Helping hand

Part of the law curriculum includes a pro bono requirement that essentially requires us to do free work which, if you think about it, makes little sense. Most of the pro bono opportunities consist of providing legal assistance to the needy. We haven't passed the bar yet, so it's kind of like awarding an engineering project involving the design and construction of the Golden Gate bridge to a group of welding and electrician students from vocational school. The bridge is doomed to fail. I'm sure our legal assistance won't be of much help either. But it is what it is...an opportunity to test our skills in a laboratory-like environment. A way to bypass part of the requirement is to take a Poverty Law course, so that's what I'm doing this semester. I'm not really sure why it's a requirement. It's great for those that desire to help those in need, but I don't really see much effort getting put into it by those that don't really have an interest in doing so. Engineers aren't required to design electric cars for the poor, investment bankers and stock brokers aren't required to give financial assistance to those that file for bankruptcy, and the NRA isn't required to teach hoodlums how to safely operate the trigger of a TEC-9. I'm not saying that I'm against helping the needy, but I have enough crap to worry about in law school. Save it for later and then maybe I'd be interested.