Archive for Public Interest Jobs

Public Interest News Bulletin – August 24, 2012

August 24, 2012 at 8:14 am · Filed under Career Resources, Legal Education, News and Developments, Public Interest Jobs, Public Interest Law News Bulletin, The Legal Industry and Economy

By: Steve Grumm (with an assist from John Kapoor)

Happy Friday, ladies and gents.  An important housekeeping item: the PSLawnet Blog is becoming the PSJD Blog.  We are relaunching our PSLawNet public interest jobs database as PSJD, effective 8/27.  The blog will move from https://pslawnet.wordpress.com to http://blog.psjd.org (link not active yet).  Those of you who receive from me a weekly email message about this bulletin will continue doing so.  Launching PSJD, which will offer an even better jobs database and career center for the public interest community, represents an exciting transition.  We look forward to all that’s new, but just as much look forward to our continued daily blogging.

Some nonprofit news before the public interest news.  This Nonprofit Quarterly post came to my attention this week.  Entitled “A Too-sad Truth about the Nonprofit Sector,” the post laments the culture of martyrdom which many nonprofits take on.  This can manifest itself in unreasonably low salaries and a shortage of office resources to work efficiently.  Many of the best nonprofit law offices, in my experience, tend to emphasize “law office” over “nonprofit” in terms of how they operate and present themselves to the world.  Of course the recession has made funding scarce, and many organizations are struggling just to keep afloat now.  Nevertheless, some executive directors argue that they will only go so far in keeping staff salaries down and skimping on infrastructure expenses because they will not sacrifice quality of service.  It’s a very difficult balance to strike for nonprofits.  And this debate is always worth having because it brings out some terrific ideas and solutions from organizations with starkly different cultures.

On a lighter note, the annual “Mindset List” for this year’s incoming college class is out.  The list looks at how an 18 year-old would view the world in light of what has, and hasn’t, happened during her lifetime. The list, while a little weak this year compared to its predecessors, succeeds at making me feel old if nothing else.  Funny to think that an incoming college freshman might see Bill Clinton only as a grandfatherly, elder statesman as opposed to, well, any of the many the other things Bill Clinton’s been.  

Okay, the week’s access-to-justice and public interest news, in very brief:

  • Legal Services Corporation board chair on the community’s funding woes and the latest LSC newsletter;
  • law school clinic at Santa Clara U. is sued by law firm for, well, operating;
  • legal services providers in Nevada receive $1.2m from mortgage foreclosure class-action settlement funds;
  • when fiscal woes plague nonprofits in the justice system, local communities suffer;
  • prosecutors moonlight to 1) supplement income and 2) perpetuate Irish-American stereotypes;
  • maybe prosecution work is for the dogs;
  • North Dakota’s economic boom is straining the both the civil and criminal legal-aid camps;
  • Think Progress thinks about LSC cuts;
  • DOJ petitioned to think about how its crime-fighting spending affects all players in justice system;
  • would narrowing the definition of “pro bono” lead to lawyers handling more poverty law cases?
  • the rise of, and importance in, pro bono from Chicago-area in-house counsel;
  • more needed from pro bono lawyers and the justice system is strained by increased numbers of low-income litigants;
  • a Texas County signs on for multi-county capital defense cost-sharing program;
  • Michigan goes online to help pro se litigants;
  • 10 tips for getting hired into a public defender’s office;
  • a NY State county wants to go from paid staff defenders to an assigned-counsel system to save $;
  • Deferred Action participants should be wary of those offering legal services.
  • Music!

The summaries:

