By Lauren Forbes

The Innocence Project, Inc., seeks a Senior Counsel/Deputy Executive Director (new position), reporting directly to the Executive Director, to manage and expand its litigation and policy work. The Senior Counsel will be responsible for the overall management of the following program areas: client intake and evaluation; client legal representation; social work; research; strategic litigation; and public policy reform.  The Senior Counsel will ensure the effectiveness and quality of work in these areas while leading a brilliant, creative, and hard-working team of experienced professionals who share a deep commitment to their clients and to the reform of the criminal justice system. This position is based in New York City.

The Innocence Project was founded in 1992 by Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld as a legal clinic at the Cardozo School of Law/Yeshiva University.  The Project, with fifty staff,   represents prisoners nationwide for whom post-conviction DNA testing can prove innocence, and seeks to redress the underlying causes of wrongful conviction through systemic criminal justice reform.  The Project has been involved in freeing the majority of the 271 people nationwide who have served an average of 13 years in prison for crimes they did not commit.  It has helped pass more than 70 laws in 30 states to make the criminal justice system more fair and more just.  The Innocence Project is expanding and deepening its policy work to more thoroughly address the fundamental problems in the criminal justice system, while it continues to represent and free the innocent.  (For more information about the Innocence Project, Inc., please go to www.innocenceproject.org.)

Essential qualities include:

• Passionate commitment to social justice and to the Innocence Project’s goals, mission, and values;
• Collegial, collaborative management style and demonstrated commitment to the value and power of teams and staff;
• Demonstrated success in managing lawyers in fast-paced litigation or policy reform effort; and
• A sense of humor

Qualifications

Candidates must have a law degree, be admitted to practice law, and have litigation experience.  Candidates with at least 10 years of supervisory and management experience in a legal or advocacy organization will be at a clear advantage, especially those with demonstrated skills in managing both attorneys and other professionals.  Expertise in the field of criminal justice is highly desirable.

To view the full job listing, go to PSLawNet (login required).

We continue PSLawNet’s Expert Opinion series with an interview with Seema Ahmad, a staff attorney at Advancement Project.  She works on the “Ending the Schoolhouse to Jailhouse Track” team to end policies that over-criminalize youth and push them out of school.  In addition to speaking about the substance of the work she does, Seema provides insights into professional networking, building interpersonal relationships, and being flexible about the beginning of a career in public interest. Thanks, Seema!

Seema, tell us generally about the work of Advancement Project. Can you also talk to us about the work you to on a day-to-day basis, specifically for the program you work on?

Advancement Project is a civil rights organization committed to advancing universal opportunity and a just democracy.  AP specifically seeks to support and amplify the work of community groups and coalitions throughout the country and to support the national movement for social justice.

Specifically, I work within our “Ending the Schoolhouse to Jailhouse Track” project where we seek to combat overly harsh school discipline practices as well as other policies that criminalize youth within the public school system and that set them on a path toward incarceration instead of education.  As an organization committed to racial justice, this “school to jail” track is particularly disturbing in that it disproportionately affects low-income youth and youth of color.  The exciting thing about my work is that it varies greatly depending on the day.  I essentially work in partnership with a number of community organizations and on any given day, I may be at a school district meeting in Philly or working with organizers in Denver to shoot a video depicting the school-to-jail-track.  When I’m in my office, I’m often  reviewing school policies and state laws on school discipline and strategizing with organizers about their campaigns to end the school-to-jail-track.

You started your career as a fellow at the Open Society Institute, and then transitioned to Advancement Project.  Could you tell us how that process played out for you and any advice you found helpful for new attorneys interested in public interest work?

Immediately following law school, I was on a 1-year fellowship at OSI which I received from the Human Rights Institute at Georgetown Law.  I worked on post-9/11 civil liberties issues and had an incredible experience.  As my fellowship was coming to a close, I depended heavily on my OSI supervisors to both keep me in mind as they heard of job openings and to serve as references.  Obviously, finding a public interest job is incredibly difficult and it helps if you have mentors and supervisors that may know of opportunities that don’t have formal postings or that are willing to make a phone call for you,  It can make all the difference.

Are there particular activities that you undertook in law school that gave you the skills and abilities you utilize now?

Aside from learning traditional legal skills, being an active student leader on campus was tremendously helpful.  Much of the coalition work we do at AP or the work we do with our community partners is not completely unlike organizing and I feel like my experience in school gave me at least a small window into the amazing work of our community partners.  In addition, I feel very lucky to have taken some incredible classes on organizing, critical race theory, and race and the criminal justice system that made me well-prepared for my current job.

