CEPSCENTER FOR ETHICS & PUBLIC SERVICE

Founded in 1996, the School of Law’s Center for Ethics and Public Service is an interdisciplinary program devoted to the values of ethical judgment, professional responsibility, and public service in law and society. The Center observes three guiding principles: interdisciplinary collaboration, public-private partnership, and student mentoring and leadership training. Since its inception, the Center has helped develop and expand five law school clinics and community service programs, including the Children and Youth Law Clinic, the Community Economic Development and Design Clinic, the Health and Elder Law Clinic, the Joint College of Arts and Sciences Program on Law, Public Policy, and Ethics, and the Street Law Program. Our goal is to educate law students to serve their communities as citizen lawyers.

Staffed by Law School and University student fellows and interns under the direction of Law School and University faculty, the Center operates outreach programs in the fields of ethics education, professional training, and community service.

CEPS PROGRAMS:Historic Black Church ProgramProfessional Responsibility & Ethics Program (PREP) Summer Public Interest Fellowship Program

IMPACTMAKING A DIFFERENCE

Since 1996, the Center has trained over 1,100 fellows and interns, educated over 35,000 members of the Florida bar, bench, Law School, University, and civic communities, and dedicated more than 266,000 student hours to public service.

ABOUT THE CENTER

E. SMYTHE GAMBRELL PROFESSIONALISM AWARDAmerican Bar Association

1998

FACULTY PROFESSIONALISM AWARDFlorida Supreme Court

1999

SEVENTH ANNUAL PROFESSIONALISM AWARDThe Florida Bar

2000

ARETE AWARDMiami-Dade County Commission

on Ethics & Public Trust2001

OMICRON DELTA KAPPA AWARDNational Leadership Honor Society

2002

GARY BELLOW SCHOLAR AWARDAssociation of American Law Schools

2004-2005

INNOVATIVE SERVICE IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST AWARD COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT & DESIGN PROGRAM

University of Miami School of Law2007

WILLIAM PINCUS AWARDAssociation of American Law Schools

2007

FATHER ROBERT DRINAN AWARDAssociation of American Law Schools

2007

INNOVATIVE SERVICE IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST AWARDHISTORIC BLACK CHURCH PROGRAM

University of Miami School of Law2009

AWARDS

CEPSContact Us

University of Miami School of Law

1311 Miller Drive

Suite G287

Coral Gables, Florida 33146-8087

Ph: 305.284.3934

Fax: 305.284.1588

www.law.miami.edu/ceps

ceps@law.miami.edu

CENTER FOR ETHICS & PUBLIC SERVICE

“This program not only provides students with an opportunity to develop their legal skills, but also brings awareness to the responsibility of the legal profession to assist those who are less fortunate.”Jan L. Jacobowitz, Director, Summer Fellowship Program

The Summer Public Interest Fellowship Program is designed for students who have a genuine interest in public interest work. The student fellows experience firsthand how lawyers can make a significant difference in the lives of indigent clients by representing them in domestic violence, mental health, education, disability and immigration cases as well as in other proceedings. This highly competitive program includes a nine week, full-time internship at a public interest organization, a public Interest law seminar, and a legal research and writing project. Students receive a stipend and academic credit.

SUMMER PLACEMENTS

Recent summer placements have included Legal Services of Greater Miami, Americans for Immigrant Justice (formerly Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center), Catholic Charities, Dade County Legal Aid Society, State Attorney’s Office, Public Defenders Office, Broward Legal Aid, and the UM Human Rights Clinic.

HISTORIC BLACK CHURCH PROGRAMSUMMER PUBLIC INTEREST FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM

“Our intent is to create an archive for all interested churches so that they have a resource to teach the next generation and preserve their history.”Professor Anthony Alfieri, Director, Center for Ethics & Public Service

The Historic Black Church Program is part of the Center’s antipoverty effort to help Miami’s distressed low-income communities of color, especially the historic West Grove community. The Program provides multi-disciplinary resources in education, law, and social services to underserved residents by establishing faith-based church and nonprofit partnerships through the West Grove’s sixteen-church Ministerial Alliance and other community-based alliances. The Program offers opportunities for civic engagement, service-learning, and community-based research.

PROGRAM INITIATIVES:

• The Oral History Project compiles oral history archives for church congregations and ministries through film documentaries. Students conduct and videotape interviews with congregants and ministers, edit film, and organize both church- and school-based panel discussions.

• The Community Education Project provides rights education seminars, capacity-building workshops, and community-based research support to the churches of the Coconut Grove Ministerial Alliance and throughout Miami-Dade County, as well as to local nonprofit organizations. The seminars and research papers address the rights and entitlements of children, the elderly, tenants, homeowners, and at-risk families. The workshops focus on crime prevention, economic development, financial literacy, historic preservation, nonprofit governance, rights restoration, and other antipoverty initiatives. Community-based research produces public policy “working papers” for posting on the CEPS website.

