation with Bound Together Books, the Prisoners Literature Project collects book, stamp and envelope donations for those inside. As part of its Critical Eye on the Criminal Justice System series, the ACLU Student Chapter encouraged the GGU community to donate to this cause.

Food From The Bar: Sponsored by the Bar Association of San Francisco, Food from the Bar is the legal community's largest annual food and fund-raising drive and supports the San Francisco Food Bank. Students helped by donating canned foods to the collection barrels in the 2nd and 3rd floor lobbies and in the SBA Lounge.

Holiday Wish List Event: SBA solicited sponsors, donors, and supporters for a Holiday Wish List Event benefiting underprivileged children in San Francisco through a non-profit after school and summer program called "Up On Top" (http://www.upontop.org/). Up On Top's mission is to offer hope, stability, and fun to children of low-income families in San Francisco, preparing them to be successful in school and in life. Students supported this event by donating money, and sponsoring children.

Japan Relief Fundraiser: SBA and APALSA hosted a relief effort for the victims of the tsunami and earthquakes in Japan. They raised over $6,000.

Orientation Service Project: Each year, Golden Gate University School of Law hosts an Orientation Service Project for entering first-year students. Last year, the school hosted an environmental restoration program that involved spending the morning with the Presidio Trust gardening staff helping to restore native plant life in the Presidio National Park.

Law School Public Interest Programs

Contact Information

Certificate/Curriculum Programs

Public Interest Specialization Certificate: Golden Gate Law offers an extensive public interest law program and employs a full-time Assistant Director for Public Interest Programs. This certificate requires specialized coursework, supervised legal work in a public interest or government setting and community service. Graduating students are honored at the Annual Public Interest Graduation Reception.

Golden Gate also offers five other certificate programs in more specialized areas related to public interest:

Criminal Law Specialization Certificate: Golden Gate has a long and proud history of producing outstanding criminal lawyers and California's Public Defender and District Attorney's Offices are full of talented, dedicated Golden Gate alumni. In addition to the required Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure I and Evidence courses, students must complete additional units in criminal law courses. Students learn the foundational aspects of criminal litigation in classes like Advanced Criminal Procedure or Wrongful Convictions. Through the Criminal Litigation Externship, students intern with state and federal prosecutors and defense attorneys. They also obtain valuable practical experience by working for judges in criminal court and interning in law offices specializing in criminal defense.

Environmental Law Specialization Certificate: Golden Gate Law's Environmental Law Program features faculty who are actively involved in environmental justice and protection efforts, on-site and off-site clinics offering unparalleled opportunities to effect change and cutting-edge courses on current environmental law and policy issues. This certificate requires concentrated coursework, a research paper and clinical experience focused on environmental law.

Family Law Specialization Certificate: Students who earn the specialization certificate in Family Law complete a rigorous course of study aimed at familiarizing them with this dynamic field of law. Through traditional coursework and internship opportunities students study the nuances of marriage, civil unions, and domestic partnerships; adoption and surrogacy; child abuse and abduction; and issues arising from the termination of a relationship such as divorce, annulment, alimony, and child custody and visitation.

International Law Specialization Certificate: The International Legal Studies Program offers in-depth coverage of specialized areas of public and private international law, as well as international trade and comparative law. Students interested in international legal studies at Golden Gate Law may go on to earn an LLM or SJD in international legal studies, programs that have graduated hundreds of students from more than 50 nations. Students specializing in international legal studies may participate in the law school's summer study abroad program in Paris, where American students study comparative law together with French students in courses taught by noted French and American scholars.

Labor & Employment Specialization Certificate: To obtain this certificate, students must complete two required courses, four units of elective courses, two units of clinical training and a comprehensive research paper. Through the on-site Women's Employment Rights Clinic, students can provide legal advice, counseling and representation to low-income workers in the San Francisco Bay Area. The clinic has achieved many successes over the years, particularly for Latina and Asian-American workers. Students can also gain valuable labor and employment law experience through Golden Gate Law's Civil Field Placement Clinic.

Litigation Specialization Certificate: Students must complete approved litigation courses, including the required Trial Advocacy and Mock Trial basic courses and either Civil Litigation: Pre-Trial Phase or Criminal Litigation. Clinical placements with significant litigation work are highly encouraged.

