REBUILDING WATCH : Inspired L. A. Law

The impetus to “do something to help” after last spring’s riots was common throughout the greater Los Angeles community. After volunteers cleared away the rubble of burned and looted buildings and distributed food and clothing, a good deal of thoughtful discussion ensued--in families, in neighborhoods and in offices--about what could be done, of a deeper, more long-lasting nature, to help improve the lives of local residents.

Some tangible and very positive steps are emerging from those discussions. One shining example is the decision, earlier this month, by the faculty of Loyola Law School to require pro bono work of all graduating law students. Loyola will become the first California law school--and one of only a dozen or so schools nationally--to impose this requirement, which will apply to students entering in 1994.

Because the law school sits in downtown Los Angeles, Loyola faculty and students are well-acquainted with the tragic dimensions of urban poverty. The faculty’s overwhelming vote to require students either to take a public service internship for academic credit or to perform 40 hours of supervised public service legal work will fill a yawning gap in the availability of legal services for the poor. Nationally, the American Bar Assn. has estimated that existing private and public-interest firms can service at best 20% of the poor; Los Angeles lags behind even that dismal figure.

We hope that Loyola’s program may also prompt other law schools and law firms to strengthen their commitment to public service.