Pro Bono in the Time of COVID: 1Ls Share Fall 2020 Experiences
January 21, 2021
Class of 2023 pro bono participants (clockwise from top left) Kate Gibson, Marcus Harding, Adarsh Parthasarathy, Neal Whetstone, Leah Weintrub, and Sophia Shams.
Fall 2020 presented novel challenges for the law school’s Richard and Ginni Mithoff Pro Bono Program, which has developed a rich array of in-house pro bono projects that provide opportunities for students to assist community members with a range of legal problems. After the pandemic moved all pro bono activities online in March 2020, program staff worked hard to make the virtual platforms available to community members while providing students with meaningful volunteer opportunities. But coming into the fall 2020 semester, staff were concerned about first-year students, who would be entirely new to the program. Would 1Ls volunteer for virtual projects? Would they find online pro bono meaningful?