The Center also serves as the nerve center for student pro bono efforts through our Equal Justice Program, and works cooperatively with the Office of Career Services to enhance and support additional opportunities for graduates to work in the public interest. Students are able to explore many volunteer legal efforts and to engage in legal research and writing, critical analysis, public education, legislative advocacy, and litigation support regarding the myriad problems that face society today.

The Equal Justice Program is a consortium of student led pro bono efforts that are carried out in the greater Washington DC community. The Equal Justice Program provides unique opportunities for Howard University School of Law students to engage in legal research and writing, critical analysis, public education, legislative advocacy and litigation support through the Externship Program and the Pro Bono/Public Service Program. The Equal Justice Program also houses the Public Interest Resource Center.

The EXTERNSHIP Program
Students who wish to receive credit for their work in the public sector may enroll in Howard’s Externship Program during either the summer or the academic semesters. The objective of the Externship Program is to teach students, through practical experiences, about the operation of the legal system and the role of lawyers in that system. Students enrolled in the Program work for one semester at a designated field placement at a government, nonprofit, or public interest organization or agency in the Washington, D.C. area. During the summer, the placement site is not limited to any geographic location. During the summer of 2006, students have been placed as far away as the Federal District Court of the US Virgin Islands. In addition, students may work in a private law firm provided that the student’s work is of a public interest nature or relates to a pro bono matter undertaken by the firm. Students are also required to attend and participate in a weekly 75-minute seminar taught by the Clinic Director or Equal Justice Program Coordinator. The seminar focuses on a variety of issues and topics including the development of lawyering skills, problems arising at the placement site, ethical issues, discussion of other issues relating to placements, and career opportunities for public interest lawyers.

Public Service Program
The Community Outreach Program includes volunteer opportunities through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program, and the Free Legal Advice Clinic, housed at the Anacostia office of Bread for the City, Justice for Our Neighbors Immigration Clinic, and the Workers’ Rights Clinic and the DC Employment Justice Center.

Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (VITA)
VITA is a joint project of the ABA and the IRS that allows students to assist low-income individuals with their taxes. The HUSL VITA site is the Starbucks in the Howard University main campus bookstore located in the heart of the Shaw neighborhood. Students prepare taxes on the Saturdays leading up to tax day from the end of January until April 15th. This year, Howard’s volunteers filed electronically which enabled residents to receive their refunds more quickly.

Free Legal Advice Clinic (DC Bar Pro Bono Program)
HUSL students have a long-standing relationship with the D.C Bar’s Free Legal Advice Clinic. Students volunteer the second Saturday of each month in both the S.E. and N.W. locations. Students assist in the initial intake process and may shadow practicing attorneys through the advice process. This is an excellent pro bono opportunity for first year students.

DC Employment Justice Center
A favorite volunteer opportunity for Howard’s first year students, the Worker’s Rights Clinic of the DC Employment Justice Center affords its volunteers the opportunity to conduct intake for low-wage DC workers. Although the organization provides regular on-site training for its weekly clinics, by working with DCEJC to arrange training on campus, we have been able to attract and sustain a regular core of volunteers.

Justice for our Neighbors
A project of the Baltimore-Washington Conference of the United Methodist Church, Justice for Our Neighbors offers free immigration legal services to indigent residents of the Washington metropolitan area. Every fall, an attorney from JFON comes to the law school campus to conduct a training for students interested in working at the fee legal advice clinic. Last year, JFON retained one of our students as an extern, and she was able to work 12-20 hours each week for academic credit.

The Education Program is comprised of the Street Law Project, The Marshall Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project, and Eastern High School Law Day.

Street Law Project
Students teach pre-adjudicated youth at DC Superior Court as part of the Street Law, Inc. “Save Our Street” Law Program, which targets 13-17 year old defendants charged with weapon offenses. As part of the curriculum, HUSL students also impart problem solving, communication, and conflict resolution skills.

The Marshall Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project
The Marshall-Brennan Fellowship Program is a Constitutional Law Clinical Program launched in 1999 at the Washington College of Law at American University by the widows of former Supreme Court Justices Thurgood Marshall and William J. Brennan. Using, We the Students, a Constitutional Law text of cases about young people, authored by WCL Professor Jamin Raskin, second and third year law students teach two semester long Constitutional Law classes at area high schools.

Eastern High School Law Day
Eastern High School students participate in a special program at HUSL that includes the opportunity to attend classes, student presentations, and discussions with HUSL students about academic achievement and road from high school to law school.