Directory
Loyola University Chicago School of Law
Loyola University Chicago School of Law
Law School Pro Bono Programs
Contact Information
Mary Bird
Director of Public Service Programs
E-mail
P: (312) 915-7661
Category Type
Formal Voluntary Pro Bono Program Characterized by a Referral System with a Coordinator
Description of Programs
The Office of Career Services coordinates the dissemination of information of Pro Bono opportunities on the local, regional, and national levels. The office utilizes PSLawNet, the public service law network (PSLawNet.org), and its on-line career search website.
Location of Programs
The Public Service Law Center is located and integrated within the Career Resources suite.
Staffing/Management/Oversight
Public Service Law, faculty and administrator work closely with the members of the Public Interest Law Society (PILS) student organization and other student groups that support public service activities.
Funding
projects
Administrative assistance and student assistance through funding research assistant positions is provided for faculty pro bono projects.
Student Run Pro Bono Groups/Specialized Law Education Projects
Fourth Presbyterian Church Tutoring Program - Volunteers from Loyola work with children from the Cabrini Green neighborhood in a tutoring program. They work with students throughout the academic year to enhance their reading, writing and math skills.
Law Related Education- Students work with juveniles in the local juvenile detention center to help educate them about their legal rights.
Street Law - Second- and third-year students teach about law and the legal system in Chicago area high schools. Students attend a weekly seminar and teach in the high schools three times a week. In the spring semester students are often involved in preparing high school students for the city mock trial competition.
Faculty and Administrative Pro Bono
None listed
Awards/Recognition
At the graduation ceremony, students are recognized for their service in both leadership and community service, and pro-bono service. Their names are listed in the program under these categories, and they are asked to stand to be recognized by their fellow classmates and invited guests.
Loyola hosts an annual Public Interest Convocation. All first-year students are required to attend the convocation, which each year recognizes one lawyer who has devoted his or her career to full-time public interest work, and another lawyer who has devoted a substantial portion of his or her career to pro bono service.
Community Service
Institutionalized community service events include:
Hunger Week - Student groups organize donation drives for various charities.
Unity & Diversity Week - Student groups organize donation drives for various charities and schedule speakers/programs about public service topics.
MLK Celebration Service Event
Public Interest Law Service Auction - fundraiser
Law School Public Interest Programs
Contact Information
Mary Bird
Director of Public Service Programs
E-mail
P: (312) 915-7661
Certificate/Curriculum Programs
CIVITAS ChildLaw Fellows Program - Each year Loyola selects up to 10 ChildLaw Fellows from among students admitted to the entering full-time J.D. class. Fellows receive scholarship assistance, internship experience, and, in addition to the regular law school curriculum, pursue an interdisciplinary course of study that provides the knowledge and skills needed to advocate effectively for children's legal interests. Opportunities are provided for direct representation of children in a variety of legal proceedings. The program offers a symposia series in which national and local experts share research and discuss current issues affecting children and families. Students receive hands-on work experience and opportunities through Loyola's extensive externship program. They also participate in producing the Children's Legal Rights Journal - a national publication. Loyola's comprehensive curriculum includes courses such as: Children and the Law, ChildLaw Policy, Practice and Profession, ChildLaw Pretrial and Trial Practice, Legislative Advocacy for Children, Interdisciplinary Seminar, Adolescents and the Law, Family Law, Adoption Law Seminar, and International Children's Law.
Public Interest Centers
Loyola offers a wide variety of opportunities and resources for students interested in public interest law. Loyola's Public Interest Law Society (PILS) is the largest and most active student group on campus, and its annual Public Service Auction raises thousands of dollars for Loyola students working in unpaid public interest law positions over the summer. Loyola students also edit and produce the Public Interest Law Reporter, a national magazine of news and features on the law of human rights, economic justice, criminal justice, the environment and government operations. Loyola regularly sponsors public interest law programs and events, and provides individual career counseling and job search assistance to students considering careers in public service.
Public Interest Clinics
Business Law Center
Elder Law Clinic
Loyola Child and Family Law Clinic
Loyola Community Law Center
Loyola Federal Tax Clinic
Externships/Internships
three credit hours. The student works 11-15 hours per week and attends an externship class that meets throughout the semester. The public service-related externship areas are:
- Government and Agency
- Health Law
- ChildLaw
- Criminal
- Judicial
- Corporate (non-profit, foundations, etc.).
Classes with a Public Service Component
Advanced Appellate Advocacy/Moot Court - Some of the moot court teams have a public service project component as part of their participation requirements.
