One or more additional presenters will be selected from a call for papers.
The Section’s program will focus on what we hope we are teaching and our students are learning through participation in pro bono and service learning programs. The theme for the Annual Meeting is Academic Freedom and Academic Duty. In the pursuit of academic duty, AALS President Michael Olivas calls on us to turn our attention to the crucial issues including "service learning and skills training. This section program will examine what service learning or pro bono programs teach our students. Professor Sandy Ogilvy, Catholic Law School, will be the introductory speaker. He will outline the history of pro bono and service-learning programs and briefly discuss some of the basic skills that students learn from such experiences. Another confirmed speaker, Sue Schechter from Berkeley, will start off the discussion by describing her work with her colleague at Berkeley, David Oppenheimer, in using service learning and pro bono programs as a means of teaching leadership skills. Speakers selected from a call for papers will address this topic from many different approaches. For example, a paper may be descriptive of an on-going program that teaches some specific lawyering skill or skills. Another approach might be more theoretical and discuss possibilities for teaching through these types of programs but not describe any particular existing program. Service learning and pro bon programs hold great value for the teaching of many of the lawyering skills and qualities needed by our profession. This session promises to be useful and inspiring.
Business Meeting at Program Conclusion.