TO: Potential Pro Bono Program Supervisor

FROM: Amy Wiecking, Pro Bono Program Administrator

Professor James H. Pietsch, Pro Bono Program Director

WilliamS.RichardsonSchool of Law

Law Student Public Service (Pro Bono) Program

2515 Dole Street, Honolulu, Hawai‘i 96822

Telephone: (808) 956-3003

E-mail:

Thank you for your interest in our Pro Bono Program and in helping our law students. If you have any questions or suggestions about the program, please call or e-mail.

The Law Student Public Service (better known as "Pro Bono") Program introduces the concept of Pro Bono service to law students. The program allows law students to address unmet legal needs in the community while enriching their legal education. The preparation of lawyers who recognize the importance of their public service obligations is an important objective of the William S. Richardson School of Law.

Successful completion of the Pro Bono service requirement is a condition for graduation and conferral of a Juris Doctor Degree. Students are required to locate and to provide law-related Pro Bono work under the supervision of an attorney or other supervisor, as approved by the Pro Bono Program Administrator.

The definition of law-related Pro Bono work is construed liberally and includes not only legal services provided by of for non-profit or public interest organizations and by private practices attorneys performing Pro Bono services but also government service with any federal, state, or local government agency, court or legislature. Law students are encouraged to provide a portion of their Pro Bono service for indigent clients. The Pro Bono work is meant to be legal in nature, not clerical or administrative. Additionally, a component that encourages the student to discuss and evaluate his or her experience is built into the program.

We have a limited number of students, so we cannot guarantee that students will volunteer to work with your organization. We will, however, do our best to make the students aware of the availability of a placement with you. To this end, we suggest that you keep on file with us an updated, brief description of what duties a student might be expected to perform at your office. Please be sure to include the name and phone number of the contact person at your office. Pleaseunderstand that neither supervisors nor students can change the following guidelines without faculty approval.

Pro Bono Ground Rules

  1. Except as provided in Rule 7 of the Rules of the Hawai‘i State Supreme Court, students participating in this program are not covered by the so called "student practice rule", thus they may not give legal advice, make formal appearances in court or otherwise engage in the practice of law.
  1. Students must generally be supervised directly by an attorney licensed to practice law in the State of Hawai‘i. Exceptions to this general rule must be approved in advance of any placement by the Pro BonoProgram Administrator. Supervision of students participating in the Pro Bono Program is the soleresponsibility of the supervising attorney or other approved supervisor.
  1. Work assigned to students under this program should be law-related and not simply clerical.
  1. Each student, upon completion of a placement, is required to complete a written evaluation of the placement and submit it to the Pro Bono Program Administrator. Each supervisor will be requested to provide an evaluation of the student’s Pro Bono work. All recent written student critiques and supervisor evaluations will be kept on file for review by law students.
  1. Although completion of 60 hours of law-related Pro Bono work is a graduation requirement, students may not be compensated nor receive any other academic credit for Pro Bono work done under this program.
  1. The legal work must conform to concept of "Pro Bono" which means "for the public good" in the ordinary sense of the term. Pro Bono work includes any law-related work performed without compensation which is provided for needy clients at no cost (or at substantially reduced cost) to the client or which is performed in the public interest.
  1. For each placement, a Pro Bono Registration Form must be signed by the student and the supervising attorney and should be submitted to the Pro Bono Program Administrator for approval.
  1. All work done by the student under the program must be recorded on a Pro Bono Program time sheet and each time sheet must be signed by the student and the student's supervising attorney before it is submitted to the Pro Bono Program Administrator. Also, students will not receive credit for their Pro Bono placement until both the student evaluations and supervisor evaluations are received. Students are required to keepcopies of all submitted paperwork.

Please call if you have any questions, comments or suggestions about the Pro Bono Program.

Once again, thank you for your interest in helping our law students.