Legal Aid

Students’ first stop for volunteering pro bono is usually the Public Service Center’s Pro Bono Program, which connects students with opportunities.

Legal Aid Justice Center

434-977-0553
1000 Preston Avenue

The Legal Aid Justice Center offers free civil legal services to low-income families throughout Central Virginia—and to farm workers and other low-wage immigrant workers statewide. Legal Aid currently sponsors three principal programs: the Civil Advocacy Program, which assists area clients who face legal issues in housing, public benefits, employment, consumer protection and the rights of the elderly and individuals with disabilities; the Virginia Justice Center for Farm and Immigrant Workers, which addresses the legal issues of the estimated 50,000 farm workers, thousands of day laborers and many other low-wage immigrants who live or work in Virginia; and the JustChildren program, which employs a variety of strategies to ensure that young people in Virginia have access to the services and support necessary to live successful lives in their communities.

Other Law-Related Public Service Opportunities

Through its Mortimer Caplin Public Service Center, its clinical programs and its Pro Bono Project, the Law School provides students with the opportunity to work with attorneys from nonprofit organizations such as:

• Albemarle County Attorney's Office
• Albemarle County Commonwealth's Attorney's Office
• Charlottesville Public Defender's Office
• International Rescue Committee
• Jefferson Area Board for Aging
• Nature Conservancy
• Rutherford Institute
• Southern Environmental Law Center
• U.S. Attorney's Office - Western District of Virginia
• UVA Children's Hospital
• Virginia Department of Social Services Child Support Enforcement
• Virginia School Boards Association
• Virginia Capital Representation Resource Center
• Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty

In addition, lawyers from several Charlottesville firms supervise law students participating in clinics or pro bono projects. Many student organizations sponsor public service projects as well.