Pro Bono Program
GW Law is committed to encouraging students to volunteer to help those who have legal needs, during their time in law school and, more significantly after they are admitted to the Bar. That commitment is reflected, in part, in the Pro Bono Program. Through the program, students assist in providing legal services to those who cannot afford them. Doing pro bono work gives students the opportunity to give back to their community by donating their time and expertise. Volunteering also allows students to gain practical legal experience, build their resume, and establish networking contacts for future employment or to provide pro bono services as an attorney.
The Pro Bono program does not provide pro bono counsel to the public.
Opportunity Guide
Check out the Pro Bono Opportunity Guide to see a list of organizations in the area that frequently partner with GW Law students on pro bono work. If you find one you are interested in, reach out to the listed contact! You must be signed in to your @law email in order to view it.
Project List
Review the Pro Bono Project List to see some of the specific projects available to students. Each project has a listed point of contact, and some have sign-up sheets or training videos included. You must be signed in to your @law email in order to view it.
What counts as pro bono?
In order for your work to count as pro bono, under the rules and requirements of the law school, it must meet the following criteria:
- The work was performed while you were a law student in good standing, between your first day of classes and April 15th in the year you graduate. If you are a transfer student, pro bono hours completed while a 1L at your first law school do count and can be submitted.
- The work you performed was under the auspices and/or supervision of a lawyer licensed to practice in the United States or properly licensed under the rules and regulations of the foreign country in which the work was done.
- The work you performed was legal in nature, not community service (i.e., physical labor, soup kitchens, etc.).
- The work you performed was not done so for compensation such as a salary, academic credit, grant, stipend (travel allowed), subsidy, scholarship, tuition remission or fellowship from any source, or any other economic benefit. Hours done in excess, however, can be counted. Please view the Hours in Excess Rule below.
- The work you performed was not done as a student-directed pro bono project, or as part of a moot court or mock trial program.
- The work you performed was not done for a political campaign; for collection or review of signatures on petitions; as a poll inspector for elections or work on election litigation; as assistance with litigation involving a candidate's qualification for nomination, election or office; and/or of a partisan political nature.
Your pro bono work must be with an approved provider:
- not-for-profit provider of legal services for the poor and low-income individuals
- law firm in which you were not a paid employee, if the work was performed on a pro bono matter handled by the firm and the client did not pay a fee
- judge or a court system
- a civil or criminal legal services organization that serves low-income clients, a Public Defender, a Conflict Defender, a U.S. Attorney, a District Attorney, or a State Attorney General
- federal, state or local government agency or a legislative body
- law school-sponsored projects that serve poor or disadvantaged, provided work is law-related
- law-related work for a not-for-profit organization qualifying as tax exempt under Internal Review Code Sec. 501(c)(3) or (c)(4)
- law-related work for an international not-for-profit organization or foreign government in connection with economic development objectives that assist the poor
- GW Law field placement or clinic in which you worked in excess of the number of hours required for the number of credits for which you were enrolled
Hours in Excess Rule
Hours completed for Field Placement or a Clinic that were in excess of what was required for credit can be counted as pro bono, but ONLY those in excess. For ease of calculation, in Field Placement, each credit is 60 hours of work, and in Clinics, each credit is 45 hours of work.
EXAMPLE: A student is completing a Field Placement externship for 3 credits, meaning they are required to work 180 hours. At the end of the placement, the student has logged 200 hours. The 20 hours that were done above the required 180 can be submitted as pro bono.
Additionally, students who completed an unpaid public interest internship (not for credit) but did receive some form of grant or stipend can count their hours in excess of what would have been covered under the DC minimum wage of $17.50 per hour.
EXAMPLE: A student is doing a full-time internship for 10 weeks, and therefore completed 400 hours of work. The student received a $5,000 stipend for that unpaid internship. Using the DC minimum wage of $17.50/hr, the student can calculate that roughly 286 of their hours were paid ($5,000/$17.50 = 285.7 hours). Therefore, the student can submit the excess 114 hours as pro bono (400 - 286 = 114 hours). In this scenario, any transportation stipend would not be considered or factored in.
How do I submit my pro bono hours?
