OU Law Students’ Committo Pro Bono

March 2, 2004 marked a successful kickoff to the OU College of Law Pro Bono Referral Program. More than 50 enthusiastic OU law students attended the kickoff, eager to learn about serving Oklahoma’s unmet legal needs while gaining valuable legal experience. The referral program matches OU law student volunteers with specific opportunities for law-related pro bono work under supervising licensed attorneys. The OU College of Law is committed to creating a greater awareness among law students of their ethical responsibility for public service, to provide legal services to the disadvantaged and to make access to justice a reality for the under-served population of Oklahoma.

The program is designed to provide OU law students with a broad spectrum of volunteer placements, including governmental or judicial offices, legal aid and a wide array of political, social, religious and charitable organizations. Students have expressed interest in various fields including criminal defense and prosecution, civil rights advocacy, children’s rights, employment law, Indian law, legislative law, legal aid and many other government agencies and nonprofit organizations. The initial round of matching has placed 10 upper division law students with Legal Aid Services in Oklahoma City and Norman, the Oklahoma Indigent Defense System, Oklahoma Lawyers for Children and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Presently, the program seeks summer placements for students who will have completed their first year in May and are eager to work in various legal programs around the state. The program also seeks placements for upper division student volunteers for the next school year.

It is hoped that the Pro Bono Referral Program will encourage practicing attorneys to take advantage of the student volunteer legal work with respect to their own pro bono work, encouraging private attorneys to accept pro bono referrals more willingly, knowing they can rely upon law student volunteers to do some of the “heavy lifting.” Members of the OU faculty are also willing to lend support to the volunteer efforts in their areas of expertise.

If your law firm, government, judicial or public interest office is interested in placement of a law student volunteer, please contact Professor Judith Maute at jmaute@ou.edu; Placement Director Kyle Buchanan at kbuchanan@ou.edu; or Student Coordinator Ashley Tate at ashleytater@yahoo.com.