  • 8.23.12 – LSC board chair John Levi writes about the legal services funding shortages in Michigan and throughout the U.S.: In Michigan, LSC funds six programs with 29 offices across the state. These offices, both in Michigan and nationwide, are increasingly overwhelmed with requests for help. Nearly one in five Americans — 63 million people — now qualify for LSC-funded civil legal assistance because they live at or below 125% of the federal poverty guideline. That is an all-time high. As demand has been rising, the combined funding for LSC programs from federal, state, local and all other sources has dropped from $960 million in 2010 to $878 million in 2012.  As a result, legal service programs are turning away more and more people who seek help — 50% or more according to recent studies.  More than 21% of the state’s population now qualifies for LSC-funded civil legal assistance. Resources from LSC and other funders, however, have dropped dramatically. Projected overall funding for the six LSC grantees in Michigan for 2012 is $19.6 million — a decrease of nearly 24% from 2010 funding levels.”  (Op-ed in the Detroit Free Press.)
    • On a related note, LSC’s 8/21 edition of “LSC Upates” covers likely job cuts at grantee organizations, a recent board meeting, promoting access to justice through technology, LSC’s receipt of grant funding to improve data collection(!), and other odds/ends
  • 8.23.12 – “A Los Angeles law firm claims in court that Santa Clara University’s pro bono law center is practicing law for poor people illegally.  The Brachfeld Law Group sued Santa Clara University and Scott Maurer, supervising attorney for the university’s Katharine and George Alexander Community Law Center, in Superior Court.  Brachfeld claims that the Community Law Center improperly uses Maurer’s law license to collect attorneys’ fees, which Maurer shares with the university.  (Story from the Courthouse News Service.)
  • 8.23.12 – some of Nevada’s share of national mortgage foreclosure class-action settlement funds will go to legal services.  Legislators approved a one-year, $11 million plan.  (There is more for appropriation in future budget cycles.) Of this $11 million, “…nearly $1.2 million will go to Nevada Legal Services and the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada to provide assistance to homeowners.” (Article from the Nevada News Bureau.)
  • 8.22.12 – when fiscal woes plague nonprofits like Jacksonville Area Legal Aid and the Jacksonville Justice Coalition, which offers support services to crime victims, the entire Jacksonville community suffers.  (Story from the Florida Times Union.)  
  • 8.21.12 – having grown up in northeast Philadelphia, I can say with certainty that there’s nothing unusual about a guy named Colin working behind a local bar. What is unusual is when he’s an assistant district attorney.  The Philadelphia Inquirer looks at the ends local prosecutors go to when they struggle financially on civil-servant salaries.
    • It’s noteworthy that their public defender counterparts have it worse.  From an Inquirer story in June: “An experienced assistant [DA] in Philadelphia, one with seven years on the job, can make $65,000 yearly.  A public defender with exactly the same experience makes a lot less: $51,500.”

  

  • 8.21.12 – I’m a sucker for a story about a pooch in a law office.  “A new four legged volunteer is working at the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s office. It’s part of an innovative pilot program, to provide emotional support to crime victims and witnesses.
    Malvern is a two-year-old, highly trained service dog.  District Attorney, Joyce Dudley, has been working to get a dog…into her office as…to provide a calming presence and create a more compassionate environment for victims and witnesses of crimes within Santa Barbara.  Over the next few months he will work in the D.A.’s office.”   (Story from KEYT.)
  • 8.21.12 – unforeseen consequences. North Dakota’s economic boom is straining both the civil and criminal legal aid camps. On the civil side, stakeholders are dealing with “an increase in demand for Legal Services lawyers— …requests for help have shot up at least 50 percent in the last year—that coincides with a series of budget cuts. Federal funding, which accounts for about 60 percent of the organization’s annual spending plan, shrank by 5 percent in 2011 and 14 percent in 2012, leaving the agency with a budget of about $1.6 million this year.”  On the criminal side, a state bar task force’s “final report, which the bar association’s board of governors adopted on August 16, draws the bleak conclusion that the widening gap between the indigent defense commission’s resources and the demand for its services has put the agency on the verge of a ‘constitutional crisis’.”   (Story from the American Lawyer.  Ho-hum; the PSJD Blog noted this back in July.)  
  • 8.20.12 – Two national defense attorney groups are asking the Department of Justice to better analyze how proposed criminal laws and crime-fighting strategies might add additional costs to the rest of the justice system [including indigent defense].  The Nat’l. Assoc. of Criminal Defense Lawyers joined the…National Legal Aid and Defender Association in passing a resolution this month that calls for the DOJ to conduct “justice system impact statements” statements on future policy changes. The resolution suggests the DOJ could fund the studies through its criminal justice grant programs.  The American Bar Association adopted a similar resolution more than 20 years ago, but the NACDL and NLADA resolution also asks DOJ for impact statements for the grants it distributes to local police and prosecutors.”  (Story from the Blog of the Legal Times.)
  • 8.20.12 – would narrowing the definition of “pro bono” lead to more volunteer lawyers handling poverty law cases and providing direct representation to low-income clients?  The Pro Bono Institute’s Esther Lardent doesn’t think so: “The reality is that choosing pro bono work is often a matter of blending personal interest with client need. Restricting personal choices will not increase poverty law pro bono. It is, rather, far more likely to reduce the total amount of pro bono and the percentage of lawyers who undertake it.  Our goal should be to educate lawyers about the unparalleled need for legal services to the poor. We should put, as our Pro Bono Challenge and American Bar Association Model Rule 6.1 do, a special emphasis on poverty law pro bono (which led to 58 percent of total Challenge law firm hours devoted to pro bono focused on poverty), and review and revamp the processes for referring, accepting and handling pro bono matters for the poor to make them more appealing and more efficiently undertaken.”  (Full piece in the National Law Journal.)
  • 8.20.12 – the rise in, and importance of, in-house pro bono in Chicago: “As more people have turned to them for help, Cabrini Green, like an increasing number of Chicago nonprofits offering legal services to low-income people, has sought help from new allies. Though legal nonprofits traditionally have recruited volunteers from the hallways of Chicago’s big law firms, they have begun courting lawyers who work in the legal departments of the region’s corporate giants, including McDonald’s Corp., Exelon Corp., Abbott Laboratories, Caterpillar Inc. and Allstate Corp.”  (Full story from Crain’s Chicago Business.)  
     
