To a large degree, the "culture" of a law school is determined by the activities of its professors and administrators. As experts and persons in positions of authority, their opinions and activities are very influential with students. If faculty members conduct pro bono work and talk about it in their classes, their actions often inspire students to do the same.

The public interest activities of professors and administrators are hard to capture, because little of this information is tracked. There are some indicators, however, and we have included four in The E-Guide to Public Service at America's Law Schools. Equal Justice Works recommends that applicants visit the websites of prospective law schools and look at the bios of professors and administrators. This information can help determine who is teaching public interest courses, who worked in public service prior to coming to the law school and who is engaging in research and scholarship on the public interest issues that you care most about.

Remember that it is not always about the number of professors involved in public service. It only takes one inspiring mentor to make a difference in your success.

As practicing lawyers, teachers of public interest clinics are often the professors most immersed in public interest issues. Field placement professors also work directly with the public interest world and usually come to teaching with a public interest background. Therefore, the percentage of faculty teaching clinical and field placement courses and their faculty status are two good indicators of the public interest culture at a school.

The tenure or contract status of faculty is one indicator of how much the law school values clinical education and the power clinical faculty have on campus. Tenured professors are considered to be full members of the faculty, with voting rights at meetings and full participants in governance activities at the law school. Tenure comes with all the job protections that accompany "academic freedom."

Some schools have a tenure equivalent track for faculty that give them similar job protection status as tenured faculty but relieve them of the more time-intensive tenure requirements, such as legal scholarship. Tenure or long-term contracts are very useful in the retention of good clinical faculty and good clinical programs.

Some schools have additional clinical teachers who are non-faculty. Often, these teachers are teaching fellows, usually recent graduates, who will move on in one to two years. They can expand the size of a clinical program and be great resources for students.

It is a relatively recent development for law schools to have staff specifically dedicated to public interest programming. Because of their focus, these administrators can make a big difference in the culture of public service at law schools.

The most common areas of responsibility for public interest administrators are: 1) counseling and program development for students interested in public interest careers; 2) the operation of a pro bono program; and 3) the development and oversight of public interest programs for the entire school. At some schools, public interest administrators have the luxury of focusing only on these types of programs. However, at many schools, public interest administrators have additional responsibilities. The configurations will vary, depending on the resources of a law school.

It is important to assess if the staffing is adequate to help you accomplish your professional goals around public service. The E-Guide contains contact information of the public interest program staff. Feel free to contact them with questions.

One sign that a school’s faculty and administration value public service is the adoption of a formal policy encouraging or mandating that faculty engage in law-related pro bono service. All law schools have written policies that govern faculty, staff and students. These policies can reveal a lot about a law school’s norms and expectations and about what is institutionally valued. Most schools have a general service requirement for tenured or tenure-track faculty, but service in this context is not specific. To have a formal pro bono policy, in addition to the general service expectation, clarifies and emphasizes the message that in a law school setting, everyone should help improve access to justice.

Faculty and lawyer administrator pro bono service can take many forms. It may be the direct representation of an individual or organization, but there are other forms of law-related service as well. Because of the expertise professors have, some serve as consultants to nonprofit organizations and governmental agencies. Others write manuals, author briefs or offer their skills as teachers to train public interest and pro bono lawyers.

Few schools track faculty and administrator pro bono activity. Unfortunately, this means that students may miss out on valuable opportunities for professional growth gained from working with a professor on his or her work or from finding a mentor with similar interests. Thankfully, some professors and administrators do report their pro bono work. The E-Guide provides an opportunity for schools to highlight some of this work, as well as any recognition awarded to their faculty and administrators for pro bono service.

Millions of poor Americans with basic civil legal problems – often involving such critical needs as housing, health care, education, employment, safety and transportation – do not get the help they need. Threats to civil rights and liberties, the environment and other underrepresented issues go unaddressed. This happens because our justice system is predicated on the assumption that when there is a dispute, all parties will be represented by lawyers who will protect their clients interests and help their clients navigate the complex legal system. In this sense, lawyers are the gatekeepers to justice. Unfortunately, the most vulnerable members of our society are the least able to afford legal services and are unable to access justice.

Law schools have an important role to play in solving the access to justice problem. The E-Guide provides a place for law schools to highlight how their faculty and administration are meeting the challenge, not only through their clinics, programs and centers, but also through individual and institutional leadership targeted at improving access to justice.

View All E-Guide Chapters