Miller Center for Public Interest Advocacy

The legal profession is unique in requiring its members to render public interest services as part of their professional responsibility. A leading goal of the Miller Center is to foster students’ understanding of and commitment to their obligation to serve the underrepresented, regardless of the nature of the practice the students pursue.

The Miller Center encourages students to begin to fulfill their professional obligation to serve the public interest during their law school careers.

Request for Law Student Research Assistance

The Miller Center will pair law students who have agreed to provide pro bono research with lawyers providing pro bono representation, Legal Service attorneys, public defenders, private attorneys appointed by the court to represent indigent defendants, public interest organizations, and pro bono programs that have requested assistance on a case or particular issue.

Law students cannot provide legal advice directly to clients. If you are an unrepresented individual seeking pro bono legal assistance, please contact your local legal services office and/or bar association and visit http://www.PALawHELP.org.

All requests for student research assistance from attorneys, public interest organizations and pro bono programs will be forwarded to the Director of the Miller Center, Professor Gary S. Gildin, and the Law School's Director of Public Interest Programming, Kate Cramer Lawrence. The Miller Center will attempt to place the request with a law student who has expressed willingness to conduct pro bono research. The Center will endeavor to contact the requesting attorney or organization to confirm the student's acceptance of the research request within three business days of its submission.

If you have any questions, please contact the Director (gsg2@psu.edu) at (717) 240-5238 or Kate Cramer Lawrence (kmc32@psu.edu) at (717) 240-5210.

Submit a request for pro bono student research.

Places Where Students have Served the Legal Needs of Under-represented Persons

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