• The Lawyer Referral Project coordinates legal assistance referrals for eligible individuals and qualified nonprofit groups in conjunction with the Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr., Bar Association, the School of Law’s in-house clinics and Graduate Program in Real Property Development, and South Florida law firms and nonprofit legal services organizations.

• The Campus-Community Engagement Project sponsors interdisciplinary colloquia on the interaction among law, culture, and society with special emphasis on communities of color.

“As a two-year member of PREP, I can attest to the value of the program – both to the law students and to the South Florida legal community. PREP was an important part of my law school experience; the program introduced me to areas of the law I might otherwise have not had the chance to study.” William Nicholson, JD ‘10

Established in 1996 as an in-house program within the Center for Ethics and Public Service, the Professional Responsibility and Ethics Program (PREP) develops and presents continuing legal education (CLE) ethics training to the South Florida legal community. Students explore “hot-topic” ethics and professionalism issues, draft academic materials and present on-site, customized ethics training to bar associations, nonprofit legal services organizations, government agencies, law firms and corporations.

The program has dedicated countless student hours to public service and has educated thousands of members of the Florida Bench and Bar. As students teach, they learn and help make a difference, prompting organizations to pause and reconsider their approaches to some of the toughest ethical dilemmas.

Additionally, PREP students conceive, coordinate and moderate the Leadership Roundtable Series which presents panels of attorneys and judges to discuss and debate current legal issues.

PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY & ETHICS PROGRAM

REPRESENTATIVE CLE TRAININGS

• ABA International Business Law Section• ABA Entertainment and Sports Law Section• American Inns of Court-Spellman-Hoeveler

Chapter• Americans for Immigrant Justice• Bankruptcy Bar Association• Catholic Charities • Cuban American Bar Association

• Dade County Bar Association• Dade County Legal Aid Society• Florida Association of Women Lawyers• Florida Legal Services• Gwen Cherry Bar Association• Law Offices of the Public Defender• Legal Services of Greater Miami • Miami State Attorney’s Office

”

For more information contact:Professor Anthony V. Alfieri, Director, Center for Ethics & Public Service, Historic Black Church Program, aalfieri@law.miami.edu, 305.284.2735

For more information contact:Lecturer in Law Jan Jacobowitz, Director, Professional Responsibility & Ethics Program (PREP), jjacobowitz@law.miami.edu, 305.284.8564

For more information contact:Lecturer in Law Jan Jacobowitz, Director, Summer Public Interest Fellowship Program, jjacobowitz@law.miami.edu, 305.284.8564

w w w . l a w . m i a m i . e d u / c e p s

“HISTORIC BLACK CHURCH PROGRAM“I think preserving the history of the West Grove is extremely important, not only for the residents of that area currently, but also for future generations,” said Audra Thomas, JD ’10. “The West Grove as we know it may not exist in its current state for much longer and with these oral histories, even though the buildings may be gone, the memories will live on.”

“Young people need to hear their history and know that there’s a legacy they can feel good about.”

St. Paul A.M.E. Church Minister Jessie Harvin

PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY & ETHICS PROGRAM“The panel discussion by the Professional Responsibility and Ethics Program was among the most interesting, thought-provoking and informative presentations during my time as President of the Miami Lakes Bar Association.”

Robert Elias, president of the Miami Lakes Bar Association.

“I have worked closely with Jan Jacobowitz and her students in PREP, preparing, coordinating and presenting ethics and professionalism seminars for lawyers. Their presentations greatly benefit the legal community and positively reflect on the University of Miami.”

Vivian M. Reyes, Esq., Dade County Bar Association

SUMMER PUBLIC INTEREST FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM“Participating in the SPIF Program enabled me to aid indigent victims of fraud. It was disheartening how many people look to take advantage of such an at risk population, but fighting for them made for an amazing experience. The guidance of Professor Jacobowitz, and the financial support of the program made my internship possible.”

Steve Simeonidis, Summer Public Interest Fellow 2010

“The CEPS Summer Public Interest Fellowship allowed me to work directly with clients and perform legal research for litigation. The weekly classroom discussions enhanced our internships and exposed us to the wide range of fields of public interest law in which the fellows are placed.”

Eduardo Aybar, Summer Public Interest Fellow 2010

“I had the unique opportunity to intern with the Legal Aid Society of Dade County Bar Association in the domestic violence unit. My experience was invaluable and I am forever grateful for UM’s commitment to providing law students the opportunity to help promote access to justice.” Rashanda E. McCollum, Summer Public Interest Fellow 2010

“The Program ignited my desire to serve our community as a public defender and served as a springboard for me to do so.”Keon Hardemon, Summer Public Interest Fellow 2009