Child Law Legislation Seminar - Students work on projects being considered by legislators and/or advocacy groups.
Consumer Antitrust Studies - Students do field work in the antitrust or consumer protection fields with government or public interest organizations.
Domestic Violence Seminar - For a final exam, students can choose to develop a project that can be used in the field such as a manual for attorneys or a seminar on teen dating violence.
Street Law - Students teach legal issues to students in local high schools.
Public Interest Journals
Loyola Public Interest Law Reporter, a student-edited national magazine of news and features on the law of human rights, economic justice, criminal justice, the environment, and government operations.
PI Career Support Center
The Office of Career Services sponsors a variety of programs on public service career-related topics. The programs include programming for public service job searches for returning students, public service job programs for first-year students, specific informational programming on government agencies and public service organizations, funding opportunities, fellowship opportunities, and careers in public service law panels in affiliation with PILS and other student and alumni organizations. In addition, Loyola sponsors the 'Meet the Public Service Employers' Program and the Midwest Public Interest Law Career Conference in conjunction with the other Chicago area law schools, where students can meet representatives from public service organizations.
Loan Repayment Assistance Programs (LRAP)
Eligibility for the Loan Repayment Assistance (LRAP) program includes any graduate who has been employed full-time in the previous calendar year in a law-related capacity for an employer that is a not-for-profit corporation exempt from taxation pusuant to Section 501 © (e) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code (other than Loyola University Chicago) or a governmental entity. If the number of applicants exceeds the amount of available funds, preference will be given to graduates who were employed full time in positions whose primary responsibility is to represent or advocate on behalf of indigent persons, disadvantaged groups, or inadequately protected interests. Graduates must also meet debt and salary level eligibility requirements. The program is administered by Maureen Looker, Associate Director of Career Services and Public Service Law, 312-915-7124, and Professor Henry Rose, 312-915-7840.
Post-Graduate Fellowships/Awards
Law School Funded:
The Salisbury Post - graduate Clinical fellow will work closely with the child-law clinic faculty, assisting in the representation of clients, the supervision of students, and the development of course curriculum. The fellow will be expected to assist with all levels of client representation, including pretrial, trial, and appellate proceedings. The fellow will also participate in the development of the course curriculum in the teaching of a weekly seminar, focused on ethical and substantive issues arising in the representation of child clients, skills training, and the discussion of current clinic cases.
Graduate Student Funded:
None listed
Other Funding Sources:
None listed
Term Time Fellowships/Scholarships
Law School Funded:
None listed
Graduate Student Funded:
None listed
Other Funding Sources:
Public Service Scholarships - The School has two scholarships for entering students who have a demonstrated interest in/commitment to public service. The scholarships are funded by two private donors.
Hartigan Fellowship - Awarded to a student to work in public interest law section of career resources.
Summer Fellowships
Law School Funded:
None listed
Graduate Student Funded:
organization, raises money each year to provide stipends for students working in unpaid summer positions in public service. The number and amount of the awards varies from year to year depending on fundraising and the number of applicants.
Other Funding Sources:
The Public Interest Law Society (PILS), the student public interest organization, raises money each year to provide stipends for students working in unpaid summer positions in public service. The number and amount of the awards varies from year to year depending on fundraising and the number of applicants.
Consumer Antitrust Studies - These fellowships are for students to work in the antitrust or consumer protection fields with government or public interest organizations.
International Law Scholarships - These scholarships are for students who work in non-profit international organizations.
Extracurricular and Co-Curricular Programs
Public Service Convocation - Mandatory ceremony recognizing the law school community's public service mission.
Coffee Talk - Monthly programs on child law related topics.
Meet the Public Service Employers - Opportunity for students to network with a large number of prominent public interest employers.
PILR Symposium - An academic symposium involving presentations and discussions on involving current issues in public interest law.
International Human Rights Lecture Series - Presentation by visiting scholar.
ChildLaw and Education Lecture Series - Presentation by visiting scholar.
Student Public Interest Groups
American Civil Liberities Union
American Constitution Society
Asian American Law Student Association
Black Law Student Association
Business Law Society
Catholic Laywer's Guild
Child Law Society
Decalogue
Elder Law Society
Federalist Society
Health Law Society
Justinian Society
Latino American Law Student Association
Loyola LAMBDA
Loyola Law Republicans
National Lawyers Guild
Public Interest Law Society
Women's Law Society
August 6, 2018