UDC-DCSL Named Law School of the Year

For Immediate Release

December 4, 2007

UDC-DCSL Named "Law School of the Year"

The UDC David A Clarke School of Law (UDC-DCSL) has today been named "Law School of the Year" by The Pro Bono Project for the Greater New Orleans area for the outstanding volunteer legal services provided by law students, professors and alumni in support of The Project’s mission to provide access to civil legal services for the poor and indigent through volunteer attorneys of the private bar.

For the past 18 years, The Project has traditionally recognized individual volunteers and law firms at the Annual Volunteer Appreciation and Recognition Event. In the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, support from law students and law schools has formed a vital part of the corps of legal professionals providing services to those in need within the New Orleans region. In 2006, The Project began to recognize the law schools, their students, professors and alumni for their service. The 2006 award recipient was the University of North Carolina Law School, which will return for their fifth visit during the 2007-2008 winter break.

"While we have hosted many schools, UDC was the first to develop a semester curriculum and practicum around the effects of Katrina on the legal, cultural and social fabric of New Orleans and this resulted in students, professors and alumnae volunteering in this community," explains The Project’s Executive Director, Rachel Piercey.

"The UDC students were a major contributor this year in helping us move through dozens of cases that may have languished for lack of volunteer manpower. Their help has been invaluable in bringing closure to many of our clients and we are so pleased to recognize and acknowledge their contribution, not only to The Pro Bono Project, but to the rebuilding of New Orleans."

UDC Law School Professor Susan Waysdorf, who along with her colleagues, Professors Laurie Morin and Will McLain, planned and taught the Katrina and the Law course knew from the beginning that the course should include the "alternative spring break" of service, on-site in New Orleans. In March, 2007 UDC-DCSL students, faculty, administrators and alumni raised funds and traveled to Louisiana and worked in a variety of capacities on behalf of Katrina survivors with local organizations including the Pro Bono Project. They conducted succession research to assisting survivors with insurance claims on their homes; provided assistance to the New Orleans Public Defenders Office resulting in the release of dozens of accused who had served more time than if they had been convicted; assisted exploited Latino day laborers to understand their rights and receive payment; and helped rebuild a home.

According to Prof. Waysdorf, "When we saw the scope of the devastation, it literally took our collective breath away. Seeing the true impact of the storm and the government's failure to help the people, and how little had been done 18 months later, explained in a deeper and more meaningful way what we had been learning in the classroom, from books and documentaries. The service we provided that week has had a long-lasting effect on both the residents we assisted, and on each of us individually."

The Katrina and the Law professors, as well as the entire UDC Law School community are honored by the Law School of the Year award from the Pro Bono Project, as so many law schools from around the country have volunteered in this national recovery effort. Professor Laurie Morin added, "When we heard about the unmet legal needs in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina, we were eager to join together to implement a course and practicum that would provide pro bono services to low-income residents of New Orleans. Our experience in New Orleans reinvigorated our commitment to social justice and the protection of society's vulnerable people and organizations." The UDC Law School is offering the course again in the upcoming spring 2008 semester, and volunteers will return to New Orleans over the spring break.

The Pro Bono Project’s continuing mission to provide free, quality civil legal services to the poor is more important than ever. By engaging volunteer attorneys to render pro bono services, The Pro Bono Project serves clients in Orleans, Jefferson, St Bernard, St Tammany and Washington parishes. With funding from the Justice For All Ball and other sources, locally and nationally, The Pro Bono Project works in collaboration with other social service providers to improve the quality of life for our clients and our community.

The UDC David A. Clarke School of Law is the District’s only public law school and one of only six ABA-accredited law schools at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. In addition to the standard academic law school curriculum, UDC-DCSL students each provide a minimum of 700 hours of attorney-professor supervised work on behalf of the indigent and the public interest.

Contacts:

UDC-DCSL Professor Laurie Morin: lmorinudc.edu, 202.274.7335
UDC-DCSL Dean Shelley Broderick: sbroderickudc.edu, 202.274.7332
Pro Bono Project, New Orleans Director Rachel Piercey, rpierceyprobono-no.org, 504.581.4043