Public Interest Centers

Center on Urban Environmental Law: Cities are not located outside the natural environment. Buildings, industry and urban infrastructure consume resources, change landscapes and discharge pollutants into air and waters. Forests, waterfronts and waterways within city limits serve as ecosystems and habitat corridors on which species depend. Where we site factories, freeways, and parkland impacts the health of urban residents and defines the character of urban neighborhoods. The Center on Urban Environmental Law (CUEL) at Golden Gate University School of Law takes the city as a natural starting point to assess how the law shapes environmental conditions.

Environmental Law and Justice Clinic: The Environmental Law and Justice Clinic (ELJC) at GGU School of Law was established in 1994 and is one of the first law clinics in the U.S. to prioritize environmental justice in its work. Our mission is to train GGU law students to be effective and ethical lawyers and to improve environmental conditions for communities of color and low-income people. Our geographic focus is the San Francisco Bay Area and California. ELJC is staffed by two faculty attorneys, one attorney fellow, and our student clinicians. ELJC clinicians are certified under State Bar of California rules to perform many of the tasks of an attorney. Under close faculty supervision, they interview and counsel clients, develop legal strategies, draft legal documents, appear at hearings, and negotiate with opposing parties. The Clinic also has an environmental scientist on staff.

Honors Lawyering Program (Fall Apprenticeship): HLP takes a unique approach to legal education, integrating the theory, skills, and values learned in the classroom with actual work in the legal community — a modern version of the traditional apprenticeship. HLP students attend a regular first-year curriculum, participate in an intensive skills-focused summer session, and work at a full-time fall apprenticeship. In the spring, students return to full-time classes with a new appreciation for the application of law to practice. During their third year, students complete a second apprenticeship and have the option to enroll in additional, practice-based courses. Honors courses meet in small sections that integrate lawyering skills training with the substantive law curriculum. By the third week, students begin representing real clients under the guidance and supervision of the professors, who are themselves practicing attorneys. Students may apprentice in private law firms, companies, courts, government agencies, and public interest organizations.

Katrina and Disaster Law Program: This dynamic program explores a myriad of legal issues arising out of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the subsequent breach of the levees. After studying some of the history of the Gulf Coast and the background leading up to Hurricane Katrina, each student will select a topic to research in depth. During the semester students will present reports to the class on the progress of their research and submit written work that will culminate in a paper of publishable quality. The research topics will focus on legal issues that are of practical use to lawyers and agencies engaged in helping those people who lost family members, homes, jobs, schools, pets, and neighborhoods in the wake of Katrina, and those who are engaged in the clean up and rebuilding efforts. Thus, the course will involve intersections of a number of areas of law, including contracts, insurance, property, race and poverty, employment, immigration, environmental and criminal justice. Students, with the assistance of the professor, will assemble their writings and submit them for publication and will present the results of their research at a symposium for the Golden Gate community.

Law Career Services: Through innovative programs and personalized attention, LCS counselors work closely with students and alumni to meet the demands of today's legal marketplace. Golden Gate's full-time Assistant Director for Public Interest Programs has years of experience working in the public, private and nonprofit sectors and maintains numerous connections with public interest employers (there are over 500 connections on the Director's LinkedIn page). The Director oversees Golden Gate's pro bono program, organizes regular community services opportunities, administers the school's Loan Repayment Assistance Program, organizes countless public service career-related events, and supports student groups in their efforts to organize and raise funds.

Poverty Law Program: The primary objective of this program is to introduce students to the unique legal issues of the poor and how the legal system deals with access to justice and indigency. We will review historical and contemporary challenges facing public interest lawyers, legal problems and policy choices regarding poverty, and effective advocacy strategies. These themes will then be traced through three areas of substantive discussion: government benefit programs, housing law and homelessness, and family law. We will conclude the course with an examination of new trends in legal services.

Sompong Sucharitkul Center for Advanced International Legal Studies: The Sompong Sucharitkul Center hosts the prestigious Annual Fulbright Symposium on Current International Legal Issues and publishes the Annual Survey of International and Comparative Law.

