Mitchell Szlabowicz
In law school, courses tend to be fixated on appellate practice and settling disputes about questions of law. For that reason, it’s easy to be detached from the law — to feel like it’s something dealt with at a theoretical level. Appreciating the power that legal practice has to help others requires firsthand experience in its use. The Pro Bono Program has allowed me to begin to develop such an understanding.
Until I worked with the Virginia Capital Representation and Resource Center over the course of 1L, I had little appreciation of the practical aspects of habeas corpus practice and of the impact of procedural requirements in determining the dynamics of litigation. Further, in working on multiple projects for the Chesapeake Legal Alliance, I learned about the role of Virginia administrative law in developing the contours of conservation efforts — an area I would have likely never touched if not for the Pro Bono Program.
Now, after the close of my 1L summer, I can say that my experiences through pro bono work have better prepared me as an aspiring attorney by allowing me to practice developing arguments, research novel legal issues, evaluate evidence and communicate with others in furtherance of client goals. Beyond any practical benefits, the Pro Bono Program provides an otherwise rare opportunity during your first year of law school: a way to embrace and honor the reasons many of us chose to pursue a legal career in the first place. Such an opportunity is indescribably valuable and has provided me with experiences I hope to reflect on and draw from throughout my life.