Public Interest Law at Penn State Dickinson School of Law

The Miller Center for Public Interest Advocacy
Dickinson's Miller Center for Public Interest Advocacy endeavors to foster student understanding of and commitment to the obligation of all lawyers to integrate, as part of their legal careers, service to individuals who traditionally have not had full access to justice, regardless of the nature of the practice the student pursues. The legal profession is unique in requiring its members to render public interest services as part of their professional responsibility. See ABA Model Rule of Professional Conduct 6.1 ("A lawyer should render public interest service.").

The Miller Center encourages students to begin to fulfill their professional obligation to serve the public interest during their law school careers. The Center formally confers the title of Miller Center Public Interest Advocate upon those students who perform public service work during their law school career that meets the criteria set forth by the Center.

In addition, the Miller Center conducts student workshops, sponsors annual lectures with nationally-renowned speakers and provides support and continuing education to attorneys practicing public interest law.

For more information about the Miller Center, please contact Professor Gary S. Gildin, Director, Miller Center for Public Interest Advocacy, gsg2@psu.edu.

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PSU-DSL's Loan Repayment and Assistance Program - LRAP
In an effort to encourage and enable Penn State Dickinson graduates to pursue careers in public interest law, the Law School has established a Loan Repayment and Assistance Program (LRAP) that can assist qualified graduates working in public interest law with their loan repayment obligations.

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IOLTA Grant Program
In Pennsylvania, the Interest on Lawyers' Trust Accounts (IOLTA) program uses money generated from interest earned on attorney's escrow accounts to fund grants for non-profit legal services organizations. Legal services organizations promote equal access to justice by providing legal aid to those who would otherwise be unable to afford legal representation.

Dickinson Law School sponsors students who work full-tine in Legal Services offices during the summer. Grant recipients enroll in the Legal Problems of Indigents course preceding their placement. The program is open to all students from the state of Pennsylvania.

For more information about the IOLTA Grant Program, please email Professor Jane Muller-Peterson, jxm636@psu.edu or Professor Tom Place, tmp5@psu.edu.

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Clinics and Field Placement Externships: Representing the Underrepresented
The Law School provides opportunities for students to directly represent individuals through in-house clinics in the fields of Family Law, Disability Law, and Elder Law for persons unable to retain the services of an attorney.

The field placement and summer externship programs allow students to earn credit while serving as externs in state and local government agencies, non-profit organizations, public defender offices, and legal services clinics.

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Student Pro Bono Projects
The Middle District of Pennsylvania Chapter of the Federal Bar Association's Pro Bono Attorney Program (in cooperation with the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania Pro Bono Project), the Dauphin County Bar Association's Mandatory Pro Bono Program and the Cumberland County Bar Association Pro Bono Project match prospective law students with attorneys accepting pro bono cases.