Casper College's ABA-approved paralegal program in Wyoming has an innovative and one-of-a-kind Legal Services program which allows its paralegal students to both gain experience and help provide pro bono legal assistance to the public.Paralegal students are required to work with four clients in its Legal Services program before they can graduate. The students perform the initial client intakes and perform paralegal duties under the supervision of an attorney, Craig Silva, and their instructor, attorney Mary Kubichek. Some cases are referred to area attorneys who work with the students as well.
The program is the only paralegal-based program that offers a real product in the country and has been recognized by several national organizations. The program was recognized as an Exemplary Initiative by the National Council of Instructional Administrators. Kubichek and Silva received the Pro Bono Award from the Wyoming State Bar Association in September. The program was also nominated for the Bellwether Award, a national competition that recognizes outstanding and innovative programs at community colleges.
I'd love to see more paralegal programs implement similar services in partnership with members of their local legal community. With a program like this, paralegal students get critical real-world experience, area lawyers provide much needed pro bono services with the added benefit of improving public relations, and clients get basic legal documents, such as wills, that they otherwise might not be able to afford.
"We don't do criminal work, and we don't do anything that has to be done tomorrow," said Kubichek, an attorney who maintains her license in Nebraska. "We're saving the world one name change and divorce at a time."
Source: Casper Star-Tribune Online
See also: "How to Utilize Legal Assistants in Pro Bono Publico Programs" (American Bar Association Standing Committee on Paralegals, 1999)
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