Directory
University of Tulsa College of Law
University of Tulsa
Law School Pro Bono Programs
Contact Information
Christy M. Caves
Associate Director of Professional Development & Public Interest Coordinator
Professional Development
College of Law
3120 East 4th Place
Tulsa, Oklahoma 74104
(918) 631- 2890
christy-caves@utulsa.edu
Category Type
Formal Voluntary Pro Bono Program Characterized by a Referral System with a Coordinator
Description of Programs
The Coordinator maintains a website and bulletin board with information on pro bono and public service opportunities for students and groups. In addition, a volunteer activity is held during Foundations of Legal Studies (orientation) and encouraged throughout the year. The Coordinator runs an annual Pro Bono/Public Interest fair in the fall and a day of public service on Martin Luther King Day.
Students are encouraged to report pro bono and public service hours each semester, including the summer.
Location of Programs
Within the Professional Development Office
Staffing/Management/Oversight
The Pro Bono Coordinator, housed in the Professional Development Office, devotes approximately 20% of their time to pro bono. A Pro Bono Committee comprised of faculty, staff, students, alumni, and local attorneys act as a sounding board for the program.
Funding
Operating budget. An endowment and fundraising for summer stipends.
Student Run Pro Bono Groups/Specialized Law Education Projects
The Christian Legal Society partners with Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma on monthly Homeless legal clinics.
The ABA Law Student Group presents the ABA's Separation of Powers program to local elementary schools on an annual basis.
Phi Delta Phi presents Kendall Court, a mock trial based on a fairy tale, to local elementary school children on an annual basis.
Students take part in Constitution Day; they pair up with a local attorney to discuss the Constitution with 6th graders at elementary schools.
Faculty and Administrative Pro Bono
A faculty member is the Advisor to the Public Interest Law Society.
In review, one of the things taken into consideration is public service.
Faculty member biographies contain public and pro bono service.
Awards/Recognition
The Martin Belsky Award in Public Interest Law is awarded annually to a graduating student who has demonstrated commitment in the areas of public service, diversity, religious respect and promotion of constitutional values.
The Dicta Public Service Award is awarded annually by a vote of the student body to the student or student group who during the previous year demonstrated the most outstanding efforts and commitment in the area of public service.
The Scott A. Sanditen Memorial Award is awarded annually to a student who exemplifies Mr. Sanditen's service to the community and helping those in need.
Graduating students who report a minimum of twenty hours of public service are permitted to note that in the graduation program along with other honors.
Community Service
Students and student groups engage in a number of community service projects throughout the year, beginning with a community service project during Foundations of Legal Studies (orientation).
On monthly basis students, staff, and faculty host a birthday party at a local apartment building for handicapped individuals, Murdock Villa.
In conjunction with the Tulsa County Bar Association students mentor children through the Hamilton Lunch Buddy program.
Each semester the Women's Law Caucus holds a canned food drive with all donations going to the Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma. Most recently WLC collected enough donations to supply 2,905 meals.
The WLC also raises funds to build schools in Cambodia, to keep young girls out of the sex trade, and for school supplies.
WLC coordinates a College of Law team for Race for the Cure, annually.
The Military Law Society participates in the Toys for Tots annual toy drive.
The Native American Law Student Association hosts a Holiday Angel Tree benefitting Native American children in the foster care system.
The College of Law holds a drive for mittens as part of a holiday gift program at Kendall Whittier Elementary School.
Paw Law delivers meals to pets through the Meals on Wheels program on a bimonthly basis.
In addition, Paw Law volunteers at the Tulsa Animal Shelter on a monthly basis helping to socialize adoptable animals.
Law School Public Interest Programs
Contact Information
Christy M. Caves
Associate Director of Professional Development & Public Interest Coordinator
Professional Development
College of Law
3120 East 4th Place
Tulsa, Oklahoma 74104
(918) 631- 2890
christy-caves@utulsa.edu
Certificate/Curriculum Programs
The College of Law offers a public policy certificate program with a pro bono service requirement.
Public Interest Centers
None.
Public Interest Clinics
Immigrant Rights Project
The Immigrant Rights Project is a one-semester, four-credit clinical program in which law students represent non-citizens in immigration matters. The Immigrant Rights Project's clients primarily includes persons seeking asylum in the United States as a result of persecution or a fear of persecution in their home countries. The clinic also represents non-citizen victims of domestic violence, unaccompanied non-citizen minors, or other non-citizens subject to removal and immigration detention. Representation occurs in adversarial administrative hearings before immigration judges; in non-adversarial agency interviews; in appeals to the Board of Immigration Appeals; or, in appeals to the federal courts.
