Contents
REASONS FOR THE PROGRAM
THE REQUIREMENT
ELIGIBLE PUBLIC SERVICE WORK
STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES
SUPERVISOR RESPONSIBILITIES
Loyola University New Orleans School of Law offers students the opportunity to provide pro bono legal assistance during their enrollment at the law school. The program is named Gillis Long Student Pro Bono Program, the offices of which are located in room 110C of the law school, phone number (504) 861-5597, fax (504) 861-5440. The email address is probono@loyno.edu.
REASONS FOR THE PROGRAM
Rule 6.1 of the Model Rules of Professional Conduct recognizes an attorney's obligation to provide legal service to the community. Ideally, every attorney is expected to perform a minimum of fifty (50) pro bono publico hours annually. This obligation is not mandatory, it is aspirational. By giving back to the community in which they live and work, lawyers contribute to the advancement of their community, give assistance to the poor, and develop true professionalism in the practice of law.
In addition to the professional ideal underlying pro bono work, Loyola University School of Law seeks to promote the traditional Catholic values which recognize the inherent dignity of each person, made in the image and likeness of God. As a consequence of this common bond between all human persons, the School of Law promotes the vision of St. Ignatius of Loyola which emphasizes being people for and with others, especially in our concern and care for the poor, the oppressed, and the downtrodden. The Ignatian vision is embodied in the development of the Gillis Long Student Pro Bono Program which seeks to provide students with the opportunity to: (1) gain practical legal experience to aid in their development as professionals; (2) create a greater awareness of the obligation to provide legal services to the disadvantaged; (3) foster development of the bar; and (4) provide quality legal services to our community. All of the Gillis Long Student Pro Bono Program goals may be accomplished while serving the poor of the greater New Orleans metropolitan area and responding to the call of the Gospel to love one's neighbor.
THE REQUIREMENT
Students have the option of participating in the Gillis Long Student Pro Bono Program to satisfy the Law and Poverty requirement needed for graduation. For students opting to participate, the Gillis Long Student Pro Bono Program requires fifty (50) hours of pro bono work which the student may perform at any time during their law school career. The program is open to first through third year students. The fifty hour requirement is merely a minimum guideline. Ideally, students will work beyond the fifty hour requirement as a means to acquire greater legal training, skills, and experience, and to promote working on pro bono matters as a life-long professional commitment.
Any work performed by students as part of the program must be unpaid. Students shall not receive either academic credit or a grade for the work, other than the graduation credit for the Law and Poverty requirement.
ELIGIBLE PUBLIC SERVICE WORK
Approval in Advance Required - All placements must be approved in advance by the School of Law. Students may not count hours toward the fifty hour requirement until the project has been approved by the School of Law. Generally, no credit will be given for any work performed unless the placement is approved in advance.
Types of Eligible Projects - In general, the Gillis Long Student Pro Bono Program is designed to perform work which is (1) legal, as opposed to quasi legal or non-legal; and (2) provides assistance to indigent clients (see: 45 CFR Part 1611; La. C.C.P. art. 5183 (B)). These guidelines are not exclusive. For instance, in appropriate circumstances, students may perform services for the working poor, that is, those people who do not fall within the statutory guidelines and who cannot afford to pay for legal assistance. In any case, the work undertaken must be professional, law-related work, including work which serves to improve the law, the legal system, or the legal profession or which facilitates the administration of justice (See Rule 6.1).
Work with private attorneys - Pro bono placements with private practitioners or firms may be approved where: (1) there is no concurrent paid employment relationship between the law student and the private practitioner or firm, and (2) the work to be performed has been assigned through the local legal aid services provider, by court appointment, or by referral from the local office of the public defender, or (3) approved by the Coordinator of the program in advance.
Work must be unpaid As a general rule, no pro bono work will be approved where the student is concurrently in a paid employment relationship with the placement sponsor.
STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES
Each student must fill out an Application for participation in the program and any other forms required to satisfy the guidelines as set forth herein. Failure to comply with these requirements may result in the denial of credit for the program.
Choosing Your Placement - Identify your placement preferences on your application by reviewing the listing of available placements online. Students may also submit a Student Initiated Placement Proposal to the Coordinator of the program, requesting placement at a site identified and arranged by the student. All Student Initiated Placement Proposals must be submitted at least two (2) weeks prior to the beginning of the date of the project. Plus, the placement must be confirmed by the pro bono Coordinator before any credit will be given for work performed. Step 1: Application. Students begin the program by submitting the online application form. Step 2: Confirming Your Placement. Once you have received notification that a particular placement has been assigned for you, you will have seven (7) days to contact the Placement Sponsor to confirm the placement, arrange the work schedule, and outline other details of the assignment. By the end of the seven day period, you must submit a completed Placement Confirmation Form to the Gillis Long Student Pro Bono Program Office.