Women's Employment Rights Clinic: The Women's Employment Rights Clinic (WERC) of Golden Gate University School of Law, founded in 1993, believes that every worker has a right to decent wages and equal opportunity. In conjunction with community based organizations, WERC advocates for the rights of low-wage and immigrant workers through direct service, impact litigation and public policy work. WERC also serves the dual purpose of training the next generation of ethical, competent, and socially responsible professionals. WERC is one of a handful of clinical legal programs around the nation providing comprehensive services for workplace problems. WERC operates an intake hotline staffed by law students, under the supervision of the clinic faculty and attorneys. The clinic advises, counsels and represents clients in a variety of employment-related matters including wage and hour violations, discrimination, workplace harassment, unemployment benefits, pregnancy and family/medical leave, and employment rights of the formerly incarcerated.

Public Interest Clinics

Environmental Law & Justice Clinic (ELJC): The Clinic focuses on addressing environmental justice issues. Students work on active litigation in court, make presentations at administrative proceedings and carry out the clinic's community education activities.

Women's Employment Rights Clinic (WERC): Students provide advice, counseling, and legal representation to low-income workers in areas including: sex and race discrimination and harassment, wage and hour claims, unemployment benefits, pregnancy disability, and family leave.

Pro Bono Tax Clinic: Students provide advice, counseling, and legal representation to low-income individuals in certain tax disputes with the California Board of Equalization. This course is offered through the LL.M. Tax program and JD students must obtain pre-approval from the program director.

HLP Lawyering Skills: Students learn counseling, interviewing, and negotiating skills in class simulations, then work with real clients. Training is provided in both lawyering skills and substantive law. Under the professor's supervision, students act as advocates for clients in a variety of settings. This course is open only to students in the Honors Lawyering Program (HLP).

Externships/Internships

Students become eligible to enroll in an internship for credit/clinical field placement after completing 29 units (1 year) of coursework (for judicial externships, students must have completed 40 units) and may take one clinical course per semester, for a total of 13 units of clinical coursework during law school. Students perform 45 hours of work at their placement per unit. Additionally, students attend weekly seminars relating to their clinical work.

Advanced Legal Clinic: Students who have completed one or more Externship clinic in prior semesters and who wish to work again in the same field of law.

Capital Post-Conviction Defense Clinic: Students work on representation of indigent defendants challenging their convictions and death sentences on direct appeal and through habeas corpus proceedings. Students receive training and supervision through working directly with attorneys from the California Appellate Project (CAP).

Civil Field Placement Clinic: Students work in law firms, corporations, public interest organizations, or government agencies in: Intellectual Property, Tax, Entertainment, Bankruptcy, Disability Rights, Corporate Counsel, Immigration, Government, Domestic Violence, and General Civil Practice.

Criminal Litigation Clinic: Students participate in a criminal justice seminar with an emphasis on ethical, reflective lawyering, while externing in a wide variety of state and federal prosecution or defender agencies.

Consumer Rights Clinic: Students learn interviewing and counseling skills, as well as substantive consumer law, and assist attorneys in providing advice, counseling and limited legal representation, including drafting letters and basic pleadings such as answers and claims of exemption.

Environmental Law Clinic: Students study environmental law and regulations and extern in government agencies, environmental organizations, or public interest groups, working on environmental, natural resources, or land use issues.

Family Law Clinic: Students learn the nuts and bolts of family law practice and are placed in government agencies, non-profits, or private family law offices assisting low-income clients with urgent family law issues.

Homeless Advocacy Clinic: Students learn interviewing, counseling, and negotiation skills and advocate on a variety of issues for clients of the Bar Association of San Francisco's Homeless Advocacy Project.

Judicial Externships: Students work in judges' chambers or with court staff. Positions are in all levels of state and federal courts, with a full range of judicial assignments, including civil work, family and juvenile law, bankruptcy, law and motion, and criminal work.

Real Estate Clinic: Students work with law firms or government agencies involved with real property development. The primary focus is on issues of acquisition, disposition, financing, development, and operation of real estate.

Youth Law Clinic: Students work in non-profit law offices, government agencies or private offices engaged in litigation, administrative hearings, or other advocacy on behalf of children or youth. Students also attend a seminar with an emphasis on reflective lawyering, professional responsibility, skills and practice issues. Students may work in a wide variety of substantive law areas.

