Finding a Clinical or Pro Bono Project

At HLS, there is a rich variety of opportunities for hands-on legal work through clinical courses, in-house clinics, outside organizations, independent projects, or short-term pro bono projects. In addition to reviewing the information on our website, students are encouraged to visit the Office of Clinical and Pro Bono Programs, where our staff is available to counsel and advise you on placement possibilities or assist with developing new projects.

Clinical Courses

In order to do clinical work students must be enrolled for clinical credits through a clinical course, an independent clinical or a continuing clinical. Students are assigned to their placements according to the course in which a student is registered. Placement information is available on the clinical curriculum.

In-House Clinics

Most clinical courses automatically assign you to one of the HLS in-house clinics. Prior to the start of the semester, clinics contact students about orientations and other relevant information.

Examples:

• Academic course: Consumer Law and Policy: Seminar -- Corresponding clinical placement at the  Wilmer Hale Legal Services Center in the Consumer Protection Unit
• Academic course: Practical Lawyering -- Corresponding clinical placement at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society, in the Cyberlaw clinic
• Academic course: Human Rights Advocacy --- Corresponding clinical placement at the International Human Rights Clinic

Externships

Through some clinical courses students are assigned to work in externship placements, which are non-HLS organizations such as governmental and non-profit offices, local legal services organizations, or law firms. Externship placements can include Boston offices or long-distance placements such as agencies in Washington, D.C.  A few clinical courses may offer a variety of placements spanning in-house or externship placements. Students enrolled in a clinical course with externships or various options will receive information from the Office of Clinical and Pro Bono Programs about available placements and will be asked to rank the options.  Students receive placement assignments prior to the start of classes.

Examples:

• Academic course: Government Lawyer -- Corresponding externships in the US Attorney’s Office in Boston, the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General, and other governmental state and federal agencies.
• Academic course: Child Advocacy Clinic -- Corresponding externships in various governmental and policy agencies such as Children's Legal Services, Horizens for Homeless Children, and Suffolk County Juvenile Court, among others.
• Academic course: Employment Civil Rights Clinical Workshop-- Corresponding clinical at the WilmerHale Legal Services Center (Employment clinic) or externships such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights.

Independent Clinicals

The Independent Clinical Work Program gives 2L, 3L, and LLM students the opportunity for clinical credit in special areas of interest that aren't available through existing clinical placements. Independent Clinicals require a good measure of initiative, creative planning, responsibility and energy. For more information, visit our page on Independent Clinicals.

Continuing Clinicals

Students who want to continue working on projects that were not completed during a semester or want to work at a more advanced level can apply for Continuing Clinical credit. This allows students to continue their clinical work into subsequent semesters (and across academic years). Work must be done at the same clinical placement. For more information, visit our page on Continuing Clinicals.

Student Organizations

Student Practice Organizations

Student practice organizations (SPOs) are student-run, extra-curricular bodies that provide a variety of legal services to the low-income community. Each SPO has a professional administrator and a supervising attorney to assist and guide students. Although the majority of students working at Student Practice Organizations do so as volunteers, it is possible for student members to earn clinical credit at their SPO through certain clinical courses. Foreign language interpretation with clients at in-house HLS clinics also counts as pro bono work.

• HLS Advocates for Human Rights
• Harvard Defenders
• Mediation Program (HMP)
• Prison Legal Assistance Project (PLAP)
• Recording Artists Project (RAP)
• Tenant Advocacy Project (TAP)

Student Organizations

Student organizations at HLS are volunteer and student-run, but are not solely for the purpose of providing legal services like SPOs. The nature of student organizations ranges from academic to public service, political to social. Please contact the particular organization for more information about the work they do. At the beginning of each semester, organization leaders distribute pro bono forms specific to each organization. The following student organizations, among others, may do projects that fulfill the pro bono requirement.

• Child and Youth Advocates (CYA)
• Street Law projects are run by the Black Law Student Association and the HLS ACLU
• Federalist Society
• HLS Tax Help
• Harvard Immigration Project
• Harvard Negotiators
• Coalition Against Gender Violence (formerly StopDV)

Pro Bono at Law Firms

Students can receive pro bono credit while working at a law firm only if they are not paid by the law firm during that time period, and only if the student is working on a case for a pro bono client who is not paying the law firm. Students will not receive pro bono credit for working on a pro bono case in a paid summer associate job. Students who work at a private firm over the summer may work an additional 40 hours after the summer associate program ends and receive pro bono credit, if during that time period they are not compensated and all of the work they do is on a pro bono case in the public interest. Pro bono work at a law firm may also be done during the school year -- again, so long as the student is not paid. Contact the firm's pro bono coordinator, and then follow the approval process. See Law Firm Pro Bono for more information on evaluating law firm pro bono.

Term-time Pro Bono Projects

During the year, our office organizes specific pro bono training sessions and one-week service trips.  These events may be advertised in MyHLS' Administrative Updates, the HLS calendar, or this website.

If you are looking for a pro bono project, search the online Public Service database and the student evaluations of placements, which will help you get a sense of the organization and the work it does.  On this database, students should designate their project preferences in their student profiles to receive emails about new projects that match their interests. Organizations register with the Office of Clinical and Pro Bono Programs and make requests for particular projects with which they would like student assistance.  Timely projects and interesting cases also may be listed in MyHLS' Administrative Updates. If you do not see an organization or project listed in any of these sources, but have one in mind, check with the Pro Bono office for approval.

You can also search guides for pro bono opportunities by city.

Summer Public Interest Job

Jobs funded through the HLS Summer Public Interest Funding Program automatically qualify for pro bono credit. See the SPIF website for the steps and forms necessary. The Pro Bono Service Program and the Financial Services office have worked together to streamline the paperwork. Use the pro bono forms on the SPIF website. Students doing a summer public interest job not funding through the SPIF program, should contact our office to see about earning credit. See the Bernard Koteen Office of Public Interest Advising (OPIA) for help on finding a summer public interest job.