New Pro Bono Project
Lawyers for Women Fighting Breast Cancer - Spring 2007
Project Description:
Lawyers for Women Fighting Breast Cancer (LWFBC) is a new pro bono project created to provide free legal services to low-income women diagnosed with breast cancer. The project is sponsored by the Travis County Women Lawyers Association in partnership with the William Wayne Justice Center for Public Interest Law at the Law School and Volunteer Legal Services of Central Texas.
LWFBC will match pro bono attorneys with breast cancer patients who have civil legal needs, and the Justice Center will identify volunteer law students to assist attorneys who request student help with their cases. Participating students, who will serve as Pro Bono Fellows, will have the opportunity to provide much-needed legal services to breast cancer patients, work closely with mentor attorneys, gain hands-on experience, and network with private attorneys in the Austin area. The cases may involve estate planning, family law, medical benefits, consumer law, or housing issues.
We anticipate selecting ten to fifteen fellows for this project in the spring of 2007. Fellows will be assigned to pro bono attorneys on an as-needed basis when clients are identified and matched with counsel. Fellows will be expected to spend up to 30 hours on pro bono cases. Each fellow will be contacted by the Justice Center to determine his or her availability before being assigned to a new case. Fellows will not be expected to volunteer late in the semester.
Students are eligible to participate in this project after they have completed their first two semesters. Applications are due by Friday, January 26, 2007. We will accept students for the project on a rolling basis between November 15, 2006, and January 26, 2007, and the final list of fellows will be announced on January 29, 2007.
Pro bono cases may become available before the start of the spring semester. Students who would like to begin participating in the project before the start of the spring semester are advised to apply as soon as possible and to indicate their interest in early assignments.
The Justice Center will hold an informational meeting about the project on Tuesday, January 23, 2007 , from noon to 1:00 p.m. in the Eidman Jury Room(lunch provided). Students may also direct questions about the project to Nick Doughty, Administrator for the Justice Center (232-6277, ndoughty@law.utexas.edu ), or to John Belanger, law student coordinator for the project (john_h_belanger@yahoo.com ).