KU Law students provide more than 2,300 hours of free legal aid

KU Law students spent the 2025-2026 academic year delivering more than 2,300 hours of free legal services, a volume of unpaid work that translated into real help for people in Lawrence and Douglas County who likely could not have paid for it on their own. Forty-eight students earned a place on the school’s Pro Bono Honor Roll, underscoring how much of that aid came from the student bench rather than a few heavy contributors.

The total matters because it is not abstract charity. KU Law defines pro bono work as uncompensated, supervised law-related work that benefits the public, and its Legal Aid Clinic gives students a direct role in local legal access through cases in Lawrence Municipal Court and Douglas County District Court. The clinic and other placements have put students on matters ranging from tax returns for low-income residents to criminal-record expungements, court-appointed special advocate work for children in foster care, and assignments with nonprofit organizations, government agencies, prosecutors’ offices and public defenders’ offices.

Measured against a standard 40-hour workweek, more than 2,300 hours equals nearly 58 full workweeks of free legal help. That is a substantial public-service footprint for a school year and a reminder that, in a college town with a busy courthouse, student labor can fill gaps that otherwise leave residents waiting or going without help.

One concrete example is expungement work in Douglas County District Court and Lawrence Municipal Court, where KU Law students have helped eligible clients seek to clear records through the Legal Aid Clinic. Those cases can be difficult to navigate without counsel, and the clinic’s role gives local residents access to supervised legal representation at no charge.

The service total also fits a longer KU trend. The school launched its Pro Bono Program in 2017 and said that by 2022 more than 200 students had contributed 17,530 hours of free legal services overall. Recent years have stayed high, with more than 1,580 hours by 45 students in 2023-2024 and more than 2,500 hours by 65 students in 2024-2025, the largest number of student participants since the program began. KU Law recognizes students who complete at least 15 hours in an academic year on the annual honor roll, and those who reach 50 hours during law school at graduation, keeping public service tied to the school’s professional training.