Pro Bono Opportunities

Clinics – The School of Law’s clinical offerings provide diverse and sophisticated practice opportunities to second- and third-year students, who work closely with skilled supervising attorneys. Clinical courses provide students with an understanding of the essential relationship between thinking about legal problems and dealing with client problems. Rather than focusing on routine legal services, our clinical offerings involve complex matters in which creativity and innovation play key roles in serving clients effectively.

Externships – Externships and judicial externships provide law students with unique legal and public service experience as they work in a variety of government and non-profit organizations. Opportunities continue to be added to a list that includes dozens of possible judicial externships (3Ls only), legislative externships, and other non-profit and government work. Most are in Western New York, but students have also had summer externships in Rochester, Philadelphia, New York City, Chicago, Seattle and overseas.

Practicums – A practicum combines study of a substantive area with service learning. Students participating in a practicum spend about 10 hours a week observing and assisting practitioners. Only those hours a student spends providing law-related assistance count toward satisfying the pro bono requirement.

Select Other Courses – From time to time, professors offer courses that may satisfy the pro bono requirement as part of the course work.  To find such courses, review the Registrar's Course Descriptions for the semester in which you are interested, and search for the phrase "pro bono".

In all such courses, only those hours a student spends providing law-related assistance count toward satisfying the pro bono requirement.