The FAMU College of Law has received an $18,000 grant from the Florida Bar Foundation to support its Public Service Fellows Program in the Legal Clinic.The grant will provide scholarships for up to eight law students who will promote pro bono and public service legal assistance activities on law school campuses and in the legal profession. This is the fifth consecutive year the FAMU College of Law has received the Law School Public Service Fellows grant, which will run from May 1, 2010 to April 30 2011. The Florida Bar Foundation sponsors the fellows through its Law Student Assistance Grant Program.
Working about 150 hours in both the fall 2010 and spring 2011 semesters, the Public Service Fellows will work with established programs such as the Legal Aid Society of the Orange County Bar, and Community Legal Services of Mid-Florida to promote the preservation of families and children. One law student will service clients in Osceola County; another will service education clients in Orange County; and two will service a broader group of clients in Orange County. Providing pro bono legal services to clients referred by the established agencies, the law students will handle guardian ad litem, disability, special education and other cases that address the legal needs of children and families.
“Because of the funding provided by this grant from the Florida Bar Foundation, our law students will be in position to expand upon past findings of the need for increased pro bono legal services for children and families in the underserved areas of Central Florida,” said Dean LeRoy Pernell.