Paladin,
a
legal
technology
company
whose
platform
is
used
by
law
firms,
in-house
legal
teams,
and
legal
services
organizations
to
match
lawyers
with
pro
bono
opportunities
and
manage
pro
bono
engagement,
is
today
launching
a
pro
bono
platform
designed
specifically
for
law
schools
and
law
students.
Developed
in
collaboration
with
some
30
law
schools,
the
platform
is
designed
to
make
it
easier
for
law
students
to
find
pro
bono
opportunities,
while
enabling
school
administrators
to
centralize
and
manage
pro
bono
and
public
interest
programs.
It
also
allows
students
to
create
an
organized
record
of
their
volunteer
experience.
A
future
iteration
will
support
engagement
with
alumni
and
partnering
with
law
firms
and
corporate
teams
on
pro
bono
projects.
“Law
students
are
eager
to
make
a
difference
and
build
professional
legal
skills,
and
we
want
to
empower
them
with
tools
that
match
those
goals,”
said
Kristen
Sonday,
cofounder
and
CEO
of
Paladin.
“This
new
platform
will
support
students
in
gaining
real-world
experience
while
giving
back
to
their
communities,
and
give
schools
the
essential
infrastructure
to
support,
track,
and
celebrate
that
work.”
A
Portal
to
Opportunities
Similar
to
how
Paladin’s
platform
works
with
law
firms,
the
law
school
platform
will
offer
a
centralized
portal
where
students
can
browse,
sign
up
for,
and
track
vetted
pro
bono
and
volunteer
opportunities
across
over
350
legal
services
providers.
It
will
also
include
a
feature
for
students
to
log
their
pro
bono
and
clinical
hours
in
one
place,
effectively
creating
a
pro
bono
portfolio
that
they
can
share
with
potential
employers.
For
administrators,
the
platform
will
include
dashboards
for
tracking
student
participation,
coordinating
opportunities,
and
generating
detailed
reports.
Among
the
benefits
to
administrators
of
the
platform,
Paladin
says,
is
that
it
will
allow
them
to
expand
pro
bono
offerings
to
include
more
nationwide
and
remote
opportunities.
The
platform
could
also
broaden
schools’
networks
of
connections
for
student
relationship-building
and
mentoring,
and
enable
schools
to
track
more
granular
data
about
their
pro
bono
programs.
For
students,
benefits
of
the
platform
include
allowing
them
to
track
professional
skills
and
community
impact
in
one
place,
as
well
as
visualize
progress
toward
pro
bono
hour
targets
for
honors
distinctions,
participation
pledges,
or
state
bar
requirements,
Paladin
says.
Paladin
is
offering
free
accounts
to
student
groups
and
legal
services
organizations
to
better
manage
student
clinics,
externships,
and
community
outreach
programs
in
a
unified
way.
Alleviating
Administrative
Tasks
Leah
Gould,
assistant
dean
of
public
interest
at
Northwestern
Pritzker
School
of
Law,
said
the
platform
will
enhance
the
school’s
ability
to
fulfill
its
commitment
to
public
service.
“By
co-developing
a
platform
that
meets
the
real
needs
of
law
students,
administrators,
and
legal
services
organizations,
we’re
making
it
easier
for
students
to
find
meaningful
opportunities,
for
administrators
to
track
and
support
their
work,
and
for
community
partners
to
connect
with
capable
and
passionate
volunteers,”
Gould
said.
One
of
the
problems
the
platform
tackles
is
that
of
tracking
law
students’
pro
bono
work.
According
to
the
Association
of
American
Law
Schools,
nearly
19,000
law
students
contributed
at
least
4.7
million
hours
to
pro
bono
legal
services
last
year.
However,
most
of
that
work
was
tracked
via
a
patchwork
of
handwritten
forms,
spreadsheets,
and
online
job
boards.
Erin
Han,
director
of
the
Judge
Rand
Schrader
Pro
Bono
Program
at
UCLA
School
of
Law,
said
she
is
excited
about
the
potential
of
this
platform
to
consolidate
many
of
the
administrative
aspects
of
tracking
pro
bono.
“Rather
than
using
multiple
platforms
to
promote
pro
bono
opportunities,
track
hours,
and
send
out
newsletters,
Paladin
offers
the
potential
for
these
functions
to
happen
on
one
single
platform,”
Han
said.
Of
course,
the
bottom
line
is
about
expanding
law
students’
opportunities
to
engage
in
pro
bono
work.
“Having
a
central
database
of
pro
bono
related
opportunities
can
greatly
help
our
students
provide
support
to
nonprofits
across
the
country
and
expand
their
understanding
of
various
access
to
justice
needs,”
said
Alexi
Freeman,
director
of
externships
and
social
justice
initiatives
at
the
University
of
Denver
Sturm
College
of
Law.
“Aligned
with
our
values
at
Denver
Law,
this
partnership
has
the
potential
to
grow
meaningful
connections
among
students
and
legal
service
providers,
hopefully
planting
seeds
for
students’
lifelong
commitment
to
service
and
pro
bono,”
Freeman
said.
Participating
Law
Schools
Law
schools
and
organizations
involved
with
the
co-development
include
(not
a
complete
list):
-
Albany
Law
School. -
Arizona
State
University
Sandra
Day
O’Connor
College
of
Law. -
Belmont
University
College
of
Law. -
Chicago-Kent
College
of
Law,
Illinois
Tech. -
Emory
University
School
of
Law. -
Georgetown
University
Law
Center. -
George
Washington
University
Law
School. -
Harvard
Law
School. -
Lewis
&
Clark
Law
School. -
Marquette
University
Law
School. -
Minnesota
Justice
Foundation
(which
provides
pro
bono
opportunities
for
students
from
three
Minnesota
law
schools). -
New
York
Law
School. -
Northwestern
Pritzker
School
of
Law. -
Oklahoma
City
University
School
of
Law. -
Seattle
University
School
of
Law. -
SMU
Dedman
School
of
Law. -
Stanford
Law
School. -
St.
John’s
University
School
of
Law. -
UCLA
School
of
Law. -
University
of
Denver
Sturm
College
of
Law. -
University
of
Kansas
School
of
Law. -
University
of
Nebraska
College
of
Law. -
University
of
Wisconsin
Law
School. -
Vanderbilt
Law
School
Schools
interested
in
learning
more
about
the
platform
can
visit
joinpaladin.com,
read
a
one
sheet
here,
or
reach
out
directly
to
support@joinpaladin.com.