  • 8.19.12 – with the number and needs of pro se litigants rising, and with the civil legal services community weathering a severe funding storm, much is needed of pro bono advocates throughout the U.S.  (Full story from Associated Press.)
  • 8.19.12 – in Texas, Angelina County is set to participate in the Regional Capital Defender Program.  Participation in the “shared-cost, multi-county” program is expected to save money on providing indigent defense services to those facing capital chartges.  (Story from the Lufkin Daily News.)
  • 8.17.12 – Warren County is seeking to request permission from the New York State Mandate Relief Council to contract with lawyers to perform legal services for the indigent rather than having the work handled by its own county office in which the attorneys are county employees. The county estimates this change, if authorized, will save $200,000 annually.  (Story from the Post Star.)
  • 8.16.12 – After implementation of the Obama Administration’s “Deferred Action” program for unauthorized immigrants who arrived in this country as youth, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., is renewing warnings to those immigrants to guard themselves against scam artists posing as immigration attorneys. He suggests asking questions about the attorney’s background and qualifications and calling the New York State Unified Court System’s Attorney Registration Unit to see if the individual is accredited before hiring them to ensure that they are in fact qualified to perform that kind of work. Many scam artists will take thousands of dollars from immigrants while offering little if anything in return.  (Here’s Mr. Vance’s press release.)

Music!  That Beloit Mindset List has me thinking about the college years.  So let’s travel to the 1990s for Boulder, CO’s own Big Head Todd and the Monsters.  (The man does in fact have a physically big head.  Not sure about his ego.)  “In the Morning” is one of my favorite songs -and it’s a pretty love song, tempo notwithstanding – from the under-appreciated album Stratagem.

Leave a Comment

Job o’ the Day: (Volunteer) Entry Level Attorney with Human Rights Watch in Senegal!

August 23, 2012 at 3:10 pm · Filed under Career Resources, Public Interest Jobs

I know, I know – this position isn’t technically a job. However, it’s an amazing opportunity for law students and recent graduates interested in international human rights to get their foot in the door. And you’ll get to put “prosecuting war criminals” on your resume:

The Legal & Policy Office of Human Rights Watch (“HRW”) is seeking a volunteer to join the team on the case against Hissène Habré. HRW has been working for 13 years with the victims of Chad’s exiled former President, to bring him to trial. Habré, who lives in exile in Senegal, is accused of responsibility for thousands of political killings and systematic torture when he ruled Chad from 1982 to 1990. At the request of the African Union (AU), Senegal agreed to prosecute Habré in July 2006. Senegal stalled on efforts to try Habré for years, but the new government under President Macky Sall appears to be moving quickly to bring Habré to trial.

