Congratulations April’s Pro Bono Volunteer of the Month: Sarah Wilbanks
Editor's note: The Pro Bono Board, a student group committed to expanding pro bono knowledge and opportunities to students, names a Pro Bono Volunteer of the Month. The April honoree is Sarah Wilbanks,’16. Becca Smith, a member of the board, wrote this story on her work. For more information on pro bono work, visit the Pro Bono Service Initiative website or contact Shehnaz Mansuri in the Office of Career Services.
Sarah Wilbanks,’16, has contributed 220 hours of pro bono work to the community. She has been involved with Spring Break of Service (SBOS) since her 1L year, when she went to New Orleans and worked in the public defender’s office. This year, she is president of SBOS. She helped expand the program to include a new site in St. Louis and two additional sites in New Orleans, enabling 56 students to dedicate their spring breaks to public service — an increase over the 38 students who participated in 2014 and the 18 who participated in 2013.
The SBOS experience has given Sarah important insight into the criminal justice system. In the New Orleans Public Defender’s Office, each student shadows one attorney. This year, Sarah went on jail visits, interacted with clients, transcribed interviews, and attended court. Students interested in research and impact litigation spent the week at the Louisiana Capital Assistance Center or the Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights. Sarah said SBOS is a very intense experience and provides students with a real opportunity to see what it’s like to work in a legal aid or public defender’s office.
After law school, Sarah plans on working in a prosecutor’s office before dedicating her career to sexual assault and rape law reform. She is currently in the Domestic Violence Project, and is excited to work with her first client, since she recently received her student 711 license. Sarah has also spent many hours working at the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office. She especially appreciates the practical experience that her pro bono work has given her. “You do have the time in law school, and it’s really important to do pro bono work, where you may not get the time when you work at a firm,” she said.
This summer, Sarah will be a policy intern at the Sexual Assault Legal Institute in Maryland, as well as a summer associate doing IP work at a law firm in Austin. In the meantime, you can find Sarah cooking up a new recipe, reading historical fiction, or dominating her opponents at the ping pong table.