2027 Pro Bono Scholars Program

The Bronx Defenders Pro Bono Scholars Program

The Bronx Defenders – an innovative, progressive, holistic indigent defense office in the South Bronx – seeks passionate third- or fourth-year graduating law students committed to public defense to join our Criminal Defense, Family Defense, Civil Action, and Immigration Practices as Pro Bono Scholars for Spring 2027.

Founded in 1997, The Bronx Defenders is a public defender nonprofit that has developed a nationally recognized model of representation called holistic defense, which provides people with teams of lawyers, social workers, and advocates to defend them zealously in court as well as to address the underlying drivers and enmeshed penalties of legal system involvement.

Since opening our doors, we have grown into an organization of more than 400 staff members defending nearly 20,000 New Yorkers each year in criminal, family, civil, and immigration proceedings who face incarceration, family separation, eviction, and deportation, among other devastating consequences.

Today we are reimagining the role of public defense even further, using community organizing and engagement, legislative advocacy, and impact litigation to partner with the communities we represent to bring about long-lasting systemic change.

We also share our model and lessons learned with current and future public defenders. We run two legal clinics at NYC law schools and train public defenders from one end of the country to the next on how to move to a holistic model of representation.

The Pro Bono Scholars Program

The Pro Bono Scholars Program represents a partnership among the Judiciary, law schools, and the profession with the goal of revitalizing the legal education system to adapt to our society’s changing needs. This new option in legal education better assists students in preparing for the actual practice of law, impresses upon them the value of public service at the start of their careers, and provides much-needed assistance to those of limited means.

Students who are accepted into the Pro Bono Scholars Program will spend 12 weeks working full-time in a pro bono placement, while also completing an academic component at their law school. Students will have the opportunity to develop quality mentorships and receive invaluable practical training under the supervision of both a practicing lawyer and a faculty member. Students who complete the program will also be permitted to take the New York Bar Examination in February of their final year of study before they graduate. See here for more information from the New York Courts.

Pro Bono Scholars will assist Attorneys in every aspect of representation, including:

• Preparing for hearings and trials
• Interviewing witnesses and clients
• Conducting legal research
• Writing legal motions and memoranda
• Developing and reviewing evidence
• Participating in KYR presentation and supporting community-based litigation and advocacy
• Connecting our clients with resources
• Representing clients in court, pursuant to the Student Practice Order

Pro Bono Scholars will also observe or co-counsel cases in venues, including Criminal Court, Civil Court, Family Court, Immigration Court and Administrative Hearings. Below is additional information about our specific practice areas.

Criminal Defense Practice

The Bronx is one of the most aggressively policed boroughs in New York City. As a result, we represent thousands of people each year, nearly 40% of whom are charged with low-level offenses such as shoplifting, traffic offenses, and drug possession. As part of our holistic approach, we spend time getting to know the people we represent and gaining a deeper understanding of their lives and needs. With that understanding, we advocate for people by thoroughly investigating their cases, raising novel legal arguments, using creative tools of persuasion and storytelling, and addressing needs that go beyond the scope of their cases.

Civil Action Practice

A sweeping array of civil punishments are triggered the moment someone faces arrest, deportation, or family separation. The people we represent risk losing their jobs, homes, income, property, and basic civil rights – struggles that can be more devastating and long-lasting than the charges themselves. Last year, we helped 2,200 people obtain concrete benefits like maintaining their jobs, homes, income, property, and rights.

Family Defense Practice

As residents of the most heavily disinvested borough in the city, families in the Bronx experience the highest rates of family policing and parent-child separation. We serve as the primary institutional provider defending parents and caretakers against the painful and unnecessary removals of their children in the Bronx. Together, our attorneys, social workers, and parent advocates provide the legal defense and support necessary to keep families together and interrupt generational cycles of family court involvement.

Immigration Practice

Nearly a third of the residents of the Bronx were born outside the United States, and many face the unprecedented threat of detention and deportation by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Our attorneys help people facing criminal, family, and civil proceedings make informed and strategic decisions to protect their rights. We are also one of the three public defender organizations leading the nation’s first-ever universal representation program for detained immigrants facing deportation.

Qualifications

To be eligible, candidates must be:

• A third- or fourth-year (3L/4L) graduating aw student at an American Bar Association-accredited law school
• Registered for the Pro Bono Scholars Program

Candidates must demonstrate:

• Commitment to defending people ensnared in criminal, family, immigration, and civil legal systems
• Commitment to challenging systemic injustice and carceral systems
• Experience working in and with racially and ethnically marginalized communities of color targeted by systemic injustice
• Ability to effectively and respectfully communicate, collaborate and connect with people from various backgrounds and experiences
• Ability to work independently as well as collaboratively with an interdisciplinary team of lawyers and non-lawyers
• Commitment to fierce advocacy and willingness to strategically challenge authority in defense of the people we represent
• Effective research, writing, and courtroom advocacy skills
• Strong legal analytical skills and capacity to employ non-legal resources to support the people we represent
• Ability to multitask, maintain order and meet deadlines in a fast-paced, high-stakes environment
• Meticulous attention to detail
• Ability to think critically and creatively in fast-paced setting, finding innovative solutions to unique obstacles
• Ability to receive constructive feedback, demonstrate introspection, and shift behavior accordingly
• Ability to exercise good judgment, discretion, and confidentiality around sensitive issues
• In the Immigration Practice, we are specifically seeking applications from candidates with Spanish language skills.

This position requires in-person work, a minimum of 21 hours per week.

To apply, combine your cover letter and resume into one document and label it with your First and Last Name. Please specify the 1-2 practice area(s) of interest in the first paragraph of your cover letter and share why you want to do this work at The Bronx Defenders, as well as relevant lived, academic, and/or professional experiences that have prepared you for this position. Applications without a written cover letter will not be considered.

Applications will be accepted through July 31, 2026.

The Bronx Defenders is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to maintaining a workplace that embraces staff with a diversity of backgrounds, identities, and experiences. We acknowledge the ways in which systemic oppression and injustice can undermine access to professional opportunities and are committed to conducting hiring and promotion processes that are equitable and accessible to those commonly excluded from the workforce. We do not discriminate against and in fact specifically encourage applicants from marginalized communities to apply, including those who identify as Black, Indigenous, people of color, queer, transgender, gender non-conforming, disabled, neurodivergent, and those directly impacted by criminal, civil, family, and immigration legal systems. We value lived as well as professional experience and particularly welcome applications from the Bronx community that we serve.