Criteria for Pro Bono Distinction at Graduation

Additional deadlines to submit pro bono hours

Access all student pro bono forms on the main PIRC page

Delaware Law encourages students to help increase access to justice by performing legal pro bono service. Lawyers in the United States are recommended under American Bar Association’s Model Rule 6.1 to contribute at least 50 hours of pro bono service per year. Pro Bono Publico is a Latin phrase for professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment or at a reduced fee as a public service. Pro bono service, unlike traditional volunteerism, uses the specific skills of attorneys to provide legal services to those who are unable to afford them.

Delaware Law recognizes students who perform a significant amount of volunteer legal work with pro bono distinction at graduation. Students who have performed at least 50 hours of approved pro bono legal service during law school, under the supervision of a licensed attorney, are eligible for recognition if the following criteria are satisfied:

1. Service must be completely pro bono; students may receive neither money nor academic credit for this work. Students who are paid or receive academic credit for some of their work, but who exceeded the number of hours of work for which they were paid or awarded credit, may be recognized for the uncompensated hours if their supervisors verify that this time was uncompensated.
2. Service must be to a public interest agency or office approved by PIRC. A variety of agencies may qualify. Submit the Approval Request for Student Pro Bono Position, before you begin volunteering, to confirm your pro bono position will count towards Pro Bono Distinction.
3. Need guidance finding a pro bono position that meets your interests and availability? Complete and submit the Student Pro Bono Volunteer Information Form.
4. For each graduating class, students may begin earning hours towards pro bono distinction in the second semester of the first year of law school for those students with a minimum 2.3 GPA. All students are permitted to earn hours towards pro bono distinction beginning the summer after their first year of law school.
5. Pro Bono hours must be submitted and verified electronically via the PIRC web page by the below posted deadlines. Students must maintain a time sheet. The time submitted must reflect the date and amount of time for each task and brief description of each task. Please do not include any client confidential information (i.e., names of clients or other client identifying information). No more than 10 hours of training (total during law school) may be submitted for pro bono hours. The number of training hours cannot exceed the number of hours of pro bono legal work. The student’s supervising attorney must be able to also verify the student’s hours.
6. Students who graduate with Pro Bono Distinction and meet the deadline listed below will have their names included in the graduation program* and will wear honorary red cords at commencement. PIRC will email students notifying them that they earned Pro Bono Distinction and provide information on picking up their red cords and certificates.

* ‎Late timesheet submissions (no later than the last day of exams) will still count toward Pro Bono Distinction; however, due to printing deadlines, PIRC cannot guarantee that students who submit late time sheets will have their names included in the graduation program. We appreciate everyone's hard work and will have red cords for late submissions.

Deadlines to Submit Pro Bono Hours