Positive Pro Bono Clinic Experience Influences Students Decision to Attend UIC Law
Transgender student at UIC Law recalls on positive experience
“I wanted to come back and help people in the same way my law student helped me when I was a client in the Pro Bono Clinic,” Hans Brownstein recalls on his decision to attend UIC Law to jumpstart his law school journey. Brownstein was one of the first clients the Pro Bono Litigation Clinic (PBLC) assisted under a new initiative started in 2016 that provided assistance with legal personal identity changes for individuals in Chicago.
Describing the connection he felt in the PBLC as “strong” and “meaningful”, Brownstein became a student clinician to show his gratitude for the services he received and to give back to the community. In 2024, the clinic was awarded a $12,500 grant from the Illinois Bar Foundation to support the expansion of services rendered to the community and to increase networking opportunities for clinical students. The grant also opened doors for Illinois Bar Foundation members to collaborate with the clinical students on a range of student/mentor pro bono projects.
As a student clinician, Brownstein assists Pro Bono Clinic Director Damien Ortiz with the preparation of informational documents to keep communities abreast to updates and changes to policies that may affect them. He also conducts outreach to various community organizations to organize table displays and other innovative ways to disburse pertinent information to stakeholders.
Brownstein credits UIC Law and the clinic for providing him with the practical experience needed to ignite his career in law.
“I think pro bono work is very important. We [students] all have done some sort of volunteering in the past, and it can be hard to reconnect with that volunteering spirit when we are busy as attorneys. So having the opportunity to do the work and it doubles as volunteer work is very special,” Brownstein said.