Student & Professor discussing a Pro Bono Collaborative project

Pro Bono Collaborative

The Pro Bono Collaborative connects law firms, attorneys and law students to community organizations that need pro bono legal services for their organization and/or their clients. 

The Pro Bono Collaborative's pro bono service model is unique in that it involves a three-way partnership—law firm/attorney, law school and community organization—to identify unmet legal needs and create pro bono projects that address those needs.  All pro bono projects facilitated through the School of Law fall under the Pro Bono Collaborative.

The Pro Bono Collaborative is recognized as an innovative and replicable model for providing pro bono legal service and increasing access to justice through collaboration among law firms, law students and community-based organizations.  In the Spring 2019 PreLaw publication, RWU Law was recognized as one of 10 law schools at the forefront of the Access to Justice movement because of the PBC. In May 2013, Stanford Law Professor Deborah L. Rhode described the Pro Bono Collaborative as a model that “could be widely replicated” in her article Access to Justice: An Agenda for Legal Education and Research.  In October 2012, the Legal Services Corporation Report of the Pro Bono Task Force described the Pro Bono Collaborative  as “one great example of how much can be accomplished through collaboration.” Also in October 2012 the National Center for Access to Justice featured the Pro Bono Collaborative in its report Model Projects & Structures To Strengthen Law Student Pro Bono To Increase Access To Justice describing “law student pro bono models that do a good job of increasing access to justice by responding to the legal needs of vulnerable people in underserved communities.”

Community-based organizations are encouraged to propose Pro Bono Collaborative projects. To do so, complete the Pro Bono Collaborative Project Proposal Application.

For additional information about the Pro Bono Collaborative, please contact: Eliza Vorenberg at evorenberg@rwu.edu or 401-254-4597.

Close Course Type Descriptions

Course Types

We have classified RWU Law classes under the following headers. One of the following course types will be attached to each course which will allow students to narrow down their search while looking for classes.

Core Course

Students in the first and second year are required to take classes covering the following aspects of the law—contracts, torts, property, criminal law, civil procedure, and constitutional law, evidence, and professional responsibility.  Along with these aspects, the core curriculum will develop legal reasoning skills.

Elective

After finishing the core curriculum the remaining coursework toward the degree is completed through upper level elective courses.  Students can choose courses that peak their interests or courses that go along with the track they are following.

Seminar

Seminars are classes where teachers and small groups of students focus on a specific topic and the students complete a substantial research paper.

Clinics/Externships

Inhouse Clinics and Clinical Externships legal education is law school training in which students participate in client representation under the supervision of a practicing attorney or law professor.  RWU Law's Clinical Programs offer unique and effective learning opportunities and the opportunity for practical experience while still in law school.