Classes with a Public Service Component

Animal & Wildlife Law
Comparative Equality & Fundamental Rights
Advanced Seminar in Labor/Employment Law
Comparative Labor Law
Constitutional Law I
Constitutional Law II
Criminal Procedure I
Global Climate Change & Water Law
Global Warming & the Courts
International Criminal Law
International Trade Regulation
International Wildlife Law
Intra-State Conflict & Peace Building
Intro to French & European Union Law
Introduction to Islamic Law
Law & Leadership Seminar
Lawyering: Asylum Law
Ocean and Coastal Law
Tax Aspects of Charitable Giving
Administrative Law
Alternative Dispute Resolution
Art & the Law
California Environmental & Natural Resources Law
Children & the Law
Cities & Environmental Law
Climate Change & International Law
Community Property
Comparative Criminal Justice
Competition: Environmental Law Moot Court
Competition: Environmental Negotiation
Constitutional Issues Seminar
Contemplative Lawyering
Contemporary Issues in International Law
Criminal Litigation
Criminal Procedure II
Domestic Violence Seminar
Education Law
Employment Discrimination
Employment Law
Energy & Environmental Law
Environmental Law & Justice Seminar
Environmental Law & Policy
Environmental Law Journal Associate Editor
Environmental Law Journal Board
Environmental Law Journal Writer I
Environmental Law Journal Writer II
Family Law
Family Law Practice
Federal Courts
Gender & the Law
Gender, Children and International Law
Global Warming & Renewable Energy
Guerilla Lawyering
Immigration & Refugee Policy Seminar
Immigration Law
International Environmental Law Seminar
International Human Rights Seminar
International Law
International Organizations
International Trade & Environmental Protection
Katrina & Disaster Law Seminar
Labor Law
Land Use Regulation
Law of International Armed Conflicts
Lawyering: Ethics in Criminal Justice
Lawyering: Private Enforcement of Environmental Laws
Lawyering: Using the Law for Social Change While Challenging Imprisonment
Lawyering: Youth Law
Mediation & Collaborative Lawyering
Pacific Settlement of Disputes Between States
Poverty Law
Public Natural Resources & Land Use
Reproductive Rights & Justice
Sexual Orientation & the Law
Street Law
Tax Exempt Organizations
Toxics Law & Policy
Water Law
Women's Employment Rights Seminar
Workers' Compensation
Wrongful Convictions: Causes & Remedies

Public Interest Journals

Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal http://www.GGU.edu/lawlibrary/environmental_law_journal

The Annual Survey of International and Comparative Law http://www.GGU.edu/lawlibrary/annual_survey

PI Career Support Center

The Law Career Services Office (LCS) maintains a resource center with current information about public interest careers, including an online database of employment listings, fellowship opportunities, and pro bono projects. LCS hosts networking events that bring public interest attorneys to campus to meet students and talk about public interest careers and topics. LCS conducts informational sessions on various topics such as funding options for summer public interest employment. LCS offers an extensive resume review service, as well as interviewing and networking skills workshops, to help students obtain the internship or job they desire. LCS offers individualized counseling to students interested in public interest careers and pro bono opportunities.

The Assistant Director for Public Interest Programs sends out a weekly e-newsletter and produces a social media page highlighting public interest events, job opportunities, internships and articles.

Golden Gate is a member of PSLawNet, a global network of more than 120 law schools and 10,000 public service organizations working to foster law student community service and encourage all future lawyers to incorporate public service into their careers. PSLawNet offers comprehensive, current information on a broad range of pro bono and public service opportunities, as well as resources and expertise.

Golden Gate is also a member of One-Justice, an organization dedicated to leading the path in creating more opportunities for students and young lawyers to pursue public interest careers. Membership in One-Justice offers Golden Gate exclusive access to One-Justice benefits, including eligibility for Fellowships and AmeriCorps programs and the annual Conference and Career Fair.

