"As the twig is bent": law student insights regarding pro bono and public interest law.

• Author: Jacobowitz, Jan L.
• Position: PRO BONO LEGAL SERVICES

Over the past three years, the authors have spoken at length with groups of law students who have completed the first year of law school and spent the summer term in a public interest program underwritten by The Florida Bar Foundation. (2) We asked the students to respond to a question raised by the comprehensive, but gloomy, report on public interest and pro bono legal services prepared in September 2008. (3) What can law school faculty, practitioners, Bar leaders, legal service nonprofits, and judges do to encourage 1) greater interest in public interest legal jobs, and 2) habit-forming, early commitments to pro bono hours?

Once posed, the question became the catalyst for role reversal in the classroom. Every student had at least one suggestion, and several had many. The students became the teachers. We listened while the students instructed us how to modify the law school experience to increase interest and participation in public service. Initially, we thought that this group might be the proverbial "choir"--the students who had already chosen the Bar oath's path of helping the defenseless and oppressed--and that for comprehensive answers, we needed to reach a group of their peers who went into law school for that other commodity that is given a passing mention in the oath--"lucre." (4) But, as usual, the truth was more complicated than any preconceived notion about venal motivations among their classmates (the cliches: BMWs, Rolexes, prime real estate, etc.). After providing the background for our discussion with the students, we will recount their suggestions and identify the persons and groups within the legal profession who might best turn the students' thoughts and words into action.

Background: The 2008 Report and "Findings About Law Schools"

After charting the decline in pro bono legal services over a period of years, the 2008 report, "Pro Bono: Looking Back, Moving Forward," prepared for the Florida Supreme Court and The Florida Bar's Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Service by Carmody and Associates (2008 report), analyzed the causes of the decline and the steps that might be taken to reverse the trend. The predominant causes include:

* Family obligations. "With increasing numbers of female attorneys who are mothers or caretakers of aging parents, and male attorneys participating more in child-rearing, the work/family dynamics and times have changed. Less discretionary time is available for many attorneys." (5)

* Increasing demands at work. More lawyers report that they are overworked. Solo and small firm practitioners are juggling substantive legal matters, billing, marketing, and administration. Large firm practitioners report increasing billable hour requirements. Public sector lawyers report increasing workloads after budget cutbacks. (6)

* Lack of skills or experience. Well-intentioned practitioners sometimes voice a concern that they are specialists with no experience in the practice areas that dominate in the poverty community--landlord/ tenant, foreclosure, bankruptcy, immigration, family law, payday and used car loans, and public benefits, for example. (7)

* Other community service. Some attorneys report a preference for charitable work that does not involve "pro bono" (legal work for those unable to afford the assistance)--service through a church or temple, participation in children's athletics or scouting; fundraising for nonprofits, etc. (8)

* Poor information regarding local legal aid programs. The 2008 report found significant communication gaps between legal aid programs and the practitioners who might take pro bono cases with or for the programs. Some practitioners were unaware that malpractice insurance is provided by the pro bono programs; others say they haven't been asked to help the legal aid programs in the community. (9)

The 2008 report next compiled a number of recommendations calculated to strengthen the pro bono framework in Florida. Identifying law students as the best prospects for pro bono service in the future, one section recommended:

Law Students. The best time to begin pro bono service is early--in law school. The [10] law schools in Florida have a variety of pro bono policies--some that require pro bono legal services and some that promote voluntary opportunities. Law school pro bono programs can give law students a sense of professional responsibility about pro bono legal services and educate them about the legal needs of poor people, but most importantly, they give students their first pro bono experience, which may make pro bono legal services after graduation more attractive.

Programs can increase the number of law students experiencing pro bono legal services by coordinating current pro bono attorneys to speak at law schools about the personal satisfaction they derive from pro bono cases. Additionally, legal aid organizations in Florida have the most placements by law school pro bono programs of any public interest organizations. They must make sure that law students have the best pro bono legal services experience possible so they are more likely to volunteer once they become attorneys.

Finally, programs should systematically recruit new attorneys who have provided pro bono service as students. This is a lost opportunity for...