Center for Public Interest Law and Advocacy
The Center for Public Interest Law and Advocacy is the hub of public interest law at Penn State Dickinson Law, offering a place to “do good” while in the process of earning a J.D.
The Miller Pro Bono Program
Rule 6.1 of the Model Rules of Professional Conduct provides, “Every lawyer has a professional responsibility to provide legal services to those unable to pay. A lawyer should aspire to render at least (50) hours of pro bono publico legal services per year.“ To help our students recognize the importance and impact of this responsibility, any Penn State Dickinson Law student who, during law school, performs at least 60 hours of legal work in a public interest settings will be recognized as a Miller Public Interest Advocate or Miller Pro Bono Advocate. Public interest work settings include legal service offices, public defender offices, the Philadelphia Lawyers for Social Equity Statewide Pardon Project, American Civil Liberties Union, Pennsylvania Immigration Resource Center, county or federal bar association pro bono projects, Children’s Advocacy Clinic, Community Law Clinic, Medical-Legal Partnership Law Clinic, as well as other settings that serve individuals who traditionally have not had full access to justice.
Students who have completed 60 hours of qualifying work and who want to be recognized as an Advocate must submit a memorandum that sets forth the following:
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Confirmation of your attendance at Dickinson Law;
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A general description of the program or office in which you performed public interest legal work, including whether you received any compensation or academic credit for the work, an estimate of the amount of hours worked, and a description of the type of work that you performed (if you had direct client contact, please describe);
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Note whether you are applying to be recognized as a Pro Bono Advocate for uncompensated and non-credited work with a qualifying organization or for recognition as a Public Interest Advocate;
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A reflection on what impact the public interest aspects of the experience had on your legal education as well as what skills or insights you will transfer to your post-graduate career; and
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An analysis of what would be necessary to increase access to justice to the constituents that the office represented. Please focus on what, outside of funding, would enable the office to better serve its clients and their communities. If there is a specific area, department or program that is in need of better funding, or if you have ideas on sources of funding, please include those observations in the memorandum.
Faculty Leadership
Professor Gary S. Gildin is the founding Director of the Center for Public Interest Law and Advocacy, and is also the Hon. G. Thomas and Anne G. Miller Chair in Advocacy and Emeritus Dean at Penn State Dickinson Law. As a faculty member, he has taught Civil Liberties Litigation, Protection of Individual Rights Under State Constitutions, Constitutional Law, Constitutional Criminal Procedure, and Comparative Civil Liberties.
Gildin has continued to engage in pro bono litigation on behalf of people alleging infringement of their constitutional rights, including arguing before the United States Supreme Court in the Native American free exercise of religion case Bowen v. Roy, and before the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in the racial profiling case Raphael Christopher v. Frederick Nestlerode et al. Gildin also contributed to the Brief of Amici Curiae Law Professors in William Penn School District et al. v. Pennsylvania Department of Education et al., successfully arguing that the system of funding public education violated the fundamental right to meaningful education under the Pennsylvania Constitution. Gildin spent a sabbatical serving as an Assistant Public Defender with the Cumberland County Public Defender’s Office.
Professor Gildin’s scholarship has focused on public interest litigation. He is the author of a Creative Commons licensed textbook on Civil Liberties Litigation as well as various articles on governmental accountability for deprivations of federal and state constitutional rights and works on religious liberty of members of non-mainstream faiths.
Professor Gildin has planned and participated in trial skills trainings for lawyers for the International Criminal Court Bar Association in The Hague; Office of the Prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia; American Bar Association Central and East European Law Initiative; American Civil Liberties Union; Public Defenders Association of Pennsylvania; Pennsylvania Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers; and Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network.
Resources for Students
Pennsylvania Bar Association
The Pennsylvania Bar Association provides access publications, conferences, and resources that will connect you to a broad network of lawyers interested in bettering the legal profession including an immediate connection to the PBA Pro Bono Office.
PAPROBONONET
With Probono.net, access extensive library of law materials including articles, reports and research designed to assist those stepping out of their practice areas to help build the bridge over the justice gap. Gain access to pro bono projects and community events as well as insights into the ever existing need for pro bono legal services.