The Pro Bono Collaborative mobilizes Rhode Island law firms, law students, and community organizations to provide legal assistance within the community.
To date, six large R.I. firms have teamed
with community-based organizations (CBOs)
and School of Law students to provide legal
assistance to these CBOs' clients -
low-income, at-risk individuals and
families.
Our current projects, all of which
include the pro bono services of RWU law
students, are as follows:
Partridge Snow & Hahn LLP is
providing rights education and direct legal
assistance to parents of at-risk children
with special education needs, through Casey
Family Services and Meeting Street School. Professor Nancy Cook is the project's faculty advisor.
Brown Rudnick Berlack Israels LLP
has been working with students to research
legislation and draft legal documents to
ensure R.I. affordable condominium units
remain affordable. The clients for this
project are Church Community Housing
Corp. and Housing Network of Rhode Island. Professor Jorge Elorza is the project's faculty advisor.
Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge
LLP is providing rights education and direct
legal assistance to poor urban parents,
clients of Children’s Friend & Service R.I.
Hinckley
Allen Snyder LLP has adopted three projects:
Incorporating the Mariposa Center as
a non-profit organization;
Providing rights education and direct
representation to Women’s Center of R.I. clients (Professor Emily Sack is the project's faculty advisor);
Providing rights education and direct
representation to Institute for the Study
& Practice of Nonviolence Streetworkers (Professor Andrew Horwitz is the project's faculty advisor).
Motley Rice LLC is working with
students and the George Wiley Center staff to research, draft, and
advocate for utility shut-off legislation. Professor Carl Bogus is the project's faculty advisor.
Adler Pollock & Sheehan P.C.
is working with Rhode Island Legal
Services, Inc. to help make R.I. tax code
consistent with federal, thereby providing
relief to the poor and elderly. Professor Anthony Santoro is the project's faculty advisor.
May 2004: School of Law hosted the Racial Justice Colloquium, which was funded by the Rhode Island Foundation and which brought together attorneys and community representatives to focus on issues of racial justice. Primary among these issues was the dire need for pro bono legal assistance in low-income communities, and especially communities of color.
June 2005: School of Law published “Addressing Unmet Legal Need in Rhode Island: Barriers and Incentives to Pro Bono Participation,” also funded by the R.I. Foundation, which reported findings from a voluntary survey of R.I. attorneys about contributing factors to pro bono participation.
June 2005: School of Law presented survey results at R.I. Bar Annual Meeting, and brought attorneys from the Pro Bono Initiative in Chicago to talk about the success of their program, which was designed to increase the availability of pro bono legal services in that state.
January 2006: Pro Bono Collaborative Pilot Project, supported by a generous grant from the R.I. Foundation, was launched at the School of Law’s Feinstein Institute for Legal Service.
January 2007: Pro Bono Collaborative received additional funding from the R.I. Foundation.
October 2007: Pro Bono Collaborative held the first meeting of its new Advisory Board. Comprised of leaders in the legal, non-profit, and law school communities, the Advisory Board has been asked to bring ideas, wisdom, and experience to the table as the Pro Bono Collaborative continues to extend its reach into the community.
For additional information about the Pro Bono Collaborative, please contact:
