Public Service Requirement

Gonzaga Law students are required to complete thirty (30) hours of public service required for graduation. The public service requirement cannot be satisfied by hours for which the student also receives compensation, other monetary value, or academic credit.

Choosing a Public Service Activity

You are responsible for selecting the public service activity you would like to perform to fulfill Gonzaga’s public service requirement.

You may choose an agency on your own, through the law school public service liaison, through Gonzaga University’s Service Learning Website, or through the Community Service Fair held on main campus each semester.

If choose an activity on your own, your choice must be authorized by the law school’s Public Service Liaison, who will consult with CCASL’s Service Learning Coordinator.

If you need help selecting an activity, consider using Gonzaga University’s Service Learning website. It has information on agencies that cooperate with the Center for Community Action and Service Learning (CCASL).

How to Certify your Public Service activity

1. Once you have selected an agency, download the required Public Service Approval / Completion Form. (The form is also available outside the Registrar’s office.)
2. Complete the form, keeping two copies – one for yourself and one to submit to the Public Service Liaison, the agency, and the Registrar as you receive approval and complete your public service.
3. Submit the completed form to the Public Service Liaison.
4. Once you have completed the approval section of the form and have received authorization, you’ll meet with the organization you’ve chosen to coordinate training, hours, and other details.

   Important: During this initial meeting, it is your responsibility to supply the Approval/Completion Form to the agency you’ll be working with.

5. When you have completed your service, have the agency complete the form.
6. Finally, submit the completed form to the Registrar; it must be presented to the Registrar upon completion of your service duty.

Summary of the Public Service Requirement

1. Thirty (30) hours of public service is required for graduation.
2. Students may begin to work toward completion of the thirty (30) hours at the beginning of their first year of law school. The public service requirement cannot be satisfied by hours for which the student also receives compensation, other monetary value, or academic credit. The student may satisfy the requirement with hours spent working in an in-house clinical law program or at an extern placement site, but only to the extent that such time is over and above the hours necessary to meet the requirements of such work for academic credit.
3. The term “public service” shall be broadly interpreted. It encompasses traditional pro bono legal work, but is not limited to it. A broad range of volunteer charitable and community work can also satisfy the requirement.

   The requirement may be satisfied by any of the following activities, so long as the student receives no compensation:

   • volunteering at a nonprofit charitable, civic, or community organization (either law- or non-law related)
   • assisting an attorney or law firm (including University Legal Assistance) on a pro bono case
   • serving at a public agency
4. The student may either choose to be placed with an agency approved by the Center for Community Action and Service learning, or they may seek approval for a placement from the law school liaison to the University Service Learning Coordinator. The place of service should be in Eastern Washington or North Idaho, with exceptions possible upon approval by the law school liaison, who will consult with the University Service Learning Coordinator (e.g., a student may fulfill the requirement while out of the area during a semester break).
5. The completed form should be submitted to the student folder of the Public Service Liaison, who will approve and then submit it to the Registrar’s Office.