You will also be asked to sign a Student Agreement acknowledging your familiarity with your obligations and responsibilities in the program.
The Placement Confirmation Form requires the signature of the Placement Supervisor. The Supervisor may not be the person identified as your contact at the placement site. When you identify the person who is to be your supervisor, if he or she is not the contact person, put the supervisor's name, title, address, and telephone number on the Placement Confirmation Form before submitting it to the program office.
The Placement Confirmation Form acknowledges that you and your supervisor have discussed the parameters of the assignment and have considered possible or actual conflicts of interest. Once the pro bono program office has received the completed Placement Confirmation Form, you are officially assigned to that placement.
No Credit Without Prior Approval - As a general rule, you cannot get credit for any pro bono work you have done unless said work is approved by the Pro Bono Coordinator in advance.
In certain circumstances, an application for "back-credit" may be entertained. In order to apply for back-credit, you must provide the Pro Bono Coordinator with 1) a detailed written statement of where you worked, the dates you worked, the number of hours you worked, and the type of work done; 2) a certification from your supervisor that you in fact completed the work and the number of hours worked; 3) a timesheet, where available, and 4) any other material requested by the Pro Bono Coordinator in order to substantiate your application. The Pro Bono Coordinator may approve or deny an application for back-credit at his discretion.
No Concurrent Paid Relationship - Since the work to be performed is pro bono, there may be no concurrent paid employment relationship between the law student and the placement sponsor.
Travel and Expenses - Travel time will not be credited toward the fifty (50) hour requirement. Students will be responsible for paying their own travel expenses and all other expenses related to their performance of pro bono work. The Gillis Long Student Pro Bono Program and the School of Law will not be responsible to pay for any expenses related to a student's pro bono work.
Timekeeping - Students are responsible for reporting time worked. This information must be reported online. Students will not receive any credit for hours worked unless the information is reported online. A paper timesheet is available for the personal use of students, but these timesheets will not be accepted for credit. Every student has an obligation to report his or her time completely and accurately. The reporting of false or misleading information with respect to timekeeping may lead to forfeiture of all pro bono credit and further disciplinary action.
Terminating Your Placement Prior to Completing the Assignment - Students need not work in one placement to obtain the 50 hours required. Students are strongly discouraged from leaving a placement or transferring to another prior to completing tasks that have been assigned. Should you have a compelling need to do so, please contact the Pro Bono Coordinator to discuss the matter further.
Evaluation - Students are responsible for completing a Student Evaluation Form evaluating both the placement and the supervision received. This information will be used by the Coordinator in determining the continued eligibility of particular placements and supervisors. The evaluation also gives the Coordinator information about the effect of the pro bono work on the perceptions of the law student and will assist the Coordinator in compiling data and evaluating the success of the program as a whole. Part of the evaluation requires a brief written summary of the impact of the fifty hours spent on the student, on any particular client, and for the sponsor. This portion must be completed fully for you to receive credit for participation in the program. The Placement Supervisors will be completing Placement Supervisor Evaluation Forms regarding the individual student participants, quality and amount of work performed, and various other criteria.
Getting Your Graduation Credit - After reviewing all the submitted forms and holding individual discussions with the student and/or the Placement Supervisor(s), if necessary, the Coordinator will certify to the Registrar whether the student has completed the requirement satisfactorily. While no academic credit will be given for the pro bono work, the fulfillment of the requirement will be recorded through the Registrar's Office. The Coordinator will submit a list of names near the end of each semester to the Registrar, certifying that the students listed have satisfactorily completed the requirement. Completion will be reflected on the transcript for that same semester signified by the letter "P". Once a student is enrolled, the letters "IP" (signifying the work is "in progress") will appear on the transcript each semester until the student completes the requirement. If a student enrolls in the program and does not complete the minimum requirement it is the student’s responsibility to withdraw from the pro bono program to avoid having an incomplete on the transcript. This is especially important for students that are looking to graduate.
You are responsible for seeing that all forms have been completed and turned in to the Pro Bono Coordinator.
Confidentiality - Students should treat their pro bono work just as they would a clerkship with a firm or a judge. Students are instructed to keep the information they obtain about a case or a client confidential.
