Public Service

Working in a clinic or practicum setting is your opportunity to learn from our experienced faculty to hone your skills in counseling clients, conducting fact investigations, and advocating in court while representing people facing real legal challenges.

Whether interested in health policy, family law, or legal ethics, Hofstra Law’s centers of excellence foster research, education, and action on critical issues facing today’s society. You can work collaboratively with a professor to develop scholarship and organize thought-leadership events that impact the community and the legal profession.

Hofstra Law has a historic legacy for experiential learning and providing pro bono services in the community with nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and private law firms or practitioners.

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The Pro Bono Scholars Program allows students to devote their last semester of law school to performing pro bono legal service for impoverished clients under the supervision of a licensed attorney. Pro Bono Scholars are granted permission to take the New York bar exam in February of their 3L year, before beginning their pro bono service.

Students receive personalized guidance from dedicated staff, career counselors, and the Office of Public Justice Programs, which provide tailored career advising, internship and job placement support, and access to financial resources. The Faculty Director and Director of Public Justice Initiatives also help students design individualized experiential learning paths, connect with alumni mentors, and build strong professional networks in public interest law.

Hofstra Law’s Public Justice Foundation helps to ensure that quality legal services are provided to those who would otherwise be marginalized or forgotten in the justice system through Public Interest Law Fellowships.

Join a community of students involved in organizations that include public interest programming and opportunities including the Criminal Justice Society, Energy and Environmental Law Society, Family Law Society, Health Law Society, the Hofstra Law Animal Legal Defense Fund, the Hofstra Law Disability, Rights, and Community, If/When/How, the Immigration Law Society, and the Public Justice Foundation.

Hofstra Law students gain hands-on experience and serve the community through a range of pro bono initiatives, including the Courtroom Advocates Project, Unemployment Action Center, Volunteers for Income Tax Assistance, and Veterans Legal Assistance Program. These groups allow students to apply their legal skills while advancing access to justice for individuals and families in need.

Hofstra Law is committed to helping you achieve your legal education goals. Through competitive fellowships and scholarships, students can earn stipends for internships or research, and opportunities to interact with leading scholars and practitioners in the respective fields.

Through the generosity of Emily '77 and Stephen Mendel '77, Hofstra Law provides robust support for students pursuing public interest careers. The Mendel Public Justice Scholarship awards one or more tuition scholarships to first-year students who demonstrate dedication to future practice in a public interest legal setting.

The Mendel Public Justice Summer Fellowship awards a stipend for first- and second-year students to assist with expenses while completing unpaid summer internships with a nonprofit organization, court systems, or government agencies.

Mendel Bar Stipends are available for public interest-oriented students to apply for financial support while they are studying for the bar exam.