About

What Is the UNC School of Law Pro Bono Program?

The Pro Bono Program was established in the fall of 1997 as a division of the UNC Law Office of Public Service Programs. It has since connected law students with hundreds of pro bono projects under the supervision of practicing attorneys in both public interest and private practice. The program is administered by a 12-student board and one faculty supervisor who work throughout the year with community partners, legal aid offices, law school student groups, professors, alumni, private attorneys, and fellow students to facilitate individual pro bono projects, special clinics, and group trips in which students can participate.

Student Involvement

Pro bono projects are available to all students, and students can get involved as soon as their first semester of their 1L year. During the 2010-2011 school year:

• 69% of the Class of 2013 had completed over 5,800 hours of pro bono work
• 84% of the Class of 2012 had completed over 12,500 hours of pro bono work
• 70% of the Class of 2011 had completed over 13,000 hours of pro bono work

Pro Bono versus Public Interest

While public interest generally describes a career path of public service, including jobs in non-pofit organizations, government agencies, and district attorney or public defender offices, pro bono is legal work that anyone on any career path can and should do. Pro bono is the provision of legal services to individuals and organizations that would not otherwise have access to those services.

Student recognition

Students log their pro bono hours as they complete pro bono work. Students who complete 50 hours receive a letter of recognition from the dean of the law school and a notation on their transcripts. Students who complete 75 hours receive a certificate of acknowledgement at the end of their third year from the North Carolina Bar Association and the law school. Students who complete 100 hours are honored at Commencement by being asked to stand for recognition. The program also honors students through its annual Pro Bono Publico Awards.

What Counts As Pro Bono?

The following criteria must be met for a student's work to qualify as pro bono for the purposes of recognition by the Pro Bono Program:

1. The law student must engage in law-related activities.
2. The law student's work must be supervised and/or approved by an attorney. Supervision and/or approval includes, at a minimum, attorney review of student work product.
3. Receiving class credit for law-related activities precludes these activities from qualifying for pro bono credit. Receiving monetary compensation for law-related activities precludes these activities from qualifying for pro bono credit.
4. The law-related services must be provided to the client for free or at a substantially reduced rate (whether reduced rate work will qualify as pro bono may depend on several factors, including the actual rate being charged the client, whether the attorney would normally bill for work performed by students, the economic factors preventing the client from obtaining full-rate services, and the population affected by the legal issues involved).
5. The law-related activities must be on behalf of:
   1. person(s) of limited financial means; or
   2. person(s) with limited access to legal representation; or
   3. nonprofit, civic, community, religious or governmental organizations.

NOTE: The following activities are expressly excluded from qualifying as pro bono work:

1. Work done on law journals.
2. Work resulting in submission of writing into competition or other journals.
3. Work on law related symposiums, conferences, and panel discussions.
4. Any and all fund-raising activities.

Annual Reports

• 2010-2011 Annual Report
• 2009-2010 Annual Report
• 2008-2009 Annual Report
• 2007-2008 Annual Report
• 2006-2007 Annual Report

Contact

UNC School of Law Pro Bono Program
CB# 3380
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3380

Phone & Fax
Phone: 919.962.5685
Fax: 919.962.5684