Additionally, Golden Gate participates in and sponsors students to attend the following annual public interest career events:

Asian American Bar Association Career Day (Underwritten by Kirkland & Ellis LLP)
Bay Area Diversity Career Fair
Northern California Public Interest/Public Sector Legal Career Day (PI/PS Day)
Southern California PI/PS Day
Equal Justice Works Conference and Career Fair
Golden Gate University School of Law Summer, Fall and Spring Recruitment Program, including on-campus interviews with public interest employers
Hispanic National Bar Association's Annual Career
Impact Career Fair
National Black Prosecutors Association Job Fair
National Latino/a Law Student Association Conference Career Fair
Vault Legal Diversity Career Fair
The San Francisco Intellectual Property Law Association Job Fair
The National LGBT Bar Association's annual Lavender Law Career Fair

Loan Repayment Assistance Programs (LRAP)

To help students who want to secure employment in low-paying public interest and government jobs, Golden Gate University School of Law offers a Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP). The Program has two goals: (1) to lessen the degree to which financing the cost of a legal education limits career options and (2) to encourage graduates to choose public interest careers.

Under LRAP, the Law School will make a loan to qualifying graduates to assist them with their law school loan repayments. If a graduate remains eligible throughout the year, the loan is fully forgivable in July of the year following application. If a graduate does not remain eligible throughout the year, the loan must be repaid in accordance with the promissory note agreement required. Program participants must apply annually for loan repayment assistance and for forgiveness of the prior year's loan.

To qualify and remain eligible for LRAP, the graduate must earn a total salary of less than $75,000 and the work performed by the graduate must require her/him to hold a law degree. Funding is limited and not guaranteed. Preference is given to graduates who perform legal services for or under the direction of a government unit or an organization described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and exempt from tax under section 501(a). Section 108(f) of the Code details the requirements for non-taxable forgiveness. LRAP participants are encouraged to consult with a tax advisor regarding the tax implications of these loans. Among other things, loan forgiveness payments should not normally be counted as part of gross income.

Post-Graduate Fellowships/Awards

Law School Funded:

Baxter Litigation Fellowship Program: Each year, one outstanding student in Litigation is selected to be the Judge Lee Baxter Graduate Fellow in Litigation in a post-graduate position. The fellow serves as a valuable member of the team that teaches J.D. students in the Litigation Program and assists in the preparation of the mock trial competition teams. The Baxter Fellow assists in teaching the Trial Advocacy and Mock Trial courses, coaching the mock trial competition teams, and is available to students for one on one help as they go through litigation courses.

Clinic Fellowship Program: Golden Gate University School of Law provides one- to two-year fellowships with the school's in-house clinics working on all clinic projects.

Part-time Staff Graduate Fellowship Program: On-campus positions are available in the following departments: Law Admissions and Law Career Services.

Public Service Stipend Program: Golden Gate University School of Law provides a limited number of stipends to recent graduates who are performing on-going, legal volunteer work to a local, state, or federal court or government agency.

Seasonal Graduate Fellowship Program: On-campus positions are available in the following departments: Graduate Law Programs, Law Admissions, Law Career Services, Law Student Services, and Legal Research.

The law school has also provided funding for students serving as post-graduate judicial law clerks.

Graduate Student Funded:

None listed

Other Funding Sources:

Golden Gate has two post-graduate fellowships funded by an endowment fund (alumni contributions):

Environmental Law & Justice Clinic Fellowships: A one- to two-year fellowship funded by the law school and outside donations, with the ELJC fellow working on all clinic projects.
Baxter Fellowship in Trial Advocacy: A one-semester fellowship, which is funded by an endowment fund established by an alumna.

Term Time Fellowships/Scholarships

Law School Funded:

None listed

Scholarships:

Continuing Merit Scholarship
Law Review Journal Scholarship
Environmental Journal Scholarship
Diversity Scholarship
Environmental Law Scholarship
Law Scholarship Annual Fund
Faculty Merit Scholarship
Dean Merit Scholarship
Public Interest Law Scholarship

Term Time Fellowships/Grants:

Clinic Fellowship Program: Golden Gate University School of Law provides one- to two-year fellowships with the school's in-house clinics working on all clinic projects.

Environmental Law Scholars Stipend Program: Environmental Law Scholars are eligible for a one-time salary assistance stipend.

Federal Workstudy Program: Federal Work Study (FWS) is a federally funded student financial aid program. The FWS program was designed to provide work experience while helping students offset the cost of education. Through this program, federal funds are used to pay a portion of the student's salary and the employer is responsible for the remainder. GGU Law offers the Public Interest Work Study program, which assists employers who cannot pay their share of the student's salary. Funding is limited under both programs. Priority is given to students who meet the FAFSA priority deadline and demonstrate financial need as defined by the federal processor and GGU Law. Students who accept FWS must submit a Work Study Interest form. Accepting FWS does reduce a students' additional loan eligibility for the remainder of the academic term. First year law students are not eligible to receive FWS.

