The Association of American Law Schools inaugural Pro Bono Honor Roll acknowledges and highlights the pro bono work of individuals engaging in, expanding, and/or supporting their law school community in providing pro bono legal services.
For the purposes of this award, pro bono is defined as work that is primarily legal in nature, supervised by a licensed attorney (for law students), not for pay or academic credit, and of service to underserved individuals, groups, or those with barriers to access to justice.
In its first year of the honor roll, CWRU School of Law had three individuals recognized. Sarah Polly, a Managing Attorney in the Kramer Law Clinic, Hannah Christ, a fellow in the Second Chance Re-entry Clinic in the Kramer Law Clinic Center and 2L Emily Worline, who established the Refugee Outreach Collective and engaged other law students and area attorneys in the collective.
“Our law school is fully committed to pro bono work and community service,” according to Polly. “In 2021-22, our law students, through clinics, externships, and their own pro bono initiatives, performed more than 50,000 hours of pro bono work.”