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PORTLAND, Maine—Two non-profit organizations are the beneficiaries of an innovative new program that matches summer associates at Portland-based law firm Bernstein Shur with the Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project (ILAP) and Pine Tree Legal Services. The Bernstein Shur Pro Bono Fellowship extends the standard 10-week summer associate program by two weeks to create a rare 12-week program, four weeks of which are spent with a legal-service organization of the student’s choice.
Dan Mitchell, the Bernstein Shur attorney and shareholder who manages the new pro bono program, says the concept of the program emerged from the desire of the firm’s hiring committee to enhance its summer associate program and expand its pro bono work in the community. “We’re always thinking of new ways to attract the best law students to our summer associate program and offer an experience that is reflective of the firm and its philosophy,” said Mitchell. “In interviews, students inevitably ask about the firm’s pro bono work and attitude toward public service.”
The result was the pro bono fellowship, and it appears to be the first of its kind. Both ILAP and Pine Tree were excited about the new program. “One, it’s obviously additional support for the work we do in the literal sense of having additional hands to do the work,” said Nan Heald of Pine Tree. “Second, it’s energizing for our regular staff to have the enthusiasm of summer associates working with us. The most important thing is that it creates members of the bar who understand our work and are committed to it.”
Beth Stickney, executive director at ILAP, greatly appreciates the short-term help, but also sees the pro bono fellowship as a catalyst to take pro bono work to a higher level in the Portland community. “We’re always overworked and overstretched,” she said. “If money were no object, we could hire three more staff tomorrow and they’d be totally busy. Obviously, it’s great to have an extra set of hands, but, more importantly, summer associates are people who might end up working here in Maine and exposing them to this area of law—its importance and how it changes people’s lives—is a greater benefit.”
The trio of summer associates selected for the program (two chose to work at ILAP; one at Pine Tree) appreciated not only the opportunity to do charitable work in the community, but also the exposure to aspects of the law they may not have had a chance to see as students or summer associates. They see this as enormous benefits to their education. “In terms of education, you learn more by practicing law than you do reading about it in school,” said Amy Clearwater, who attends the University of Maine School of Law. “I learned far more in my four weeks at ILAP than I did in the entire previous semester. I really got to see how diverse the problems are.”
Travis Brennan, who also attends Maine Law, says the pro bono fellowship actually played a large role in his decision to conduct his summer associate experience with Bernstein Shur. “Ultimately when you’re looking for places to work, you’re looking to work not only with exciting, dynamic people, but also in a place that has a culture that is looking to improve the community around it,” he said. “In addition to the practical experience I gained working at Pine Tree, it’s been nice to help people who are less fortunate or don’t have access to legal counsel. I think that’s important and it reflects positively on Bernstein Shur that they support those endeavors.”
Hailing from St. Louis and attending law school at William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, Maire Corcoran wasn’t just trying out Bernstein Shur this summer; she was also trying out the idea of living in the state of Maine. Corcoran says she can’t think of a better way to truly experience the local community than the pro bono fellowship, which drew her almost immediately to the firm. “As far as I know there isn’t another firm that offers this,” she said. “It’s a great commitment to community service. I looked at other firms in Maine, but once I met with Bernstein Shur and heard about the pro bono opportunity, I was sold.” As for the Maine lifestyle, Corcoran gave the state her full approval.
Part of Bernstein Shur’s plan was to complement the summer associates’ standard department rotation with hands-on experience, according to Mitchell. “The work they do at these organizations is a lot different from what they do for us,” he said. “We work hard to make their experience diverse, but they get more of it when they’re with these organizations. It would be very hard for us to recreate that type of diversity for the associates within our own firm. They get to do something they can feel good about. They get to build a better ethic toward pro bono work.”
Based on the positive reaction from ILAP and Pine Tree and from the associates themselves, Bernstein Shur expects it will continue the program in 2009 and beyond.