“When you become a lawyer, you have tremendous power to help people, people who could otherwise not afford that legal service.” — former Charleston School of Law Dean Richard Gershon (Post and Courier)
In 1992, a dozen years prior to the first class at Charleston School of Law, only seven of the 192 accredited law schools nationwide required students to participate in pro bono work, according to the American Bar Association (ABA).
By 2000, that number doubled (16).
In 2005, the brand new Charleston School of Law approved a policy that required students to complete 30 hours of pro bono work to graduate, making the school just one of 14 law schools nationwide that required students to complete volunteer legal service as a means for students to complete their Juris Doctor degree.
Charleston School of Law was not only an early adopter of pro bono, but it was also an opportunity for students to serve, get hands-on experience and network with legal professionals. Students quickly gravitated toward the community service component.
After 15 years in the radio industry, Peter Kaufman (’10) packed his bags and moved from Green Bay, Wisconsin to Charleston on New Year’s Day 2006 and took a full-time position as a radio personality.
“By that point, I had already seriously begun thinking about law school and getting out of radio,” remembers Kaufman. “I had done some noble things on the radio, even though I was a rock DJ I wasn’t a stereotypical one. I used the medium for philanthropic causes. I just wanted to do something purposeful with my life.”
Kaufman comes from a long history of legal professionals. “My sister is a paralegal; both my folks and both my grandfathers were attorneys and they always stressed civil service to me.”
Then, in a chance encounter, Kaufman met Scarlett Wilson—currently the elected Solicitor for the Ninth Circuit—while working at a local Charleston radio station. “She was running her campaign at the time, and she had come in to voice some commercials. It just so happened that I was studying in my downtime that day, so I had my law books open and we were making conversation and she said, ‘What do you? Are you in law school?’
Kaufman and Wilson hit it off which led the Solicitor to invite Kaufman to visit the office. Kaufman was hungry to get trial experience and the prosecutor’s office was a perfect fit to accelerate his opportunity to learn, serve and network.
“I volunteered to do pro bono work, and after about nine months she offered me a paid position, but I turned it down because by that point I knew my hours were already sky high and I just wanted to set a crazy record,” he said. “I thought that it would endear me more to the legal community if I really did set just a high bar record.”
“Scarlett [Wilson] and a couple of the other managing solicitors drew me into the highest-level cases, the most consequential cases that they had,” said Kaufman. “I did everything but argue the cases. I was really involved in immersive trial prep. I learned everything about trial learning experiences, and it carried me over to trials that I had in practice. It made me a lot more comfortable. It got me acquainted with the judges, their staff, the court staff. I still have those relationships, so it was priceless in that regard.”
Kaufman was a full-time employee, a part-time student, a husband, and had family. Social life? Forget that. He was up to his ears in responsibilities. By the second semester of law school, Kaufman was on probation when he accepted the pro bono opportunity at the solicitor’s office.
The work could have buried Kaufman’s grades, but the experience served as a tutorial on the profession and his grades skyrocketed. “I made Dean’s List the last three semesters,” said Kaufman. “There’s no doubt that experience helped my grades.”
He thrived in courses like criminal procedure, trial advocacy, criminal law and evidence. “I got an A in evidence, which I never thought would happen, so it made me love evidence so much that I took advanced evidence,” he said. “I feared those classes because for so many law students’ civil procedure and evidence are the bane of our existence. But I relished evidence because. I had had the hands-on experience before I had the book learning and so it all made sense to me.”
In 2010, Kaufman earned his Juris Doctor from Charleston Law and established the school record, compiling 1, 550 hours of pro bono work at the Ninth Circuit Solicitor’s Office.
He currently works as an attorney in Charleston.
Four years later, Brian Justice (’14) broke Kaufman’s record, completing 1,743 hours of pro bono service. The record stood for five years until Patty Rivera came along and smashed Justice’s mark when she completed 1,953 hours of pro bono work.
She did most of her pro bono work with the Harris County District Attorney’s Office in Houston, Texas. In addition, Rivera (’19) did additional pro bono work with the Charleston County Public Defender’s Office, the City of Charleston Legal Department, and the ACLU of South Carolina.