Conflicts of Interest - Students are responsible for identifying and acknowledging any actual or potential conflicts of interest with a placement site. You are referred to the Louisiana Rules of Professional Conduct in making this inquiry. The Placement Confirmation Form requires that each student sign the form certifying that, to the student's knowledge, there is no conflict of interest. The form requires that students contact the Pro Bono Coordinator and the Placement Supervisor if questions regarding potential conflicts of interest arise at any time after work begins on a project.
Avoiding Unauthorized Practice of Law - Students and Placement Supervisors are strongly advised to take all possible precautions to avoid the unauthorized practice of law. Law students are NOT authorized to practice law without the direct supervision of an attorney. Each placement sponsor agrees to have in place a system whereby any of the student's legal work product, be it written, verbal, or otherwise, is reviewed by an attorney prior to its use by the Placement Sponsor.
Public Relations - Students may from time to time be photographed by the media or the law school and interviewed in conjunction with their work as participants in the Gillis Long Student Pro Bono Program. In addition, written comments from certain students or supervisor evaluations may reflect favorably on certain aspects of the program. Statistics from student and supervisor evaluations will be compiled from time to time for annual reports and other uses. Such publicity is beneficial for the program and the law school, and student cooperation is encouraged. If students wish to be excluded from such public relations efforts, they must adivse the Pro Bono Coordinator in writing.
VI. SUPERVISOR RESPONSIBILITIES
A. Documentation
As a supervisor, you are responsible for the following documentation:
1. Completion of the Placement Confirmation Form
2. Completion of the Placement Supervisor's Evaluation Form - Supervisors are asked to complete the Placement Supervisor's Evaluation Form as part of an exit interview, conducted in person with the student, if possible. Once the exit interview is complete, the results should be mailed or faxed to the Coordinator. The student will not receive credit for his or her pro bono service until this form has been received and reviewed by the Coordinator.
3. Confirming the Student’s Time SheetStudents are required to record information online about their work and the number of hours worked. When the student finishes a placement, a printout of the information provided by the student may be forwarded to you for inspection and approval.
B. Assignment of Work/Evaluation
If a case or project will extend slightly beyond fifty (50) hours, students are strongly encouraged to complete the assignment. However, students are not required by the School of Law to work beyond fifty (50) hours to fulfill the Gillis Long Student Pro Bono Program option to the Law and Poverty requirement. Please take this into account when making assignments.
C. Avoiding Unauthorized Practice of Law By Students
It is of the utmost importance that both supervisors and law students understand the division of responsibility with regard to legal matters, and that both supervisors and students make every effort to avoid engaging or aiding in the unauthorized practice of law. Supervisors must exercise extreme diligence to insure that the student(s) do(es) not engage in the unauthorized practice of law during the performance of his or her duties for the Placement Sponsor.
By accepting a Loyola University School of Law student through the Gillis Long Student Pro Bono Program, the Placement Sponsor acknowledges that the Placement Sponsor, not the School of Law, nor the Gillis Long Student Pro Bono Program, has the responsibility for the work to be performed by the student(s) during placement. Such supervision includes the obligation to insure that the student(s) do(es) not engage in any service rendered involving legal knowledge or legal advice, whether representation, counsel, or advocacy in or out of court, rendered in respect to the rights duties, obligations, liabilities, or business relations of one requiring services, unless the activities of the student(s) is (are) under the direct and personal supervision of an attorney in good standing of the bar of the State of Louisiana (or other state where the public service work is being performed).
By accepting a Loyola University School of Law student for pro bono work, the Placement Sponsor also acknowledges that the Gillis Long Student Pro Bono Program is not a clinical program.
All students must be working under the direct supervision of an attorney. The attorney/supervisor has the ultimate responsibility for the legal matters being worked on by students. The Placement Sponsor agrees that he/she will not rely upon the work product of Loyola University School of Law students in taking or declining to take any actions which may subject the organization, its board of directors, employees, or agents to legal process. Loyola University School of Law students should not be used as substitutes for consultation by the Placement Sponsor with legal counsel.
D. Public Relations
It is expected that the Gillis Long Student Pro Bono Program will generate a certain amount of publicity. Consequently, Placement Sponsors may be invited, at some point, to participate in media coverage of the students at work. Sponsors are, or course, entitled to decline if they so choose. Generally, requests for such coverage will be made to the School of Law by the media representative. Sponsors are strongly requested to direct all news and other media inquiries which come directly to them regarding (1) the Gillis Long Student Pro Bono Program; (2) the work being done or to be performed by the student(s); or (3) the School of Law to the Coordinator of the Gillis Long Student Pro Bono Program or the Dean of the School of Law, before providing any additional information in response to such inquiries.