Community Outreach - School of Law
Providing Legal Outreach
The School of Law provides pro bono legal assistance to more than 2,100 clients, including indigent youths and adults, veterans, immigrants and local citizens needing legal representation facing mortgage foreclosure and consumer claims through its 10 law clinics:
- Immigration Law Clinic
- Mediation Clinic & Mediation Training Class
- SADO Criminal Appellate Clinic
- Criminal Trial Clinic
- Veterans Law Clinic
- Veterans Appellate Clinic
- Consumer Defense Clinic
- Mortgage Foreclosure Clinic
- Youth Justice Clinic
- Juvenile Appellate Clinic.
Fellowship Supports Legal Services
The University of Detroit Mercy School of Law’s Public Interest Fellowship Program provides law students with an opportunity to work for agencies serving the poor, disadvantaged, marginalized or underrepresented of society while earning a stipend and gaining valuable legal experience. Each year approximately 8-10 law students are awarded this prestigious Fellowship to work in agencies such as the Archdiocese of Detroit—Immigration Legal Services, Freedom House, State Appellate Defender’s Organization, American Civil Liberties Union, and Legal Aid Defender’s Association.
Community Service Committee Reaches Out
During the past year, the School’s Community Service Committee organized several outreach initiatives, including
- a fund-raising drive to purchase over 200 blankets for homeless veterans, which were distributed by the Project Salute staff as they toured Michigan and the United States assisting veterans with benefit claims.
- a volunteer day at the Capuchin Services Center in Detroit, sorting and hanging clothes and shoes, packing food in individual bags, filling shopping carts and helping clients transfer their items.
- a holiday party for 100 honor roll students, 100 parents and the entire staff of Wayne Elementary School, a Detroit Public School on the eastside. The event included a holiday meal and a visit from Santa with presents for the young students.
