The Equal Justice Works Summer Corps program engages law students around the country who are working to expand the delivery of legal services to those who need it most. Throughout the summer, members serve 300 hours at a nonprofit public interest organization of their choice and earn a $1,000 AmeriCorps education award voucher.

2007 Summer Corps Accomplishments

• Directly assisted 15,360 individuals and families in need of legal services
• Performed a total of 119,824 service hours
• Served 233 nonprofit organizations in 40 states and the District of Columbia
• Represented more than 100 Equal Justice Works Member Law Schools

In addition to meeting the needs of underserved communities, Summer Corps members gain important skills and experience throughout the course of their service.

"This is the first time that I have begun to see the ‘forest from the trees’ as they say in law school. That is, knowledge gained from contracts, civil procedure, business associations, commercial law, criminal law, and legal ethics has finally manifested itself into real-life, important situations. I now see the value of a legal education and its applicability to the fight for social justice."

"This summer taught me how to be a better client advocate within the legal system. While I believe my legal research and writing skills were strengthened, client interaction, which was not a part of my first year curriculum, was truly developed over this summer."

What Summer Corps Members Say About Summer Corps

Of the 2007 Summer Corps members who were surveyed, 99.7 percent said they would recommend the Summer Corps program to other law students.

"This is an amazing program, and is sorely needed for law students. I feel like we all have these lofty ideals when we enter law school, and then get sidetracked by the shock from loans and such. It's programs like these that make it possible for students to remember why they wanted to be lawyers in the first place. Thank you."

"The program was a win-win situation for both me and my host organization: I got a chance to work in a job that reaffirmed my desire to work in public interest law and my host organization benefited from my research, writing and client interaction. This experience has helped me regain my focus and remember why I came to law school in the first place."

"My experience with Summer Corps was excellent. I gained lots of useful knowledge and practical experience while being able to help people that truly needed and appreciated it."

What Host Organizations say about Summer Corps

"As a direct result of having this law student support, we were able to offer legal services to more clients than we otherwise would have been able to serve, and we were able to offer to perform more types of services than we ordinarily would have been able to offer."

"[Our Summer Corps member] was an invaluable resource for our office. He was committed and professional. He greatly allowed us to expand our services, particularly in the area of immigration and landlord tenant law by meeting with clients and performing investigative and research tasks that our staff does not have the capacity to do. He also took great initiative in working with our community partners and in participating in bigger picture issues impacting our community."

"The [Summer Corps members] provided necessary support to our new program. They were able to create documents, systems, and protocols that have made the program more efficient. The students also were able to assist with client interviews and case management. They were able to give clients direct and long-term attention, and this would not have been done if they were not with our program."