Pro Bono at Notre Dame Project
Over the past year, the Pro Bono at Notre Dame (PBND) Program has added a number of new initiatives, thanks in part to a generous donation from the law firm Baker & Daniels. PBND was created to encourage pro bono work among law students, and the additional funding allows PBND to enhance its programming. Here are a few of the efforts that fall under the umbrella of Pro Bono at Notre Dame:
Protective Order Project
Notre Dame Law School and the Family Justice Center of St. Joseph County are partnering to provide help to women seeking protective orders against their abusers. Approximately 20 Notre Dame Law School students spend hours each week interviewing clients and helping them fill out a petition for a protective order. All work is done under the supervision of licensed, practicing attorneys, including Law School faculty. Thus far, more than 700 families have benefitted from the service since its inception last fall.
Small Business Pro Bono Project
In a unique multidisciplinary partnership with Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business and the St. Joseph County Bar Association, 22 students are now trained and working on the Small Business Pro Bono project. The project works in conjunction with Mendoza’s Microventuring Program, where groups of business students partner with local small businesses to assist in all aspects of running an enterprise. In the past the business students weren’t able to offer legal advice, but now the law students—teamed with a dozen local attorneys—are providing legal services to the six microventures involved in the program.
Working in Appalachia
Four-to-six 2L and 3L students will engage in pro bono work in Appalachia over spring break, March 8-14. PBND organized the trip in conjunction with the Appalachia Seminar of the Notre Dame Center for Social Concerns. Law students will work with the Appalachian Research and Defense Fund of Kentucky (AppalReD)—the umbrella legal services organization for Eastern Kentucky—to implement a pilot program of legal assistance to pro se litigants in various Eastern Kentucky counties. Students will help this nonprofit group pilot a new type of legal services delivery to low-income clients: one-day clinics in various counties to draft wills and powers of attorney.
Reviewing Indiana’s Guardianship Statute
A group of 15 law students is examining issues concerning adult guardianship nationwide and in Indiana. The group will eventually present a report on their project’s findings, including recommendations for improvements in the Indiana adult guardianship statutes, to the Indiana State Guardianship Issues & Needs Task Force.
Educating Incarcerated Fathers
Fifteen law students are helping develop and teach a curriculum to fathers in the local jail to inform them about such issues as child support, reunification with their children, and appropriately negotiating differences with the child’s mother.
Low Income Tax Assistance
Seven law students have received IRS training to provide free legal assistance for low-income workers who hope to qualify for the earned income tax credit on their federal tax returns.
“These are opportunities for aspiring lawyers to work directly with clients, learn about fundamental access to justice issues, and make a real contribution to society,” says Robert Jones, director of the Notre Dame Legal Aid Clinic, which administers Pro Bono at Notre Dame