In order for us to recognize you with the Dean's Pro Bono Award upon graduation, you must submit your hours to us. Hours are due on April 15 of the year in which you are graduating. Any hours performed after April 15 will not be counted by the law school (though you could still submit them to external groups like the NY Bar).
You should submit one form for each organization you have volunteered at. If you volunteered at the same organization multiple times, submit one single form with the total hours of all the work you did for them. To avoid any confusion, please be careful not duplicate your submission. It is our recommendation to keep track of your own hours and only submit them once you know you will no longer volunteer at that organization.
All submissions are subject to the Academic Integrity Policy. All submissions are reviewed by the Pro Bono Program before they are accepted and recorded. The Program will reach out to a student if it has any questions or concerns about a specific submission.
If you have any questions, please contact us at probono
law [dot] gwu [dot] edu (probono[at]law[dot]gwu[dot]edu).
Public Interest & Pro Bono Pre-Orientation Program
The Public Interest and Pro Bono Pre-Orientation Program is a three-day program which allows incoming JD students to visit and hear from speakers at various public interest and government organizations all over DC. The purpose of the program is to expose students to all the different public interest and public service career paths that are available to them. It also serves as a way of connecting them to the communities they will now be a part of—the DC community and their community of public interest peers at GW Law. Previous host organizations include:
- Alexandria Public Defender's Office
- DC Bar Landlord Tenant Resource Center
- DC Superior Court
- Executive Office of the Mayor
- United States Supreme Court
- Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless
- U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney’s Office
- The Veterans Consortium
- Bread for the City
- Public Citizen
- The Second Look Project
DC Alternative Spring Break
DC Alternative Spring Break is a program that provides law students with opportunities to engage in hands-on, law-related volunteer work with area organizations during their spring break. It is sponsored in partnership with other DC law schools. Participating in DC Alternative Spring Break is a great way for you to serve, gain legal experience, network, and build your pro bono practice.
Pro Bono Recognition Ceremony
As a way of thanking students who participate in the Pro Bono Program, GW Law celebrates certain students each year before graduation. Any student who provides and submits 50 hours or more of pro bono legal services while at the law school will be recognized. This includes an invitation for the student and a guest to attend the annual Pro Bono Recognition Ceremony to receive the Dean’s Certificate as well as inclusion in the Honors & Awards section of the Commencement Program.
GW Law also partners with the GW Center for Civic Engagement and Public Service to recognize students who have submitted 100+ hours with silver graduation cords and the Presidential Volunteer Service Award, which consists of a letter and certificate from the White House, as well as a gold, silver, or bronze lapel pin signifying the number of hours submitted up to 250+.
New York Bar Pro Bono Admission Requirement
New York State requires all applicants for admission to the New York Bar by examination to complete 50 hours of law-related pro bono service before submitting their application.
Please note: GW Law does not administer this requirement, so we cannot officially verify whether a specific activity will qualify. The information provided here is based on our best understanding of publicly available resources. For specific inquiries, we recommend contacting the NY Bar directly.
Overview
Under the Rule, pro bono work is broadly defined, but it must be law-related and supervised by a licensed attorney or faculty member. There are several differences between what qualifies as pro bono for NY, versus what qualifies as pro bono for GW Law (GW Law's requirements are more narrow). Please review the requirements carefully.
Qualifying activities for NY include:
- Internships or externships with a broad range of organizations including legal services providers; public defender and prosecutor offices; not-for-profit organizations; state, local, or federal government agencies or legislative bodies; and judges or court systems can all count if the work is law-related and properly supervised, even if you received credit.
- Law school clinics, even if you received credit.
- Work at a private law firm can qualify as long as no fee is being paid by the client, regardless of whether or not the firm is paying you.
You should refer to the text of the rule or to the Advisory Committee’s Frequently Asked Questions to determine whether a particular activity qualifies. You may also email questions to ProBonoRulenycourts [dot] gov (ProBonoRule[at]nycourts[dot]gov).
Affidavit
As proof of completion, applicants will need to file an Affidavit of Compliance for each pro bono activity used to satisfy the 50-hour requirement. Each Affidavit must be certified and signed by the appropriate supervising attorney or faculty member.
We highly recommend completing Affidavits promptly after finishing the qualifying pro bono work, as it may be challenging to locate supervisors or obtain the necessary information months or years later.