On July 24, Senegal and the AU announced a landmark agreement to create “Extraordinary African Chambers” with African judges in the Senegalese justice system to begin pre-trial investigations in October. Just days earlier, on July 20, the International Court of Justice ruled that Senegal had violated its legal obligations under the Torture Convention and ordered Senegal to bring Habré to justice “without further delay,” either by prosecuting him in Senegal or extraditing him. Please visit http://www.hrw.org/en/habre-case (English) or http://www.hrw.org/fr/habre-case (French) for more information.

The volunteer project includes conducting legal research on international and Senegalese criminal law issues, liaising with the victims’ legal team and HRW’s partners in Senegal and Chad, and supporting advocacy efforts with the Senegalese government and international donors. The volunteer will be supervised by HRW’s Counsel.

This position will be located in Dakar, Senegal. Ideally, it will last for 6 months starting in September or October of 2012. Human Rights Watch is unable to offer relocation assistance, but don’t let that stop you from applying – PSLawNet.org has a whole page of resources for students interested in international law, including how to obtain funding for unpaid opportunities.

For more information, check out the full listing at PSLawNet.org (log-in required).

Leave a Comment

Job o’ the Day: Staff Attorney with the ACLU Center for Justice!

August 22, 2012 at 4:00 pm · Filed under Career Resources, Public Interest Jobs

The ACLU’s Center for Justice is looking for a staff attorney to work in either Washington D.C. or New York City on juvenile justice reform.

The ACLU’s Center for Justice seeks to transform the U.S. criminal justice system into one that views incarceration as an option of last – not first – resort. The Center works to ensure that our criminal justice system is effective, fair, and free of racial bias; that conditions of confinement are humane and constitutional; and that the death penalty is rejected as a legitimate form of punishment. The Center comprises the Criminal Law Reform Project, the National Prison Project and the Capital Punishment Project, as well as affiliated staff from our Washington Legislative Office and Advocacy and Communications Departments.

The Center for Justice seeks a Staff Counsel to work closely with other parts of the Center and organization to shape and advance its juvenile justice reform work as part of our Initiative to End Overincarceration. Priority areas of work will include reform of local and state policies that will lead to a reduction of youth incarceration rates in the juvenile justice system; minimizing and making more constructive the contact youth have with the adult criminal justice system; and eliminating the disproportionate contact youth of color have with the juvenile justice system. The Staff Counsel will be part of an integrated team that includes litigators, policy counsel and strategists, federal lobbyists, and communications specialists, and will work closely with ACLU affiliates across the country.

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to, creating strategic work plans and serving as a public spokesperson for the advancement of juvenile justice reform. Sounds perfect for you? Check out the full job post at PSLawNet.org (log-in required).

Leave a Comment

Standing Out During the Public Defender Interview

August 21, 2012 at 5:31 pm · Filed under Career Resources, Expert Opinion: Interviews and More, Public Interest Jobs

By: Ashley Matthews

Recently, the University of Virginia School of Law blogged a few invaluable tips from this year’s Public Defender Advocacy, Hiring and Training Conference (PATH), sponsored by the Public Defender Service of D.C. In a nutshell, passion pays off – you have to be able to show and explain just how ready you are to enter the field of indigent defense.

In a larger nutshell, here are the offered tips:

1. Know your personal motivation for being a public defender, because this will sustain your career.

2. Be realistic, but passionate, about why you want to be a public defender.

3. Convey that you are a “true believer” in your cover letter.

4. Since candidates start looking the same on paper, your passion and motivation should stand out.

5. If you’ve worked in prosecution or domestic violence, don’t be scared to address it.

6. Speak Spanish! If you don’t speak Spanish, learn Spanish! This increases your chances of employment.

7. Bring out the fact that you are client-centered in your interview.

8. Look at hypothetical questions from multiple angles.

9. When asked a hypothetical question, remember that public defender offices are paying attention to your instincts.

10. When role-playing, listen to your “client” and be mindful of your body language.

Click here to read the whole blog post!

Leave a Comment

Job o’ the Day: Legal Intern with Vera Institute of Justice in New York City!

