Law students began to help Casey Family Services clients in Providence through a community law program at the Ralph Papitto School of Law at Roger Williams University. Each semester, 10 third-year students will work with Casey.

Nancy Cook, associate professor of law and director of the community justice and legal assistance clinic, was inspired to pursue the Casey partnership by similar work she did at Cornell Law School and the University of New Mexico School of Law.

"One of my main interests is working within a community and being a partner with whatever issues they are dealing with," she told Roger Williams University Magazine. "These clients would have cases that can be handled by students; and, in my experience, law students very much like working with clients in this age range. There are only two clinical programs in the nation doing anything like this.

Cook's interest in promoting community partnership led her to Casey Family Services. Rhode Island Division Director Jim Gannaway, himself an attorney, knew the kinds of services the law school interns could provide. "Many of the people we work with face challenges that the interns can help with: from child support to all the issues related to making a successful transition to independent living," he said.

From her experience, Cook found that law school interns work especially well with clients their age and younger. "Both sides generally come to the table with their own sets of preconceptions and stereotypes," she told Roger Williams University Magazine. "My hope is that they walk away thinking of each other as human beings, perhaps with a lot more in common than either of them expected."