Buxbaum, Hannah L.

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Indiana University Bloomington Maurer School of Law

Maurer School of Law: Indiana UniversityDigital Repository @ Maurer LawHannah Buxbaum (2011-2013 Interim) Law School Interim/Acting Deans10-12-2012Pro Bono Projects Broaden Opportunities, InstillValuesHannah L. BuxbaumIndiana University - BloomingtonFollow this and additional works at: http://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/buxbaumPart of the Legal Biography Commons, Legal Education Commons, and the Legal ProfessionCommonsThis Writing by Dean Hannah Buxbaum is brought to you for free and openaccess by the Law School Interim/Acting Deans at Digital Repository @Maurer Law. It has been accepted for inclusion in Hannah Buxbaum(2011-2013 Interim) by an authorized administrator of Digital Repository@ Maurer Law. For more information, please contact wattn@indiana.edu.Recommended CitationBuxbaum, Hannah L., "Pro Bono Projects Broaden Opportunities, Instill Values" (2012). Hannah Buxbaum (2011-2013 Interim).Paper 4.http://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/buxbaum/4www.thelndianalawyer.com • IN DIANA LAWYER • October 12-25, 2012 • 9 Pro bono projects broaden opportunities, instill values Preparing stu-dents for the rigors and complexity of today's legal profes-sion requires schools to focus not only on doctrinal analysis, but also on the com-plete set of profes-sional competencies that successful lawyers require. Toward that end, the faculty at the LU. Maurer School of Law has adopted a Dean's Desk Hannah Buxbaum Indiana University Maurer School of Law series of initiatives aimed at expanding the range of experiential learning opp,ortunities available to our students. Maurer students can get hands-on experi-ence through everal full-scale clinics, where they work on real solutions for real clients under the supervision of a faculty member. They can also participate in externships in a variety of practice settings, either during the academic year or in the summer. These opportunities give our students a practical context in which they can learn to deploy the substantive law they have been tudying in other classes. Another arena for experiential learning is our pro bono "projects." As lawyers, we have ~ commitment to provide the best possible advice to our clients, while promoting equal acce s to justice for all members of our com-munity. At Maurer, our students' pro bono commitment starts in the very first year -with tangible benefits that last far beyond graduation. In 2009, we adopted an aspirational goal encouraging students to fulfill 60 hours of pro bono work during their three years of schooling. AlthotJgh this was not a manda-tory goal, our hope was that students would dedicate an average of20 hours each year to providing law-related services without pay or academic credit. Three years later, our pro bonc:i program -Access to Justice - has become a central fea-ture of student life in our community. More than 300 Indiana Law students (40 percent of our enrollment) contributed an aggre-gate of 24,740 hours of com~unity service in 2012. Many students fulfill their require-ment by participating in one of our projects: Our Pro Bono Immigration Project enables students to support the unmet legal needs of non-citizens in Bloomington and cen-tral Indiana. ew in 2012, this project helps immigrants with visa and citizenship-related matters, assists refugees with requests for asylum, and joins forces with other related organization , such as the eighborhood Christian Legal Clinic in Indianapolis. Fifty first-year students signed up to volunteer this year; 11 clients have already been served since PIP's founding. Indiana Law's Protective Order Project offers free legal help to people wl1o have suffered domestic violence, dating violence, exual assault, harassment or stalking. POP student volunteers are trained to support cli-ents throughout the filing and renewal of a protective order petition. In 2012, more than 40 clients received assistance from POP. The LGBT Project engages students, attorneys, scholars and lesbian, gay, bisex-ual and transgender advocates to research and analyze legal issues affecting the rights of Indiana's LGBT residents: Following a successful pilot in the spring of 2012, t}\is project is pursuing important initiatives such as anti-bullying policies in Indiana schools, anti-discrimination ordinances and research on the impact of marriage inequal-ity in Indiana. Inmates at the federal prison in Terre Haute receive assistance from students participating in the Inmate Legal Assistance Project. Volunteers are exposed to a wide variety of legal matters, from direct appeals and ineffective assistance of counsel to tort claims, family law, and · other civil issues. Twenty-one students are participating in !LAP this semester. Monroe County tenants facing iillmedi-ate eviction get help from Maurer's Tenant Assistance Project. Forty-one TAP volun-teers offer advice, negotiate on behalf of tenants, and refer more complex cases to Indiana Legal Services and other pro bono organizations. Our Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Project offers free tax .assistance to low-income, elderly, disabled, · and limited English-speaking residents of Monroe County. The walk-in clinic includes an assessment of whether clients are· taking advantage of al1 available benefits, includ-ing the earned income tax cr~dit. Volunteers from Indiana Law and the LU. Kelley School of Business are trained and certified by the Internal Revenue Service. In 2012, more than 400 clients benefited from VITA. Besides providing innovative learning experiences for our students, these programs are important for another reason: They help incµlcate the values of pro bono service in our students before they begin practicing. Doing so yields at least three benefits: Hands-on experience. Graduates entering the legal marketplace need all the advantages they can get. Being able to demonstrate to potential employers that they have done real legal work for real clients will help students secure full-time employment. The social justice habit. There's no better time to develop good pro bono habits than when a student is in law school. Setting goals and working to achieve them is an impor-tant discipline that yields rewards through-out one's professional life. By the time our students have graduated, they've made pro bono work an integral part of their profes-ional life. The right thing to do. With professional success comes responsibility. Being a law-yer can be professionally. and financially rewarding, and pro bono representation is a measurable and tangible way to give back to the community that has contributed to our success. Our pro bono projects prepare students for the practice of law while instilling the important professional values of service to the community and equal access to justice for.all. I am impressed by our students' com-mitment to these projects and confident that they will be better lawyers because of it.· •Hannah L. Buxbaum is Interim Dean and John E Schiller Chair in Legal Ethics at the Indiana University Maurer School oflaw. The opinions expressed are the author's. 

Pro Bono Projects Broaden Opportunities, Instill Values

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Pro Bono Projects Broaden Opportunities, Instill Values

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Indiana University Bloomington Maurer School of Law