August 21, 2012 at 1:54 pm · Filed under Public Interest Jobs

Are you a law student that is committed to advancing prisoners’ rights? Do you stay up to date on the latest news and developments in criminal justice reform and policy? If so, then this position may be perfect for you.

The Vera Institute of Justice is searching for legal interns within its Center on Sentencing and Corrections (CSC), which works with state and local partners to help them develop cost-effective strategies for protecting public safety.

The CSC also provides government officials and criminal justice professionals with technical assistance and research support.

From the Vera Institute of Justice:

This is an extraordinary opportunity for a motivated student to join a dynamic and innovative staff. The intern will work closely with program and research staff on a variety of projects, which may include justice reinvestment projects in several states, a national project aimed at increasing the availability of post-secondary education to correctional populations, a project focusing on bringing American and European policymakers together to discuss successful correctional policies, and reports on sentencing policies.

If you’re interested in apply, view the full listing at PSLawNet.org!

 

Leave a Comment

Upcoming 2L Government Honors & Internship Deadlines! (Log-In Required)

August 20, 2012 at 4:34 pm · Filed under Career Resources, Events and Announcements, Public Interest Jobs

If you are a 2L looking to work for the government this summer, then this post is for you! The following government programs have 2L deadlines coming up in the next few weeks:

Fall

  • Federal Communications Commission – Wireless Telecommunications Bureau Student internship Program (Unpaid, Deadline 08/31/12)
  • City of Houston Legal Department – Student Externships (Unpaid, Deadline 08/31/12)
  • Illinois Attorney General’s Office – Law Clerk Program (Unpaid, Deadline 09/01/12)
  • Department of Commerce – Office of General Counsel Legal Internship Program (Paid & Unpaid, Deadline 09/15/12)

Spring

  • Department of the Interior – Office of the Solicitor legal Internship/Externship Program (Unpaid, Deadline 09/01/12)
  • Office of the District Attorney Denver, CO – Legal Internship Program (Unpaid, Deadline not yet established was 09/06/11)
  • Executive Office of the President – Council on Environmental Quality Legal Clerkship Program (Unpaid, Deadline 09/07/12)

Summer

  • Environmental Protection Agency – Office of General Counsel Summer Honors Program (Paid, Deadline 08/24/12)
  • Environmental Protection Agency – Region 9 Volunteer Intern Program (Unpaid, Deadline early Sept.)
  • Government Accountability Office – Office of General Counsel Summer Associate Program (Paid, Deadline 09/01/12)
  • Department of State – Office of the Legal Advisor (Civil) Summer Intern Program (Unpaid, Deadline 09/01/12)
  • U.S. Dept. of Justice – Summer Law Intern Program (Paid, Deadline 09/04/12)
  • Federal Trade Commission – Bureau of Consumer Protection 2013 Summer Law Clerk Program (Paid & Unpaid, Deadline 09/14/12)
  • Central Intelligence Agency – Office of General Counsel Summer Law Clerk Program (Paid & Unpaid, Deadline 09/15/12)
  • Environmental Protection Agency – R7 Summer Legal Intern Program (Paid, Deadline 09/15/12)
  • Federal Trade Commission – Bureau of Competition Intern Program (Paid, Deadline 09/15/12)
  • Department of Health & Human Services – Office of Counsel to the Inspector General Summer Law Clerk Program (Paid, Deadline not yet established was 09/16/11)

For more information on these listings and more, check out The University of Arizona College of Law’s 2012-2013 Government Honors & Internship Handbook. Please note that the Handbook is available to subscribers only. Don’t worry, though – most law schools are already subscribed. Just talk to your Career Services counselor for your school’s username and password.

Leave a Comment

Big News: PSLawNet’s Becoming PSJD! We’re Getting a New Name, New Website & Everything!

