The Vanderbilt Pro Bono Pledge is a commitment made by individual Vanderbilt Law students to dedicate a portion of their time to pro bono legal work and community service during their law school career. The purpose of the Pledge is to recognize students who engage in pro bono, public interest, and community service activities while enrolled at Vanderbilt Law and to encourage greater student participation in such work. Students may elect to sign the pledge at any point during their law school career but must complete 75 hours of service to complete the pledge. Two-thirds of this time must be served in law-related activities and ten hours of the Pledge must be performed in the Nashville metropolitan area.
Students who complete the pledge are honored at a school-wide, end-of-year ceremony and receive a Pro Bono Pledge pin that they can wear on their robes during law school graduation. Awards are additionally given to students with the highest number of logged hours in each academic year.
The specific Pledge requirements are as follows:
Pro Bono Work : Uncompensated volunteer activities requiring legal skill that involve the provision of assistance to or advocacy on behalf of:
- persons of limited means, or
- nonprofit organizations that serve persons of limited means, or
- individuals, groups or organizations seeking to secure or promote access to justice, including, but not limited to, the protection of civil rights, civil liberties or public rights or charitable religious, civic, community, governmental, and educational organizations in matters in furtherance of their organizational purposes.
The work must be supervised by a licensed attorney or a faculty member. A limited number of hours may be satisfied by work for which a student receives academic credit, such as participation in a legal clinic or assisting a faculty member on a pro bono research project.
Community Service Work : Volunteer service without receipt of compensation or credit performed on behalf of a non-profit organization, government agency, or organized program that serves the disadvantaged, disenfranchised, or benefits the general public, or on behalf of any Vanderbilt University Law School student organization or organized effort that serves underserved or otherwise disadvantaged individuals or communities.
For Three-Year J.D. Students: 75 hours of service
- At least 25 of these hours must come from Pro Bono Work for which the student receives neither monetary compensation nor academic credit.
- Up to 25 of these hours may come from Pro Bono Work for which the student receives no monetary compensation but does receive academic credit.
- Up to 25 of these hours may come from Community Service Work.
- At least 10 hours must be completed in the Nashville Metropolitan area.
- NOTE: Summer pro bono work can be counted toward the pledge if it is uncompensated. Receipt of either a VULS stipend or the PISF stipend does not preclude receipt of credit towards completing the pledge (i.e. if you received a stipend, you can still count your summer work hours towards the pledge).
- CPT Guidelines for International JD Students
For Transfer Students: 50 hours of service
- At least one-third, or 17, of these hours must come from Pro Bono Work for which the student receives neither monetary compensation nor academic credit.
- Up to one-third, or 16, of these hours may come from Pro Bono Work for which the student receives no monetary compensation but does receive academic credit.
- Up to one-third, or 17, of these hours may come from Community Service Work.
- At least 10 hours must be completed in the Nashville Metropolitan area.
For LL.M. Students: 25 hours of service
- At least one-third, or 9, of these hours must come from Pro Bono Work for which the student receives neither monetary compensation nor academic credit.
- Up to one-third, or 8, of these hours may come from Pro Bono Work for which the student receives no monetary compensation but does receive academic credit.
- Up to one-third, or 8, of these hours may come from Community Service Work.
- At least 10 hours must be completed in the Nashville Metropolitan area.
- Guidelines for LLM Students in F-1 Status
Any questions regarding the Pro Bono Pledge should be directed to vls.probonopledge@vanderbilt.edu.