Can you give us three pieces of advice you’d offer law students or recent graduates who are on public interest career paths to arm them in their job search?

1)     I honestly don’t think I have any pearls of wisdom that folks haven’t read in a handbook or heard a million times over.  I think the job search process is extremely difficult and stressful.  I know this isn’t concrete advice geared toward getting a job specifically, but I would say it’s important to not get down on yourself and treat yourself well!

2)     Don’t be afraid to cold-call people at potential places of employment and try to set up a time to chat – even if by phone.  I think in general that kind of enthusiasm can only be seen as a positive thing.

3)     I think expanding the search to all possible things you could be interested in is important.  Sometimes we have a fixed vision of what we want to do or what area of law we want to work in but I do think it’s important to be flexible and allow opportunities you wouldn’t have thought of to surprise you.

Steering back to your work for our final question: some have speculated that one of the recession’s silver linings is that fact that states have been forced to visit the impact that mass incarceration has on their budgets as they must pay for heavily crowded incarceration systems.  Have you seen any signs that post-recession fiscal considerations may compel states to revisit the policy debates about non-violent crimes that incarcerate many young people?

This is an excellent and very timely question.   The resounding answer is yes.  One of our main arguments at AP is that harsh school discipline and the criminalization of youth has extraordinarily high costs (in addition to being ineffective when it comes to promoting school safety and academic achievement).  There is a host of proven interventions that help youth grow into productive, healthy adults, that create safe school environments, and that improve academic achievement.  Over the long run, these interventions certainly cost less than incarcerating our youth for relatively minor misbehavior in school.  After all, the latter approach results in not only costs emanating from the juvenile justice system, but broader costs to communities and to society at large.

By Lauren Forbes

In a new study, a senior judge and law professor examine rising costs of the death penalty in California. As the LA Times reports, without major reforms, they conclude, capital punishment will continue to exist mostly in theory while exacting an untenable cost.  The study reveals that the death penalty costs California $184 million per year.

The examination of state, federal and local expenditures for capital cases, conducted over three years by a senior federal judge and a law professor, estimated that the additional costs of capital trials, enhanced security on death row and legal representation for the condemned adds $184 million to the budget each year.

The study’s authors, U.S. 9th Circuit Judge Arthur L. Alarcon and Loyola Law School professor Paula M. Mitchell, also forecast that the tab for maintaining the death penalty will climb to $9 billion by 2030, when San Quentin’s death row will have swollen to well over 1,000.

In their research for “Executing the Will of the Voters: A Roadmap to Mend or End the California Legislature’s Multi-Billion-Dollar Death Penalty Debacle,” Alarcon and Mitchell obtained California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation records that were unavailable to others who have sought to calculate a cost-benefit analysis of capital punishment.

The bottom line is that unless profound reforms are made by lawmakers who have failed to adopt previous recommendations for rescuing the system, Alarcon and Mitchell find, capital punishment will continue to exist mostly in theory while exacting an untenable cost.

A fact that might surprise some is that a death penalty prosecution costs up to 20 times as much as a life-without-parole case.

Federal judges find fault with about 70% of the California death row prisoners’ convictions and send them back to the trial courts for further proceedings, the report noted. That could make the state vulnerable to charges of denying inmates due process, the authors warned.

The report also says the corrections department and the Legislative Analyst’s Office failed to honestly assess and disclose to the public what 30 years of tough-on-crime legislation and ballot measures actually cost.

“We hope that California voters, informed of what the death penalty actually costs them, will cast their informed votes in favor of a system that makes sense,” the report concludes.

By Lauren Forbes

It is that time of year again.  Fellowship application season is here.  In that vein, OneJustice seeks an Americorps Legal Fellow to work in San Francisco, CA.

OneJustice believes that justice is a right for all. Every day we work with lawyers and law students to empower California’s most vulnerable people–people who need legal help just to gain their most basic civil rights and to meet essential human needs. These are rights and needs most of us take for granted, like food, housing, health care, and education. If these are denied, many of us can fight for them ourselves, but low-income people often need legal help to obtain these basic life necessities. OneJustice makes sure the help is there when it’s needed. OneJustice is hiring an Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps Legal Fellow (“AmeriCorps Legal Fellow”) for our San Francisco office. Based on Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps guidelines, the term of service will begin in early August of 2011 for one year (with a possible renewal for one more year).