August 20, 2012 at 12:00 pm · Filed under Career Resources, Events and Announcements, Legal Education, News and Developments, Public Interest Jobs

By: Steve Grumm

We’ve got great news for law students and lawyers on public interest career paths, as well as the organizations that hire them.  On August 27th, PSLawNet will become PSJD, a redesigned website that retains all of PSLawNet’s content but that adds easier navigation, enhanced searching, and new tools for job-seekers and employers alike.  PSLawNet users will be able to log in to PSJD with existing PSLawNet login credentials, and our job-seeker “email alerts” will continue uninterrupted.  We at NALP (who administer the PSLawNet/PSJD site) are very happy to launch this next-generation career center as a free resource for the public interest legal community.  As of August 27 PSJD will be found at http://www.psjd.org (not live yet).   

For blog readers, this means that we’ll be moving to blog.psjd.org (not live yet).  But this blog URL will redirect you as well. 

For more information contact me at sgrumm@nalp.org, or PSLawNet PSJD Fellow Ashley Matthews at amatthews@nalp.org.  You may also reach us at 202.296.0076.

Leave a Comment

Job o’ the Day! Law Clerk with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, or West Palm Beach, FL!

August 17, 2012 at 11:55 am · Filed under Public Interest Jobs

The United States Attorney’s Office (USAO) for the Southern District of Florida is currently accepting applications for spring law clerks!

The USAO is responsible for investigating and prosecuting federal crimes and representing the United States in civil matters in the district. The office also represents the United States in appeals before the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Interns are assigned to one section within the Civil or Criminal Divisions of the office for the duration of the semester. Within their respective sections, the law clerks receive a variety of assignments and have the opportunity to work with numerous AUSAs. The goal of the Office is to introduce interns to the federal legal system, to develop and refine their legal research and writing skill, and above all to make their time at the office enjoyable and worthwhile.

The USAO for the Southern District of Florida is accepting applications until September 15, 2012. For more information, check out the job listing at PSLawNet.org.

Leave a Comment

PSLawNet Public Interest News Bulletin – August 17, 2012

August 17, 2012 at 10:03 am · Filed under Legal Education, News and Developments, Public Interest Jobs, Public Interest Law News Bulletin

By: Steve Grumm (with help from John Kapoor)

Happy Friday, dear readers.  The week’s most well-travelled public-interest news item deals with a Legal Services Corporation announcement that its grantee organizations may cut 8% of attorney and support staff positions as those organizations struggle with depleted funding sources.  There’s a tendency, I think, to take some comfort in the idea that the worst of the Great Recession has passed (notwithstanding the precariousness of the present recovery).  But the longer-term fiscal challenges spawned by the recession are in some ways hitting the legal services community hardest now.

At best, one may hope that LSC funding can creep back into the high $300 millions, given budget-cutting propensities on Capitol Hill.  IOLTA funding is dependent mostly on interest rates, which remain at historic lows as policy-makers hope that loose credit will contribute to economic stimulus.  And legal services providers who had financial reserves have by and large exhausted them at this point.  There is less federal money, a whole lot less IOLTA money, and the rainy-day funds are dry.  Not a pretty picture.

Sorry to begin on a down note. There is some good public-interest news below.  Before moving into that, here are two other interesting items:

  • a PAC for nonprofits.  From the Chronicle of Philanthropy: “CForward, a political-action committee that was set up last year to promote candidates who pledge to stand up for nonprofits, has made its first endorsements.  They include five contenders for state legislatures and one each for city council, mayor, and the U.S. House of Representatives ‘Our choices are not based on any single issue, or geography, gender, or political party,’ the group said in a statement. With governments cutting budgets across the country, it looked for candidates that would ‘promote our role in creating jobs, attracting investment dollars and maintaining the civil society required for traditional business to thrive’.”
  • the ABA Journal’s annual Ross Essay contest, announced yesterday, is looking for haiku poetry.  Frequent readers of this weekly blog – all six of you – may recall that just two weeks ago I graced the blog’s pages with my haiku about a baseball player trade.  Sadly, and somewhat unfairly in my view, the ABA is looking only for submissions on themes of: “Innovation, Inspiration, Law Practice, On Being a Lawyer or the U.S. Supreme Court.”  Haiku’s tough.  It is not easy to condense thoughts into seventeen syllables.  (Guess how many syllables that previous sentence was.  Yes!)

