Feeling the Power of Pro Bono
On a snowy day in Jordan earlier this month, Andrew C. Adair, ’15, gathered with a family of Syrian refugees around the tiny heat lamp in their living room, listening as they told their stories.
Adair had traveled to the Middle East with a legal aid group that helps refugees seeking resettlement, knowing he would experience something powerful and new. But he hadn’t quite anticipated the connection he’d feel, or the heightened understanding he’d have about the power of public service work.
The father had been an artist in Syria. One of his children wanted to become an engineer; the other, a doctor. But erupting violence had forced them to flee their war-torn country, and as refugees, their access to work and school was now limited. Still, they remained focused on the future — resilient and persistent in a way that felt both foreign and familiar to Adair.
“They’re trying to pursue their dreams, just like I’m in law school pursuing mine,” Adair said. “But it’s extraordinarily tough for them. If I were forced to leave the United States and go to a country that didn’t let me continue my legal education, that didn’t let me have a chance at becoming a practicing lawyer, it would be crushing.”
Later, Adair reflected on what he’d seen and heard, and he thought: “I can learn from this.”
This is the power of pro bono work, which can offer students not just a feel-good experience but the opportunity to develop tools, skills, and perspectives that make them better lawyers, regardless of the area of law they plan to pursue after graduation.
“Law students really do hunger for practical experience,” said Susan Curry, the Law School’s Director of Public Interest Law and Policy. “Providing pro bono service is an ideal way for students to develop some of these practical and professional skills. For students who are interested in pursuing careers in public service, pro bono work can offer some valuable networking opportunities as well.”
In 2010, Curry introduced the Pro Bono Pledge, which challenges students to complete 50 hours of law-related volunteer work by graduation. Between 2011 and 2014, 227 students took the pledge, logging a total of 11,551 hours of volunteer work in areas ranging from immigration to housing to public defense. During that time, 118 completed the pledge. Participation has grown steadily each year, with the volunteer hours more than tripling since the program began, from 1,275 the first year to 4,313 in 2014.
“Students recognize that pro bono public service is an integral part of a lawyer’s professional obligation,” Curry said. “By encouraging participation in pro bono, we at the Law School are striving to nurture that culture of service and to instill, permanently, a pro bono ethic.”
Each month, the school’s Pro Bono Service Initiative highlights the work of a different student: Adair, for instance, is the Volunteer of the Month for February.
“I’m very glad that the Law School encourages participation in pro bono work, and makes it easy to find opportunities that interest us,” Adair said. “My pro bono experiences allowed me to work with my first client, travel professionally to another country, and form strong relationships with outstanding people. I would have missed out on all of this were it not for the Pro Bono Service Initiative.”
Adair’s work with the Iraq Refugee Assistance Project, a national organization that formed a chapter at the Law School last spring, was inspired by the Pro Bono Pledge. He wanted to fulfill his promise, and when he read about IRAP in materials circulated by the Pro Bono Service Initiative, it felt like the right fit.
He began working from Chicago on a case involving a single Iraqi mother who had fled to Jordan and is seeking resettlement. He found the work rewarding, and when he had the opportunity to travel to Jordan for 10 days with IRAP, he went, joining 19 students from other law schools. While there, he met a variety of clients, including the Iraqi woman; learned more about the plight of refugees; honed his advocacy skills; and worked on his interviewing techniques.
For Adair, who will join Sidley Austin’s Chicago office after graduation, the experience underscored something he hopes to share with other students: pro bono work isn’t just for law students planning public interest careers.
“Incorporating service into my career means I can pursue multiple interests,” Adair said. “I'm looking forward to representing corporations and financial institutions in complex financial transactions, but I'm also very excited to continue advocating for individuals in need. This means I’ll have to keep learning. Although these practices seem very different, I suspect that each will force me to develop new skills that will complement the other.”