Pro Bono Program
For more information about the Washburn Law Pro Bono Program contact Associate Dean Kelly Lynn Anders at (785) 670-1670 or kelly.anders [at] washburn.edu.
Students and faculty cleaning up around the Marian Clinic.
Students building a Habitat for Humanity house.
Students assisting Let's Help with the move to their new facility.
Pro bono comes from the Latin "pro bono publico" and means "for the public good." In a law school setting, pro bono may have many meanings. In its 1999 report, Learning to Serve: The Findings and Proposals of the AALS Commission on Pro Bono and Public Service Opportunities, the American Association of Law Schools' Commission on Pro Bono and Public Service Opportunities recommended that law schools
"make available to all law students at least once during their law school careers a well-supervised law-related pro bono opportunity and either require the students' participation or find ways to attract the great majority of students to volunteer."
Washburn Law's Pro Bono Program is designed to provide all students with an opportunity to experience firsthand the importance of maintaining connections with the greater community. Although the study and practice of law can be rigorous and challenging, both are enhanced when one becomes aware of the needs of others through volunteer work.
The law school's commitment to exposing students to volunteer work starts early in each student's law school experience. All first-year students are required to participate in a Community Service Project during their first week of classes, and the law school strongly encourages all students to continue to participate in volunteer work throughout law school and as practicing attorneys.
Pro Bono Opportunities
Students volunteer in a wide range of settings, including legal service organizations, government agencies, private firms (pro bono cases), non-profits, and legislative offices.
A non-exhaustive list of opportunities follows. Students are invited and encouraged to participate in any opportunity by contacting the name listed.