On to the public interest news.  The week in very short:

  • the New York State 50-hour pro bono requirement for attorney licensing is back in the news again;
  • funding in NYC for legal services providers to assist illegal immigrants with the federal “Deferred Action” program;
  • an increased pressure on already-strained Florida public defenders;
  • the job-cuts forecast from LSC;
  • bill introduced in Michigan to create indigent defense commission;
  • two good-news items on law school clinics (NOLA and NC);
  • funding for a pro se assistance attorney in the Gem State;
  • the development of Boston’s alternate adjudication track for nonviolent, homeless offenders;
  • an editorial on how the NOLA public defender’s office has weathered a fiscal storm;
  • OLAF (one of my favorite legal services acronyms) releases its 2011 annual report. 

The summaries:

  • 8.16.12 – “When New York’s Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman first revealed his intention in May to require all newly minted New York lawyers to perform 50 hours of pro bono work, it looked like the burden would fall directly on New York law schools. But with details of the measure still spare, deans around the country are saying they’re worried the proposal could have a much wider impact, affecting not only local institutions but law schools nationwide and abroad that send their graduates to practice law in New York….  Some [New York-based law school administrators applauded Lippman for tackling what he has dubbed the justice gap…. Others voiced concern that the measure would pose financial and administrative burdens on their schools. Most simply asked for details, which Lippman has said he will provide in late fall after an advisory committee reports back to him with feedback from legal services providers, schools and students. As word of New York’s novel approach to pro bono has spread, deans and administrators from out-of-state schools have begun to weigh in, asking what kind of administrative and financial obligations the measure might pose for their institutions.” (Story from Thomson Reuters.)  
  • 8.16.12 – legal services providers throughout the U.S. will be assisting illegal immigrants to participate in the Obama Administration’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.  Here’s some good funding news out of NYC: “The New York City Council is spending $3 million on legal services for young illegal immigrants who want to apply for the right to work legally in the U.S…. Council Speaker Christine Quinn announced Wednesday that the city funding will go to the Legal Aid Society and other community-based organizations.”  (Full story from CBS Moneywatch.)
  • 8.16.12 – an increased pressure on already-burdened Florida public defenders’ offices: “Public defenders are being ordered by local courts to fill a role they haven’t had to play in decades, if ever. Jim Purdy, public defender for the circuit that includes Volusia and Flagler counties, said the local court has begun appointing his office to help death row inmates ask the governor’s office for clemency. Purdy said his office is ‘critically short on manpower…. None of the elected public defenders in the state ever remember being appointed to (a clemency hearing) until this year and many . . . have been in office for 20 to 30 years,’ Purdy said.”  (Story from the Daytona Beach News-Journal.) 
  • 8.15.12 – “The nation’s providers of civil legal assistance predict that funding cuts will leave them no choice this year but to lay off about 8 percent of lawyers and support staff, close branch offices and narrow the types of services they provide, Legal Services Corp. announced on August 15.  A survey of the 134 agencies depending on grants from LSC, the largest source of funding nationwide for civil legal aid, shows they are on pace to lay off 350 attorneys and 400 support staff this year because of budget cuts from Congress and other funding reductions….  About one of every six programs expects to close offices in 2012.” (Story from the National Law Journal.)
    • And here’s the news release from LSC.
    • Some coverage out of Colorado: “Whether Colorado’s program would be affected wasn’t immediately clear. Colorado Legal Services has seen its total budget cut by nearly 30 percent in recent years. The group has received a reprieve of sorts when the Colorado Supreme Court earlier this year approved a request for a one-time transfer of $1.5 million from the attorney registration fees fund to CLS.  However, the underlying funding mechanisms haven’t been fixed, and how to remodel that funding structure remains at the top of many bar association’s priorities.”  (Story from Law Week Colorado.)
  • 8.15.12 – in Michigan, the members of the state house introduced a bill “to create the Michigan indigent defense commission and to provide for its powers and duties; to provide for constitutionally effective assistance of counsel to represent indigent defendants in criminal cases; to provide standards for the appointment of legal counsel; and to provide for certain appropriations.”  Here’s some filing information and here’s a copy of the bill.
  • 8.13.12 – good news on the law school clinic front in both NOLA and North Carolina:
    • Four grants totaling $557,000 to Loyola University’s College of Law will help its law clinic educate and represent low-wage workers in the New Orleans area. The grants will underwrite three years of work by the Workplace Justice Project, which is part of Stuart H. Smith Law Clinic and Center for Social Justice.”  (Story from the Times-Picayune.) 
    • Elon University School of Law announced plans to open an Elder Law Clinic in the Fall 2012 semester. This clinic will serve the growing elderly population of the area in need of free legal services while simultaneously providing students with experience in the practice of elder law, an area of law that has will see exponential growth in the future.  (Story from WFMY.)
  • 8.12.12 – in keeping with the trend of trying to accommodate increasing numbers of pro se litigants in local courthouses, “Canyon County [Idaho] commissioners approved a preliminary budget Thursday that includes $60,000 from the Idaho Supreme Court to hire an attorney to help people who are serving as their own lawyer in civil cases.”  (Story from the Idaho Press-Tribune.)   
  • 8.12.12 – here’s a feature-length piece on the evolution of Boston’s “Homeless Court,” which offers an alternative adjudication system for nonviolent, homeless offenders: “Launched in late 2010, the program aims to serve the unique needs of Boston’s homeless defendants, who often find themselves cycling through the court system for minor, nonviolent offenses, or in contempt for failing to respond to court summonses they often don’t receive because they’re living on the streets. It’s a gentler form of justice, but no quick fix. Defendants…who volunteer for Homeless Court are required to make a yearlong commitment. During that time, they get mental health and substance abuse counseling and a bed at the Pine Street Inn, or, for those with more severe mental health or addiction issues, at Shattuck Hospital. Defendants without a high school diploma are offered tutoring and GED prep classes. All are required to brush up their job skills or learn new ones.”  (Full story from the Boston Globe.) 
  • 8.11.12 – in NOLA, a Times-Picayune editorial argues for more prudent budgeting by the Orleans Parish public defender’s office. Budget volatility forced large cuts in the Orleans Parish public defender’s office earlier this year. But a report commissioned by the Louisiana Public Defender Board has concluded that a lack of fiscal prudence and other management mistakes aggravated the circumstances.  But management was not the only issue.  Public defenders in New Orleans have a staggering case load. Attorneys assigned to Municipal Court each handled 2,500 cases last year. That’s more than six times the national standard of 400 misdemeanor cases.  The editorial concludes arguing for more sustainable funding streams for the defender to avoid future volatility. 
  • 8.10.12 – “The [Ohio Legal Aid Foundation (OLAF)] says it’s saved more than 2,300 homes since 2008 using both its own lawyers and volunteer attorneys in private practice. And calls for free legal help have jumped about 60 percent over those four years. But funds — which come from federal grants, donations and court fees and interest – are drying up.”  (Short piece from WKSU.  And here’s a link to OLAF’s 2011 annual report, released earlier this month.)

