Student pro bono work includes:

• Law-related assistance to lawyers providing work without fee, or at a substantially reduced fee, to persons of limited means or to charitable, religious, civic, community, governmental and educational organizations in matters that are designed primarily to address the needs of persons of limited means; or
• Law-related assistance to lawyers providing work at no fee or substantially reduced fee to individuals, groups or organizations seeking to secure or protect civil rights, civil liberties or public rights, or charitable, religious, civic, community, governmental and educational organizations in matters in furtherance of their organizational purposes, where the payment of standard legal fees would significantly deplete the organization's economic resources or would be otherwise inappropriate; or
• Participation in activities for improving the law, the legal system or the legal profession.
  All pro bono work must be unpaid, including work-study, stipends, etc. and may not be for credit.

Enrolling in the Pro Bono Program:

• Before enrolling in the Program, please read the Pro Bono Handbook.
• To participate in the Pro Bono Program, you must first sign the Suffolk University Law School Pro Bono Pledge. We encourage all students who plan to participate in the Pro Bono Program to sign this Pledge, even if you are not prepared to accept a pro bono placement immediately.
• To enroll, you must also read and sign an Acknowledgement of Professional Responsibility which sets out the expectations and responsibilities of students participating in the Pro Bono Program.
• Upper-level students may also participate in the Pro Bono Partners Program. To enroll in that program, you must complete a Pro Bono Partners Registration Form.

Finding Pro Bono Work:

• Check the Pro Bono Opportunities page regularly.
• Sign up to receive the Rappaport Center’s weekly e-newsletter, which includes updates on all public service and pro bono opportunities available to law students.  Email shuskic@suffolk.edu to be added to our listserv.
• Students initiating their own pro bono placement must seek approval before beginning work that will count for the Pro Bono Program.  To secure approval, please submit a Pro Bono Placement Approval Form to ProBono@suffolk.edu.

Supervision:

• All placements and pro bono work must be supervised by an attorney.
• A student's supervising attorney must sign all pro bono work log forms, verifying the number of hours completed during the placement.

3:03 Certification:

• Students are prohibited from using Massachusetts SJC Rule 3:03 Student Practice certification, or any other state's equivalent, to perform pro bono work.

Who May Participate:

• While first year students are permitted to participate in the Pro Bono Program, all first year students should be especially cautious about taking on additional responsibilities.

NOTE: The Pro Bono Partners Program is open to upper-level law students only.