St. John's School of Law Secures Access to Justice Grant to Run Full-Time Pro Bono Program

St. John’s Law has secured a grant from the New York State Courts Access to Justice Program to operate a full-time pro bono program providing legal services to unrepresented debtors in civil proceedings and to unrepresented plaintiffs in uncontested divorce cases in Queens, NY. Professor Ann L. Goldweber, Director of Clinical Legal Education at the Law School, guided the grant application process for St. John’s in collaboration with colleagues from Touro Law Center, Cardozo Law, and CUNY School of Law. All four schools will operate pro bono programs under the grant, which will be administered by Touro.

For its grant initiatives, St. John’s will expand two NYS Courts Access to Justice programs it ran part-time last year under the leadership of Program Coordinator and supervising attorney Helen Wrobel ’94. The full-time Volunteer Lawyer for the Day Consumer Debt Program will provide limited representation to pro se defendants in consumer debt cases at pre-trial conferences in Queens Civil Court. Working under attorney supervision, St. John’s Law students will negotiate settlements with opposing counsel, conference with court attorneys, argue before judges, and advise clients on trial strategies. In the full-time Uncontested Divorce Program, students will work under attorney supervision to prepare uncontested divorce papers and to walk clients through the divorce process.  

“Our students are doing an outstanding job providing pro bono services to those who most need it, while gaining real world experience in the courtroom and throughout the judicial process,” said Wrobel. “The Access to Justice Grant is a win-win for St. John’s Law students and the Queens community.”

As part-time efforts, these St. John’s programs have served 255 people since April 1, 2013. By expanding them under the grant, the numbers can be doubled. “The grant enables our students to work on actual cases as pro bono student-attorneys while serving the unmet legal needs of the low-income community in Queens,” Professor Goldweber said. “Students experience first-hand the critical need for public service while still in law school, and will carry an appreciation for — and dedication to — pro bono work throughout their careers.”