Public Policy Research & Drafting: A Pro Bono and Law Library Collaboration

As the Carrico Center for Pro Bono Service at the University of Richmond School of Law continued to grow its programs, forays into the areas of public policy and advanced legal research grew as well. for a number of years, our law students volunteered with nonprofit organizations during the General Assembly session, learning firsthand how issues develop into policy, which sometimes then develops into Jaw. This experience required our students to expand their legal research and writing skills beyond the traditional case law and brief writing methods. Furthermore, a growing number of students were interested in pursuing legislative or public policy careers, and were looking to take advantage of opportunities that would hone their skills in these areas and increase their postgraduate employment potential. Because of the strong history of collaboration between the Carrico Center and the law school\u27s library faculty through these programs, the idea was hatched to create a course that would provide students with an exposure to the legal work performed in the public policy field