Pro Bono Program

In the Bankruptcy Project, students are teamed with volunteer attorneys to interview clients and prepare bankruptcy petitions. Clients are given a fresh start while students learn from their attorney partners--who in turn are fulfilling their own pro bono obligation. It is run under the auspices of the local federal Bankruptcy Court, which has been generous with its advice and assistance. This project is open to all second- and third-year students.

The Pro Bono Mediation Project-Community Dispute Resolution Committee provides an opportunity for students to become certified mediators, and then put their mediation and conciliation skills to work on cases assigned by both the superior and municipal courts. This program is highly valued by the courts, as many cases are resolved and taken off the court docket, and it demonstrates a successful alternative to litigation. Second term first-year students, as well as second- and third-year students, may participate in this program.

Through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program, students provide assistance to low-income Camden residents needing help to fill out their tax returns. For the three months prior to April 15, students are at a local library two nights a week and at a legal services office in Bridgeton on Saturday mornings to staff this project. All students are eligible for this student-run project.

The Domestic Violence Pro Bono Project has two components. One pairs students with attorneys who are providing representation to battered women seeking restraining orders, and the other sends students to Camden County Superior Court each week for the purpose of providing information to people seeking protection under the abuse statutes.

The Pro Bono Research Project, developed and administered in conjunction with Professor Sarah Ricks, provides free legal research services to public interest law practitioners. Limited to eight or so upper-class students, this project offers the opportunity to simultaneously improve legal research and writing skills under the supervision of a practicing attorney while providing much needed assistance to public interest organizations.

Through the Immigration Project, Rutgers law students have the opportunity to work on political asylum petitions and other cases relating to immigrants under the supervision of attorneys from the Camden Center for Law and Social Justice (CCLSJ). They also have the opportunity to assist clients of the Nationalities Service Center in Philadelphia.

The Black Law Student Association LEAP Pro Bono Project is a law-related education and mentoring project in the Camden City public schools.

Other miscellaneous pro bono opportunities include assisting civic groups with election day monitoring efforts, assisting alumni and other private attorneys on pro bono cases, and a small number of students can assist on death penalty cases at the Federal Defenders Office in Philadelphia.

Many other pro bono opportunities are available through the many legal services and public interest programs in the South Jersey and Philadelphia area, including, among others, the Homeless Advocacy Project, the Community Health Law Project, the Philadelphia Volunteers for the Indigent Program, and the AIDS Law Project and can be arranged through the assistant dean for pro bono and public interest programs, Eve Biskind Klothen.

Pro bono awards are given at graduation to students who have participated for at least three terms in one of the pro bono projects. All students are strongly encouraged to participate in at least one pro bono project during their time at the law school. At the same time that critical needs in our community are met, legal skills are enhanced, and students discover the satisfaction of providing assistance to people with nowhere else to turn.