The Federal Courts app provides access to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure, Federal Rules of Evidence, and all the local rules, as well as PACER. The app is now available for Android, iPhone, and iPad from KosInteractive, which also has state court apps (but not yet apparently for Wisconsin).
Friday was the 2014 Posner Exchange and Pro Bono Society Induction at the Law School. The event honors law students who have achieved 50 or more hours of pro bono service while attending law school. Special recognition is given to students who have achieved 120 or more hours. The Hon. Ramona E. Romero, the general counsel of the United States Department of Agriculture, was the speaker at this year’s event. Congratulations to the honorees for starting their careers by including pro bono service in their work.
Recently I attended a panel presentation at the Law School on pro bono opportunities available to our law students. I was so impressed by the opportunities that I am highlighting them here. To qualify as pro bono, the work must be supervised by a licensed attorney, not for pay or credit, primarily legal in nature, and in the service of underserved populations–those with barriers to equal access to justice, or for an organization whose mission is to serve underserved populations.
Students gain valuable experience in client interviewing skills and accessing and completing forms, two practical skills that are difficult to convey in a classroom setting. Pro bono also gives students exposure to a variety of practice areas and opportunity to work alongside and be mentored by a cadre of more than 250 volunteer attorneys.
Congratulations to the winners of the 2014 Jenkins Honors Moot Court Competition, Jennifer McNamee and Elizabeth Oestreich. Congratulations also go to finalists Amy Heart and Frank Remington, as well as Brian Kane and Amanda Luedtke, who won the Franz C. Eschweiler Prize for Best Brief. Amy Heart won the Ramon A. Klitzke Prize for Best Oralist.
The competitors argued before a packed Appellate Courtroom. Presiding over the final round were Hon. Diurmuid O’Scannlain, Hon. Annette Ziegler, and Hon. Anne Burke.
Many thanks to the judges and competitors for their hard work, enthusiasm, and sportsmanship in all the rounds of competition, as well as to the moot court executive board and Law School administration and staff for their work in putting on the event. Special thanks to Dean Kearney for his support of the competition.
Students are selected to participate in the competition based on their success in the fall Appellate Writing and Advocacy class at the Law School. Here is a link to the video of the competition.