Part-time Staff Graduate Fellowship Program: On-campus positions are available in the following departments: Law Admissions and Law Career Services.

Public Interest Law Scholars Stipend Program: Public Interest Law Scholars are eligible for a one-time salary assistance stipend.

Graduate Student Funded:

None listed

Other Funding Sources:

Scholarships

Alumni Endowed Scholarship
Anthony Pagano Endowed Dean's Merit Scholarship
Barbara Mathews Women's Law Scholarship
Catherine Sherburne-Thompson Endowed Law Scholarship
Fredrick W. Bradley Endowed Law Scholarship
Handlery Endowed Scholarship
Helen & John Gorfinkel Endowed Law Scholarship
Hugh G. Major Endowed Women's Law Scholarship
James B. Smith Endowed Law Scholarship
Joseph & Ruth Zukor Endowed Law Scholarship
Joseph R. & June B. Rensch Endowed Law Scholarship
Kathryn Ringgold Endowed Law Scholarship
Kevin Connell Endowed Law Scholarship
Linda Caputo Endowed Law Scholarship
Louie Sbarbaro Endowed Law Scholarship
Martin Cohen Endowed Law Scholarship
Masud Mehran Endowed Law Fellowship
Michael A. Zamperini/W. Clay Burchell Endowed Scholarship
Paul S. Jordan Endowed Law Scholarship
Phillip Burton Endowed Law Scholarship
Richard W. Johnson Endowed Law Scholarship
Roderick Scott Polentz (JD 84) Memorial Endowed Law Scholarship
Union Bank of California Scholarship
William Enderlein Endowed Scholarship for International Studies
Seifer Endowed Law Scholarship

Term Time Fellowships/Grants

Summer Fellowships

Law School Funded:

Clinic Fellowship Program: Golden Gate University School of Law provides one- to two-year fellowships with the school's in-house clinics working on all clinic projects

Environmental Law Scholars Stipend Program: Environmental Law Scholars are eligible for a one-time salary assistance stipend.

Part-time Staff Graduate Fellowship Program: On-campus positions are available in the following departments: Law Admissions and Law Career Services.

Public Interest Law Scholars Stipend Program: Public Interest Law Scholars are eligible for a one-time salary assistance stipend.

Graduate Student Funded:

None listed

Other Funding Sources:

Federal Work Study Program: Federal Work Study (FWS) is a federally funded student financial aid program. The FWS program was designed to provide work experience while helping students offset the cost of education. Through this program, federal funds are used to pay a portion of the student's salary and the employer is responsible for the remainder. GGU Law offers the Public Interest Work Study program, which assists employers who cannot pay their share of the student's salary. Funding is limited under both programs. Priority is given to students who meet the FAFSA priority deadline and demonstrate financial need as defined by the federal processor and GGU Law. Students who accept FWS must submit a Work Study Interest form. Accepting FWS does reduce a students' additional loan eligibility for the remainder of the academic term. First year law students are not eligible to receive FWS.

Extracurricular and Co-Curricular Programs

The following public interest-oriented events are held on an annual basis:

Postgraduate Fellowships Panel: A postgraduate fellowship is one of the very few ways through which aspiring public interest students start their careers. Because fellowship applications have early fall deadlines and the application process is very time-consuming, the time for 1Ls and 2Ls to start exploring fellowships is right now! Current fellows will visit GGU to explain the process.

Public Interest and Pro Bono Graduation Celebration: The Celebration honors those students who sacrifice so much in dedication of their lives to the voiceless and disenfranchised and, in so doing, elevate the entire law school community. In particular, the Breakfast recognizes the Pro Bono Honor Society inductees, PILF grant recipients, Public Interest Certificate recipients, and all members of the Public Interest and Environmental Law Scholars Programs.

Careers in... Panels and Networking Receptions: Each year, LCS hosts a number of panel discussions with public interest employers designed to introduce students to specific public interest practice areas. Each discussion is followed by a networking reception, during which students can meet the panelists.

