Law Student Employment

RWU Law offers approximately 25 law students per year the opportunity to earn federal funds through our campus-based employment program. These funds are a part of a student’s financial aid package and are meant to assist students with school related and living expenses while enrolled in law school.

Federal Work-Study (FWS) is a need-based program in which earnings are intended to assist a student with school related expenses. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) must be submitted annually to be considered for Federal Work-Study in the upcoming academic year. The FAFSA must be submitted before the RWU deadline, and the student must demonstrate financial need, in order to be eligible to receive an employment award. Since Federal Work-Study funds are limited, approximately 25 students are awarded per year. Departments begin hiring in May for the upcoming fall term.

Please contact the Office of Financial Aid (located on the second floor of the School of Law) with any questions about eligibility and the process for evaluation before applying to any of the positions listed below. Per federal regulations, FWS awards are included in the cost of attendance and reduce the amount that may be borrowed for living expenses in the semester/term. 

General Information

  • Law students are not permitted to work outside of the School of Law
  • Law students will earn a rate of $14.00 per hour
  • The maximum work-study award is $2,500 per academic year
  • Law students may earn up to the maximum of their work award, but are not obligated to earn the full amount of the award
  • The amount earned is dependent on the number of hours worked and the hourly pay rate
  • The maximum number of hours a student may work while school is in session is 20 hours/per week including all University jobs
  • Working during your scheduled class time is prohibited
  • A student may earn the FWS award at any pace; if the full amount awarded by the Financial Aid Office is earned before the end of the academic year, employers may ask the FWS employee to reduce their hours or stop working entirely
  • Students may earn up to the amount of their approved FWS award, but must discontinue working in a FWS-funded job once the maximum allotment is reached
  • It is the responsibility of both the student and hiring supervisor to ensure that students do not exceed their work-study limit
  • Once a student's award limit is reached, hours worked in excess of your award must be paid by your supervisor's department

Law Library Student Assistant

Job Description:

Responsible for providing access to the Law Library by assisting patrons at the Circulation Desk,
with library technology, and with various services related to stack maintenance in the Law
Library under the general supervision of the Access Services Coordinator, primarily during times
when no full-time staffing is on duty.

Special Skills Needed:

  • Excellent problem-solving skills.
  • Excellent customer service skills.
  • Ability to follow and enforce library policies.
  • Effective communication skills.
  • Sound independent judgment.
  • Ability to work with the library’s integrated online library system.
  • Ability to assist patrons with directional and other reference questions and to assist
    patrons with basic printing and library computer lab problems.
  • Excellent work ethic.
  • Ability to work without direct supervision.

Specific Duties May Include:

  • Opening and closing the library most days during the school year.
  • Retrieving Reserve collection materials for patrons.
  • Checking circulating materials in and out on the library’s integrated online circulation
    system.
  • Answering directional and other reference questions of a general nature for library
    patrons and assisting them in searching the WebCatalog for reference sources.
  • Answering telephones, providing information about the library, directing calls, or taking
    messages for other library staff and administration.
  • Filing loose-leaf releases.
  • Shelving new and returned library materials.
  • Maintaining stacks by performing shelf-reading, shifting of materials, and re-shelving
    materials as needed.
  • Processing newspapers for the stack area of the library.
  • Assisting patrons using microfilm/microfiche scanners.
  • Assisting patrons with problems related to the library’s printers & photocopiers,
    including instruction on use, clearing paper jams, and reporting problems to the
    MediaTech and the Access Services staff as necessary.
  • Providing patrons with help with minor software and hardware problems or connecting
    them to MediaTech for more complex issues.
  • During hours when no full-time staffing is on duty, evaluating and addressing problems
    within the library and reporting unresolved problems to the appropriate office on campus
    or library personnel at home (Security, Facilities, the Access Services Coordinator,
    Associate Law Librarian, or Director of the Law Library)
  • Such other duties as are assigned.

Department Information

Contact Name
Erin Orsini
Access Services Coordinator
Law Library
Phone Number
401-254-4548
E-mail
eorsini@rwu.edu
 

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.