“I visited Charleston and I fell in love with the school and the city,” remembers Rivera. “I was like, this is it. Charleston is somewhere that I see myself studying for three years.”
She dove into the study of law, both in the classroom and the community. “Pro bono work is so different from theoretical learning that you learn in the classroom,” said Rivera. “You don’t see all of this in a classroom, but you get to see it outside of the classroom when you’re, when you’re doing these volunteer opportunities.”
By the beginning of her 3L year, Rivera became curious. “I’d done two full summers worth of pro bono work on and off during my breaks at school,” said Rivera. “I’m close to the record.”
Rivera was on the verge of smashing the record as she entered her final year of law school. The pro bono work also refined her desire to work in immigration law.
“I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do because in my mind I wanted to do criminal defense,” said Rivera. “I don’t practice criminal defense now. I practice immigration law and pro bono work really showed me the ins and outs of both sides of criminal defense.”
Why immigration? “I think more than anything it was the community that raised me,” she explained. “I am a daughter of immigrants. I live in a community of immigrants.”
The Law Office of Patricia A. Rivera opened in Houston. Rivera continues to focus on immigration law while picking up pro bono cases.
“I will tell you, they’re my favorite clients,” she said. “It’s the most rewarding. Their kindness is how they pay you. That’s where I fill my cup honestly. I love it. I love the area that I practice in. I love my clients. I love defending the little guy more than anything. I think pro bono work is so important because it’s something that gives back to the community.”
Rivera said she discovered that passion while at Charleston School of Law. The pro bono opportunities provided her with hands-on experience.
“It really taught me compassion,” she said. “I see a lot more compassion because of the pro bono work. In my work, you’re not getting paid and there’s no financial gain. You’re looking for a good outcome for your client and I really think more than anything, it taught me that I can have a lot of compassion.”
In 2019, Charleston Law increased its pro bono requirement to 50 hours for students. Today, there are more opportunities than ever for Charleston Law students to work with attorneys practicing in the public interest legal sector and meet or exceed the pro bono work the School of Law requires for graduation. The pro bono program has created opportunities for students to volunteer with small law offices and large corporate legal organizations, legal non-profits, government offices and other sites.
“I really love helping people,” said Cade Gossette (’24). “As a law student I was able to blend my skills with my passion. I am working at Ashcraft & Gerel in Charleston, and we are handling the Camp Lejeune water contamination lawsuit. I’ve learned so much from the attorneys that I’m working with.”
“My favorite part about Charleston School of Law is all the opportunities given through our school to give students the best possible experience,” said Victoria Tappan, a 3L. “Charleston Law has created that environment where we all celebrate each other’s wins as if it is our own.”
“I love the community and the people,” said 3L Aspasia Padgiotis. “I have never met such a concentrated group of people ready and currently working to make change both at the law school and out in the community. The motto instills in all of us that working for people and for each other is what we need to be committed and focused on. I love the passion, sense of urgency, and intention that everyone at the school has and am proud to be able to contribute to it.”
“Helping the community is an important value we have aimed to instill in students from our inception,” said Dean Larry Cunningham, who also serves as a commissioner of the South Carolina Access to Justice Commission. “Our Pro Bono program is a core example of how we live that mission every day. I am incredibly proud of our alumni and current students and their pro bono service.”
According to the South Carolina Access to Justice Commission:
South Carolina courts are filled with unrepresented parties in eviction, foreclosure, and consumer debt cases. In 2019, 99.7% of defendants in eviction cases, 92.3% of defendants in foreclosure cases, and 96% of defendants in debt collection cases were unrepresented. Among all adverse civil matters in Circuit Court, the plaintiff had an attorney in 97.6% of cases while the defendant had an attorney in only 28.3% of cases.
As recently as Spring 2024, the ABA reports that 198 U.S. based law schools require some degree of pro bono work to graduate. Law school’s quickly recognized the value of placing law students on the front lines of the legal industry while supporting the massive gap in legal services among low income families in need.
Since its inception the Pro Bono program at Charleston Law has emerged as one of the leading reasons students choose the school to study the practice of law. Over the first two decades students have compiled more than 300,000 hours of pro bono work to serve the needs of the community.
