Image of RWU Law students volunteering in the Pro Bono Collaborative (PBC) program at the Adult Correctional Institute (ACI) Civil Legal Assistance are having a discussion with the program directors from RWU Law.
RWU Law students volunteering in the Pro Bono Collaborative (PBC) program at the Adult Correctional Institute (ACI) Civil Legal Assistance are having a discussion with the program directors from RWU Law.

Pro Bono Policies and Guide

Every lawyer has a professional responsibility to provide legal services to those unable to pay. A lawyer should aspire to render at least fifty (50) hours of pro bono publico legal services per year.

What is Pro Bono? 

Below is the Rule 6.1 of the American Bar Association's Model Rules of Professional Conduct, which outlines the obligation of attorneys to engage in pro bono. 

The term pro bono is derived from the Latin phrase, pro bono publico, which means "for the public good." In the legal profession, the term "pro bono" generally means to provide legal services free of charge. 

  1. In fulfilling this responsibility, the lawyer should provide substantial majority of the fifty (50) hours of legal services without fee or expectation of fee to:
    1. persons of limited means; or
    2. charitable, religious, civic, community, governmental and educational organizations in matters which are designed primarily to address the needs or persons of limited means; and
  2. Provide any additional services through:
    1. delivery of legal services at no fee or substantially reduced fee to individuals, groups or organizations seeking to secure or protect civil rights, civil liberties or public rights, or charitable, religious, civic, community, governmental and educational organizations in matters in furtherance of their organizational purposes, where the payment of standard legal feel would significantly be other inappropriate;
    2. delivery of legal services at a substantially reduced fee to persons of limited means; or
    3. participation in activities for improving the law, the legal system or the legal profession.

In addition, a lawyer should voluntarily contribute financial support to organizations that provide legal services to persons of limited means. 

RWU Law's Pro Bono Experiential Learning Requirement

RWU Law's Learning Outcome 8: Public Service

Law students will be able to:

  1. Understand the responsibility of lawyers to improve access to the legal system; and
  2. Understand the professional responsibility to provide pro bono legal service in the law practice.

RWU Law's Pro Bono Experiential Learning Requirement ("Pro Bono ELR") is designed to instill in law students the value and habit of providing pro bono legal service to low-income communities while also providing students an opportunity to gain valuable practical legal skills. RWU Law's Pro Bono ELR requires every student to undertake 50 hours pro bono legal service, compensation or academic credit for the qualifying pro bono service, and the Associate Director must approve placements of Pro Bono Programs.

At RWU Law, pro bono is defined as services provided without pay or academic credit in the following categories:

  1. Legal services to persons of limited means1 or charitable, religious, civic, community, governmental, and educational organizations in matters, which are designed primarily to address the needs of persons of limited means.
  2. Legal services to individuals, groups or organizations seeking to secure or protect civil rights, civil liberties, or public rights, or charitable, religious, civic, community, governmental, and educational organizational organizations in matters in furtherance of their organizational purposes, where the payment of standard legal fees would significantly deplete the organization's economic resources or would otherwise be inappropriate.
  3. Activities intended to improve access to the law, the legal system, or the legal profession.
  4. Any other legal services deemed by the Associate Director of Pro Bono Programs to benefit an underserved community, the state or federal court system, the state or federal government prosecution of criminal defendants, or other practices of law not engaged for economic profit. 

1 Persons of "limited means" are those who qualify for participation in programs funded by the Legal Services Corporation (125% of the federal poverty guidelines) and those whose incomes and financial resources are slightly above the guidelines utilized by such programs but who, nevertheless cannot afford counsel. See ABA Rule 6.1 Comment 3. 

RWU Law's Pro Bono ELR Service Criteria - What Counts and What Doesn't Count2

In order to qualify for RWU Law's Pro Bono ELR, the pro bono service must be:

  • law-related;
  • with qualifying organization, agency, or project
  • supervised by licensed attorney or other qualified supervisor, as deemed by the Associate Director of Pro Bono Programs;
  • without any compensation (no pay or stipends)3 ;
  • not for academic credit; and completed while the student is enrolled in Law School

2. Please note Students are responsible for reviewing and complying with individual states' bar admissions requirements involving pro bono service. Currently, New York is the only state with pro bono requirement. Pro Bono hours that count toward fulfillment of RWU Law's graduation requirement may or may not count for state bar admission pro bono hours. You must carefully review the bar admissions requirements for each state to make sure your hours qualify. Here is the link to the New York's rule, some helpful FAQs, and the New York Affidavit of Compliance.

3.  Students may not accept any pay or stipends. In very limited situations, parking reimbursements offered by an employer may be permitted upon the prior approval of the Associate Director of Pro Bono program, Suzanne Harrington-Steppen.

  • Legal Service organization
  • Public Defender
  • Government legal service (Civil or criminal)
  • Public policy work supervised by an attorney
  • RWU Law Pro Bono Collaborative Projects, including
    • Alternative Spring Break
    • Eviction Help Desk
    • Street Law
    • Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA)
  • Pro bono service on matters where your supervising attorney has taken the case on a pro bono basis (not receiving any fee for the case), and you are not getting paid
  • Community service that doesn't utilize your legal training e.g., Habitat for Humanity construction, serving at a food pantry, etc.
  • Providing pro bono service under the supervision of a family member, e.g. mother, father, sibling, aunt, uncle, etc.
  • Political campaign work
  • Mock trial coaching (unless the school is in a low-income community)
  • Any service that does not have attorney supervision unless the service has been pre-approved by the Associate Director of Pro Bono
  • Any service or work done for which you receive compensation (including stipends)
  • Externship hours or any service or work for which you are receiving academic credit for the hours. If you would like to provide pro bono service with an organization or agency where you have externed, you must wait until the following semester to begin to accrue your hours. 
  • Roger Williams University School of Law values pro bono service as a fundamental part of legal education. The Pro Bono ELR requires all students to complete at least 50 hours of pro bono legal service before graduation. Since many students provide more than 50 hours and work unpaid summers in public interest settings, serving communities most in need, the Law School recognizes all graduating students who have provided 100 hours or more hours of uncompensated pro bono legal service during law school.
  • Each year in March, all third-year law students are notified about the pro bono graduation recognition and provided with a short application to report their pro bono hours. If you have any questions about RWU Law's 100-Hour Pro Bono Recognition

All candidates for the J.D. degree at RWU Law must have completed at least fifty (50) hours of pro bono service and submit the required paperwork documenting their service to graduate. 

10-day Rule: We highly recommend that all students report their pro bono hours within 10 days of completing any pro bono experience. 

May Graduation Candidates are required to have completed their pro bono service and submit the required paperwork documenting their service at least 30 days before graduation.

December Graduation Candidates are required to complete their pro bono service and submit the required paperwork documenting their service at least 30 days before their last exam. 

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.