Membership in the legal profession carries with it inherent commitments to equal justice and public service. The Pro Bono and Public Interest Program, along with the law school’s clinical programs and externships and the Marshall-Brennan Fellowship, offer opportunities to weave service into every law school experience. Our goal is to help students develop the skills and inclination to perform service throughout their careers.
Students can become involved in pro bono projects as early as their first year in law school. All law school projects are designed to enhance substantive knowledge and skills and professional networks while also serving unmet legal needs in the community. Through pro bono and public interest involvement, Rutgers law students have the opportunity to work with lawyers, the courts and the public, and to share in the satisfaction of helping clients who have nowhere else to turn. Hallmarks of all projects include comprehensive training and ongoing supervision.
Our in-house projects and external opportunities have been developed in response to community needs, educational value and student interest. If you have an idea for a new pro bono project, please share it with us.
Program Administration
The Law School's Assistant Dean for Pro Bono and Public Interest Programs and the other Pro Bono Program professionals:
- develop and run pro bono projects;
- develop and run public interest programs;
- manage the law school’s loan repayment program and educate students about additional loan repayment and forgiveness options;
- participate in the law school Professionalism Program ;
- support the Association for Public Interest Law (APIL), with particular emphasis on the annual Public Interest Auctions, which provide funding for summer public interest fellowships;
- support additional student-led public service activities;
- support public sector career and fellowship efforts;
- organize incoming student orientation and Martin Luther King Jr. Service Day projects;
- and develop resources and new initiatives for Rutgers students.
The Assistant Dean chairs an Advisory Committee that includes student leaders, the Directors of the Clinical and Externship Programs, selected faculty members and community representatives; the Committee provides guidance for pro bono and public interest activities at the law school. The Pro Bono professionals also collaborate with their counterparts at the other Delaware Valley law schools to strategize jointly and to provide inter-law school opportunities (e.g., leadership training and other collaborations such as the Eastern District PA Prisoner Re-entry Project, public interest job fairs, summer public interest enrichment programs, etc.) for Rutgers students.
Eve Biskind Klothen Assistant Dean for Pro Bono and Public Interest Programs
Jill Friedman Director of Pro Bono and Public Interest Programs
Pam Mertsock- Wolfe Assistant Director for Pro Bono and Public Interest Programs
William McLaughlin, Managing Attorney, Federal Prisoner Reentry Project