describes it, “[t]hrough pro bono, you provide legal help to those who need but can not afford an attorney. Pro bono enables you to make a big difference in a person's life.” That sounds good, doesn't it? Sure. So how does GW encourage people to do this valuable pro bono work?

To encourage pro bono activity, the Law School recognizes students who provide significant Pro Bono Legal Services (defined below). Each student who provides sixty (60) hours or more of Pro Bono Legal Services while a student at the Law School will be recognized upon graduation.

Wow. If you do 60 hours of pro bono work you'll “be recognized upon graduation.” That's a pretty big incentive, isn't it? And hey, if that's not enough to encourage you, you'll also get some shiny stars! To me, this picture says a great deal about GW. First, out of a student body of around 800 students, approximately 120 names are on this board. Second, the best the school can do to support this kind of community service and encourage a public service ethic in its students is to give them shiny stars and “recognize” them upon graduation. (What does “recognize” mean? No one seems sure.) Although it's nice that the school encourages students to do pro bono work, this seems like half-hearted encouragement, at best. And while I know the people involved in this aspect of the school are all very nice people and are all very well-intentioned and are doing their best, this is still a disappointing level of institutional support for public service work. I realize that the benefits intrinsic to pro bono work should be enough encouragement by themselves, but since law school is the first time many students would even consider this kind of work, it seems important that a school provide more institutional support to get them started, otherwise they may never understand or appreciate the intrinsic benefits of such work. Btw, my name is not on this board. Pot kettle black? Perhaps. I justify my lack of pro bono work w/the fact that nearly all the legal work I've done is for nonprofits and gov't agencies that provide direct legal services to indigent clients. This would qualify as pro bono work if it weren't part of a “formal internship.” Still, I know that's no excuse and I do hope to get my 60 hours done before I graduate, but the shiny stars and “recognition” have nothing to do with it.