Pro Bono Week is an annual event on
the Program’s calendar focusing on giving back to the people who make our
Program what it is: the students. Pro Bono Week is, as the name suggests, a
weeklong celebration made up of several events and programs created with UNC
Law students in mind. When I began planning Pro Bono Week, I knew it was a
special opportunity for the Pro Bono Board to thank students for their hard
work and dedication to providing Pro Bono services for citizens of North
Carolina. I did not know how this event would change my perspective on Pro Bono
work, particularly how UNC Law students interact with their Pro Bono work.
My vision for this year’s Pro Bono
Week centered on the skills students receive from Pro Work. The Pro Bono
Program has identified the following skills as being developed through Pro Bono
projects: client communication; statutory interpretation; community engagement;
document review; due diligence; trial experience & strategy; professional
and interpersonal skills; and legal research and writing. These skills are not
only critical to doing Pro Bono work, but also critical to being a good lawyer.
To draw attention to these skills, one of the events during Pro Bono Week
highlighted them visually. The name of the event “Pro Bono Is...” asked
students to complete the sentence, “Pro Bono Is...” on a piece of pre-cut
colored paper. Students’ responses were used to create a visual representation
of what Pro Bono is to students at UNC Law. The old well was used as a backdrop
for student responses, and the steps of the old well were made of the skills
Pro Bono work gives students. Making the steps out of the skills language
worked on numerous fronts. The final image represented the role of Pro Bono
work in developing skills, which are the foundation of any legal practice.
Students’ responses framed the old
well image, and the answers were astonishing to me. What I expected from
students were statements expressing how Pro Bono work complimented their
professional growth, or allowed them to receive practical experience during law
school. Some responses followed that line of answers, while others focused on
the impact of Pro Bono’s on students’ personal lives. It was the latter
responses that I will take with me after graduation. Pro Bono’s impact on the
lives of students speaks to the heart of what Pro Bono really is, as well as
the heart of Carolina Law. I could fill a whole blog post full of these
responses, with answers like: “Pro Bono is...Life;” “Pro Bono is...the reason I
sleep at night;” “Pro Bono is...to those to whom much has been given, much is
also expected in return;” and “Pro Bono is...a chance to make a difference in
someone’s life.” These are only a small number of the responses, showing
students’ passion and empathy for members of their community and providing
unmet legal needs to people in need. These responses also get to the heart of
the Pro Bono Program at UNC Law: showing our community that Pro Bono has the
dual benefits of skill development and community betterment.
Pro Bono Week is a celebration of
the students, showcasing their hard work providing legal services to the people
of North Carolina. We celebrate not only UNC Law students’ service, but the
impact Pro Bono work has on students’ lives, and the lives of the people they
help. It is a simple reminder that Pro Bono is everywhere; Pro Bono is for
everyone; and in our global community we can make an impact on a large scale.
Posted by Laura L. Kessler on Fri. February 19, 2016 12:14 PM
Categories:
General