preLaw Magazine - Fall 2008 - (Page 32) Improving public interest law Anderson said CUNY’s curriculum focus is dedicated to public interest law — hiring professors who work in the public interest field and admitting students based on demonstrated experience in the field. “We really are and were pioneers when we were founded in 1983,” she said. “This was a law school that was to be devoted to public interest. We have been praised for our integration of theory and practice.” Heather Jarvis, senior program manager for Equal Justice Works, said the new trend in legal education is to incorporate skills training and allow more choices for handson experiences and opportunities. “More schools are requiring pro bono service or are offering public interest certificates,” she said. “Equal Justice Works believes that students should have at least one hands-on service experience while in law school. “You will find that incorporating public interest into the law school experience is an emphasis of law schools these days,” Jarvis said. For more than 20 years, Equal Justice Works has collaborated with the nation’s leading law schools, law firms, corporate legal departments and nonprofit organizations to provide the training and skills that enable attorneys to provide effective representation to vulnerable populations. Equal Justice Works provides a continuum of programs that begin with incoming law school students and extend into later careers in the profession. Stern said their focus was initially on the diehards, but over time they changed the focus to look more at the 100-percent solution. Which is, every student should graduate with a commitment to serving under-served communities and causes. Those values are often instilled through summer jobs, pro bono opportunities or clinical programs. “Personal experiences where students use their skills to help a needy individual or community lead to lifelong commitments of the work,” he said. “We hope to create a profession where every lawyer gives time, talent and money to take on the justice deficit.” Spieler said Northeastern’s first-year program has every law student working on a community-based legal research project for a real client organization. This, she says, gives students the legal skills and social context of the public interest field. New trends in the field In recent years, there has been a dramatic shift in law school leadership. A transfer over to a new generation of deans who care deeply about the field has already begun. These are people who really prioritize public interest programming by revamping the programs to better serve students. “There is no substitute for leadership in this field,” Stern said. But some students become discouraged just as they begin law school. And it could be said that first impressions really do matter. “This woman said to me, ‘I started law school because I was interested in justice and quit after two months because no one talks about justice,’” Spieler said of a conversation she had with a woman on a flight. Northeastern, she adds, has always attracted students that have wanted to have that conversation. “I have always believed that the major- CO N N ECT IO N “Community service is my passion – well one of them! Roger Williams has been the perfect place for me to get involved with public interest law. One way is through the Alliance (for LGBT students and allies). We’ve been able to participate in the same-sex marriage debate through our work with the Rhode Island Bar’s LGBT committee. In the process I’ve connected with fellow students, faculty members, administrators and the local community. I’ve been able to make a difference. What’s better than that?” Kim Ahern ’09 “This is MY experience. This is MY RWU Law.” Web: http://law.rwu.edu Phone: (800) 633-2727 Email: admissions@law.rwu.edu Bristol, Rhode Island 32 preLaw http://www.tjsl.edu http://www.tjsl.edu http://law.rwu.edu http://law.rwu.edu
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