Tulsa Immigrant Resource Network
TIRN is a service oriented program, designed to reach broadly many members of the non-citizen community in the Kendall-Whittier neighborhood, and beyond. TIRN complements the Immigrant Rights Project. TIRN has three primary goals: 1) Create and Train a network of local attorneys to provide pro bono representation to vulnerable immigrants; 2) Educate the community, especially the immigrant community, on legal rights and immigration remedies; and 3) Offer direct representation to immigrants, including those in removal proceedings, in the Kendall-Whittier and surrounding neighborhoods.
Social Enterprise and Economic Development Law Project (SEED)
The SEED Law Project teaches transactional lawyering skills to student attorneys through the representation of small businesses and community-based organizations. It is a one-semester, six-credit course that provides students with both challenging client work and a rigorous classroom component. Under the supervision of Professor Patience Crowder, students provide direct, pro bono representation to SEED clients, which include entrepreneurs, community associations, and non-profit organizations. Client work includes drafting corporate formation documents; assisting nonprofit organizations with tax-exempt applications and maintenance of tax-exempt status; drafting and negotiating contracts and real estate transactions; acting as general counsel to small businesses and non-profit organizations; and working with local government agencies. Students research issues related to public policies that affect SEED clients and make presentations to community groups.
Externships/Internships
Judicial Internships – internships with State, Federal, and Tribal Courts
Health Law Externship
Dublin Internship Program – internships with the Government or Legal Service
The Washington DC Legal Externship Program, a partnership of the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law and the Washington Center.
FASPE: Fellowships at Auschwitz for the Study of Professional Ethics
Classes with a Public Service Component
Some of the Professional Responsibility classes (a mandatory course for graduation) include a public service component.
Foundations of Legal Studies
Immigrant Rights Project
SEED Project
Public Interest Journals
Boesche Legal Clinic https://law.utulsa.edu/legal-clinics/
Pro Bono> https://law.utulsa.edu/student-services/public-interest-pro-bono/
PI Career Support Center
The Professional Development Office holds an annual career fair, about half of the employers who attend Career Fair are public interest organizations.
Professional Development Office programs include speakers on: Careers in Public Interest, Working in the Public Defender's Office, Working in the District Attorney's Office, Federal Judicial Clerkships, and the State Department. Other panels on broader topics such as How to be a Good Summer Associate include public interest panelists.
The Professional Development Office's library has several books on public interest law.
The Professional Development Office makes the NALP brochures Public Service Careers…Explore Your Options and Public Service Internships available to students.
In addition, the Professional Development Office subscribes to several public interest job posting services, in both print and electronic formats including PSLawNet and Equal Justice Works.
Loan Repayment Assistance Programs (LRAP)
None.
Post-Graduate Fellowships/Awards
Law School Funded:
The College of Law funds a one-year Clinical Fellow.
Graduate Student Funded:
None.
Other Funding Sources:
None.
Term Time Fellowships/Scholarships
Law School Funded:
None.
Graduate Student Funded
None.
Other Funding Sources:
None.
Summer Fellowships
Law School Funded:
The Public Interest Law Society holds fundraisers annually to support Summer Public Interest Fellowships. These fellowships have allowed students to work at organizations such as: Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma, Neighbor for Neighbor, and Oklahoma Indian Legal Services.
Global Internship Fellowship Fund which enables students to pursue summer public service projects or legal internships abroad.
Graduate Student Funded:
None.
Other Funding Sources:
The Yaffe Endowment is specifically for Summer Public Interest Stipends. Other donations have also been made on an ad hoc basis. These donations have enabled students to work at organizations such as: Los Angeles City Attorney's Office, Domestic Violence Intervention Services, and Denton County Prosecutor's Office.
Extracurricular and Co-Curricular Programs
Public Service component to Foundations of Legal Studies (orientation).
Martin Luther King Day public service activity.
Both the Professional Development Office's Pro Bono/Public Service Fair and Career Fair include public interest employers.
Various speakers through the year including: Alumnus in Residence Program, Faculty Scholarship Speakers Series, and the Seymour Lecture.
The Public Interest Law Society, Women's Law Caucus, Paw Law, and SBA host or co-host public interest speakers annually.
Kendall Court, a mock trial based on a fairy tale for local elementary school children.
Student Public Interest Groups
Public Interest Law Society
Women's Law Caucus
Paw Law
Christian Legal Society
Black Law Students Association
Hispanic Law Student Association
Native American Law Students Association
Military Law Society
Phi Alpha Delta
ABA/Law Student Division
Family Law Society
J. Ruben Clark Society
4/9/2020