Leave a Comment

Upcoming Deadlines: Paid Summer Law Internship Programs with DOJ and DHS

August 16, 2012 at 12:29 pm · Filed under Career Resources, Public Interest Jobs

Applications are open for Summer Law Internship Programs within the United States Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security, and the deadlines are approaching fast!

The Department of Justice is offering the “experience of a lifetime” to qualified law students, with opportunities to intern at U.S. Attorneys’ Offices in multiple locations. According to the their website, most successful applicants intern the summer between their second and third year of law school; however, graduating law students who will enter a judicial clerkship or a full-time graduate law program may intern following graduation.  Part-time law students are also eligible to apply. The application period ends on September 4, 2012 at midnight.

The Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the General Counsel is also accepting applications to intern at their headquarters located in Washington D.C. The competitive program is seeking applicants with high academic achievement (GPA of 3.0 or higher or top 1/3 of the class is preferred) and exceptional research, writing, and analytical skills. In addition, a demonstrated involvement in activities beyond required coursework is encouraged. The deadline to apply is October 1, 2012 for 2Ls and 3Ls. The application period for 1Ls is December 1 – December 16, 2012.

Don’t miss out on these great opportunities! For more information on government jobs and internships, be sure to read PSLawNet’s Federal Government Resources page. View the job posting for DHS and DOJ at PsLawNet.org (log-in required).

Leave a Comment

Older Posts »