Law school lives up to motto

The next time you tell a lawyer joke, you might want to consider the other side of the story.

In the five years that the Charleston School of Law has been in existence, its students have donated more than 100,000 hours of free legal service to people all across South Carolina and the nation.

That's equivalent to 50 people working full time for a year. Which is what the Charleston School of Law is all about. Its motto, in fact, is "pro bono populi," which means "for the good of the people."

Each law student at the Charleston school is required to complete at least 30 hours of pro bono service in order to graduate. But most of the 600 future lawyers enrolled here contribute much more than that, according to Michelle Condon, director of public service and pro bono at the school.

'Win-win-win'

"Our pro bono program is a win-win-win situation for everyone involved," Condon said. "Our students get valuable legal experience; the sites win because they get much-needed legal help; and the community wins because it gets an increased amount of services."

The milestone of more than 100,000 hours includes 55,000 hours of free legal service through the Pro Bono Program and more than 45,000 hours through the school's Externship Program.

Each student can choose from a list of 100 approved charitable and nonprofit organizations, ranging from the guardian ad litem programs to the Crisis Ministries to local public defenders.

But students also can choose their own areas of interest.

"We have some pretty dedicated, creative students who come to us with ideas about projects they really care about," Condon said. "So we always try to work those out so they can pursue their passions."

Punch line

One such student is Alissa Collins, a native of Trumbull, Conn., and graduate of the College of Charleston.

Now in her third year, she has completed more than 125 hours of free legal services with the state attorney's office in her home state as well as work with Judge James C. Williams in St. George.

"I currently work for (Stuckey Law Offices) that does government defense work, but I wanted to see what else was out there," Collins said. "So I took my pro bono hours to figure out what other kinds of law I might be interested in."

Turns out, she loved prosecuting, and it's now something she's considering upon graduation.

In her spare time, she's also active in creating a program called "Street Law" for kids at the local Boys & Girls Clubs.

So before you hit the punch line on that next lawyer joke, ask yourself this question: How much have you given back lately?

Reach Ken Burger at kburger@postandcourier.com or 937-5598. Read previous columns by Ken Burger here.