The Rhode Island Foundation is providing a $75,000 grant for the Pro Bono Collaborative, in which law students, big law firms and community groups help low-income people deal with legal issues before they reach court.

The Feinstein Institute for Legal Service at Roger Williams University's Ralph R. Papitto School of Law launched the collaborative in January 2006 with a $57,416 grant from the foundation, and now the foundation is providing more money to keep the program going.

"The Rhode Island Foundation is pleased to support this valuable collaborative, which enables some of our state's poorest residents to obtain essential legal services," said Ronald V. Gallo, the foundation's president and CEO. "Roger Williams University, which leads the project, and area law firms, which provide pro bono counsel, are to be commended, both for assisting low-income individuals in such areas as housing law and for providing opportunities for students in the Roger Williams school of law to obtain practical experience."

The renewed assistance will enable the collaborative to maintain ongoing projects while establishing three additional collaborations in the year ahead.

The law school's dean, David A. Logan, said, "We are honored to receive the foundation's continuing support. With the PBC, we are creating a program that is truly groundbreaking in American legal education: bringing together lawyers from major firms, representatives of community organizations, and law students."

So far, the program has sponsored three collaborations. For example, the law firm Partridge Snow & Hahn and Casey Family Services worked on a special-education project, which recently expanded to include the Meeting Street School's early intervention clients. Last month, lawyer Melissa Darigan successfully represented a family referred by Meeting Street School at an individualized education program hearing in Providence.