National Pro Bono Week (October 23-29, 2016) is an initiative of the ABA Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service that recognizes the importance of meeting the need for pro bono services from the legal profession, and celebrates those in the legal community who rise to meet the demand. Lawyers, firms, bar associations, law schools and other legal entities around the country participate in activities to celebrate pro bono this week each year.
Participating students will fulfill not just the one of the great civic callings of our profession, that of pro bono service, but of our entire constitutional system, that of defending the right to vote.
At Temple, we view participation in pro bono legal service as a core aspect of professional responsibility, and we encourage our students to devote time to pro bono service from the very beginning of their law school careers. The Office of Public Interest Programs and student organizations provide opportunities to serve, with several projects and trainings offered each semester. The projects already underway this semester involve dozens of students working in the areas of school discipline, civil protection from abuse, criminal record expungement, criminal exoneration, mitigation investigations for re-sentencing of juvenile offenders serving now-unconstitutional sentences for juvenile life without parole, and interpretation for pro bono attorneys serving non-English speaking clients in areas of critical need.
One program is still open for registration, and is available for just this semester: voter protection. In this Presidential Election year, students and attorneys can put their legal training to use to protect a core constitutional right. Through participation in Election Day voter protection initiatives, volunteers educate voters about their rights and empower them to report problems, including intimidation and harassment. By helping to resolve challenges or clarify confusion over voting regulations, volunteers contribute to democratic participation by all eligible voters. Participating students will fulfill not just the one of the great civic callings of our profession, that of pro bono service, but of our entire constitutional system, that of defending the right to vote.
During this National Pro Bono Week and leading up to the election, I invite Temple Law students, faculty members, and attorney staff to celebrate service in the profession by signing up to serve voters through one of the following initiatives:
Election Protection in Philadelphia Training
Monday, November 7, 4-5:30PM (snacks provided)
Temple Law, 1719 N. Broad Street, Klein 2A
Election Protection (EP) is the nation’s largest non-partisan voter protection coalition. In Philadelphia, the effort is led by Pennsylvania Voice, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the ACLU of Pennsylvania, and Common Cause Pennsylvania. Volunteers are needed to staff call centers and field programs to answer questions, monitor polls, and identify voter issues. Volunteers sign up for a several-hour shift on Election Day (November 8th) and must attend the training in advance. Election Day shifts are 6:30-11, 10:45-3:30, and 3:15-8.
To register, please complete both of these steps:
1) Email lisa.hurlbutt@temple.edu to register for the training at Temple Law on Monday, November 7th from 4 to 5:30 PM.
2) Sign up to volunteer on election day with the Lawyers’ Committee here, and confirm training location at Temple Law on November 7th.
Questions? Contact lisa.hurlbutt@temple.edu.
Cada Voto Cuenta Training (Bilingual Spanish-English Voter Protection)
Friday, October 28, 3-5 PM
Duane Morris, 30 S. 17th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103
Join Temple National Lawyers Guild (NLG) and Latin American Law Students Assodication (LALSA) in participating in Cada Voto Cuenta Voter Protection. Cada Voto Cuenta is LatinoJustice PRLDEF’s national nonpartisan voter protection initiative, affiliated with the National Election Protection Coalition, the nation’s largest non-partisan voter protection coalition. Bilingual Cada Voto Cuenta volunteers answer questions, monitor polling locations, and identify issues confronting voters, including language access and disability access. All volunteers must attend a 2 hour webinar or live training session and are asked to sign up for at least one 4 hour shift in Philadelphia, Berks, or Lehigh County. All volunteers will be paired up with at least one person who is bilingual. Once the training has been completed, more information will be sent out to those who have registered for Election Day (November 8th).
To register, please complete both of these steps:
1) Sign up at: http://latinojustice.org/civil_rights/cada
2) Fill out the doodle poll: http://doodle.com/poll/8h6hkxdv9uwectue. We are hoping to participate as a group and would like to see what everyone’s availability is!
Questions? Please contact Jessie Benavides at jessie.benavides@temple.edu, Joanna Cuevas Ingram, Associate Counsel, LatinoJustice PRLDEF, at jcuevas@latinojustice.org, or Rebecca Sweeney at rebecca.sweeney@temple.edu.