Public Interest Interview Panel: This panel discussion with public interest employers is designed to demystify the public interest interview process.

National Celebrate Pro Bono Week: This event is designed to encourage students to perform pro bono and introduce students to the many avenues through which they can perform pro bono.

Public Interest Law Foundation Auction: The PILF Auction has typically been the most profitable fundraising activity, and a good opportunity for grant applicants to volunteer their time. The auction is held every year in the Spring, and tends to be one of the most entertaining organized activities of the year. Auction night consists of food, drinks, a silent auction, and a live auction. The items at auction were donations solicited by PILF throughout the year from law firms, local businesses, faculty, students, and alumni.

Orientation Service Project: The Orientation Service Project is the first public interest-oriented event. Entering students perform community service at a public interest organization in the community. This event is an ideal opportunity for students to get to know each other, learn about their passions and commitments, and lay the foundation for their public interest careers.

How I Spent My Summer: This event is low-key networking reception, during which 2Ls and 3Ls share with 1Ls their summer work experiences and encourage them to apply for a position with that organization next summer.

The following are institutional committees tasked, in whole or in part, with overseeing pro bono or public interest curriculum, programs or initiatives:

Learning Committee: The Experiential Learning Committee has oversight over all clinics, externships, the Honors Lawyering Program and the Pro Bono Program. The Committee considers the current clinical curriculum in relation to traditional law school courses and suggests curricular innovations consistent with the Carnegie Report and/or similar recent literature on skills training in law school. The Committee monitors the level of student participation in clinical and skills courses, provides oversight for externship programs, and works with Law Career Services to increase student participation in experiential learning courses. The Committee also assists in increasing the number of available externships and HLP apprenticeships. The Committee considers the management structure for clinics and makes any necessary proposals to the faculty. Further, the Committee determines if adequate externship, clinical and skills offerings are available to satisfy the mission of the school of law and reports such findings to the faculty annually.

Loan Repayment Assistance Program Committee: The Loan Repayment Assistance Program Committee has a two-fold mandate. First, the Committee regularly reviews and revises LRAP policies and procedures, e.g. eligibility criteria, asset determination criteria, application procedures. Second, the Committee select recipients.

Student Public Interest Groups

American Bar Association Law Student Division (ABA/LSD): ABA/LSD seeks to further academic excellence by encouraging law students to participate in the efforts of the organized bar in the formation and revision of standards of legal education. In the past, the School of Law's chapter sponsored a "Surviving Law School" program, introducing both day and evening division first-year students to the reality of law school, and organized an annual Homeless Luncheon.

Asian Pacific American Law Student Association (APALSA): APALSA is open to all law students enrolled at Golden Gate University and is dedicated to providing academic, professional, and social support to all of its members. APALSA also encourages and fosters greater minority enrollment at the School of Law and teaches awareness of issues involving Asian Pacific American individuals, minorities, and the surrounding community.

Employment Law Association (ELA): ELA members promote employment and labor law, uncover the hot issues in these areas, and build a network together.

Latino Law Students Association (La RAZA): A main objective of La Raza is to provide academic and moral support for first-year students. La Raza provides direction and advice to first-year students through its mentor/mentee program and scheduled general meetings. La Raza also strives to facilitate bonds among students who are interested in Latino issues and serves as an information resource group for its members. Upper-division students can benefit from the host of career and scholarship/fellowship opportunities that are available for people of color. Additionally, La Raza brings Latino community issues back to the law student through e-mail postings and announcements at its general meetings.

Law Students for Reproductive Justice (LSRJ): Law Students for Reproductive Justice is committed to educating, organizing, and supporting pro-choice law students to ensure that a new generation of lawyers will be prepared to successfully defend and expand reproductive rights.

Middle Eastern LAW Students Association (MELSA): MELSA was founded to facilitate information sharing and collaboration among law students of Middle Eastern background. The group strives to build a strong alliance with other School of Law associations and to foster a greater understanding between Middle Eastern and non-Middle Eastern law students.

Student Animal Legal Defense Fund (SALDF): SALDF provides a forum for education, advocacy, and scholarship aimed at protecting the lives and advancing the interests of animals through the legal system and raising the profile of the field of animal law.

August 7, 2018

Renew Your ABA Membership

Directory

Golden Gate University School of Law