POSITION DESCRIPTION: The OneJustice AmeriCorps Legal Fellow will work on a local project in the San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento regions, matching law students with flexible and varied volunteer projects at legal aid agencies and court-based programs. By creating new and creative pro bono opportunities, the AmeriCorps Legal Fellow meets the needs of programs and addresses the ever-growing justice gap affecting low-income clients in need. Because OneJustice does not provide direct legal services, this position does not require the direct practice of law. The AmeriCorps Legal Fellow reports to OneJustice’s Pro Bono Program Attorney. Some travel is required, including attendance at national conferences and participation in our Justice Bus® trips. This position allows the AmeriCorps Legal Fellow to connect lawyers and law students who can help with Californians in need.

To view the full job listing, go to PSLawNet (login required).

By: Steve Grumm

The Legal Services Corporation, a quasi-governmental entity which channels federal funding to civil legal services providers throughout the U.S. states and territories and which is the single largest source of funding for legal services for the poor, is facing the potential for sizeable cuts that will force staff cuts and result in fewer clients served.  LSC and its 130+ grantee organizations are sitting squarely, and uncomfortably, between the metaphorical rock and hard place.  At precisely the time when some federal legislators are discussing large-scale cuts to numerous federal programs in the name of fiscal austerity, swollen numbers of poor people and families – the unemployed, children, and victims of domestic violence – are seeking free legal aid to help them out of crisis.  So as Congress is gearing up for debate on a Fiscal Year 2012 funding plan, LSC grantees face the grim prospect of having to do more with considerably less – a minefield they’ve already been traversing because other, non-federal funding sources have depleted in the recession’s wake.

Linda Perle at the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) has authored a very helpful LSC funding update, offering the particulars about what has happened to LSC funding in recent budget debates and which direction the winds are blowing in as Congressional hearings on LSC’s funding are set to begin in July.  Some noteworthy language from Linda’s piece:

Concern abounds regarding LSC funding for FY 2012, which will begin on Oct. 1, 2011.  FY 2011 funding totals $404.19 million, which represents a $15.81 million cut from LSC’s FY 2010 funding level of $420 million.  The House and Senate adopted this amount after the House passed an FY 2011 Continuing Resolution (CR) that would have  cut $70 million for LSC from its FY 2010 level, and reduced LSC’s funding to FY 2008 levels.  Under the House version of the CR, all of the $70 million cut would have come out of LSC’s basic field grants that support the 136 legal aid programs providing basic legal assistance to low-income people across the country.

LSC has asked Congress to appropriate $516.5 million for FY 2012.  President Obama’s budget request sought $450 million for LSC.  However, during the April 5, 2011, hearing of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies (CJS) on the FY 2012 LSC budget, there was again discussion of returning LSC funding to the FY 2008 level — all in the name of deficit reduction.  The FY 2012 House budget resolution (the Ryan Bill), which proposes $6 trillion in overall budget cuts over 10 years and an overhaul of entitlement programs, did not include any specific cuts for LSC or other agencies, but also suggested that funding of discretionary programs should be cut to FY 2008 levels. 

Subcommittee mark-up on the House 2012 CJS bill is scheduled for July 7, followed by full committee mark-up on July 13.  We anticipate that the House will cut LSC’s overall FY 2012 budget to its FY 2008 level of $340.49 million.  However, it is not clear whether this budget will follow the FY 2008 allocation among LSC’s programs and divisions, providing approximately $332.4 million for basic field grant funding, or will do as was proposed in House version of the 2011 CR and take all of the cuts out of the funds allocated to basic field grants, leaving only $324.4 million for basic field grant funding.

By Jamie Bence and Lauren Forbes

Our last post focused on free things you can do in the District. These activities aren’t free, per se, but they can accommodate the summer public interest intern budget. At the bottom, you can find our list of the best Happy Hours, as well as suggestions from The Washington Post.

Sunday at Eastern Market:  By far, one of the best places to eat great food, people-watch and sample local arts and crafts in DC on a Sunday. The market first opened in 1873 and is on Capitol Hill. Plan to spend the whole morning as there is plenty to enjoy.

Take in a show at the Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company:  Keep your wallet full with Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company’s “Pay-What-You-Can” tickets for the first two performances (usually Monday and Tuesday) of every main stage subscription series production. Tickets are sold at the theatre 90 minutes prior to showtime. Two per person, cash or check only. Check the individual show calendars for specific dates, times and locations.

Farmer’s Markets:  The DC area has several excellent options for locally grown, fresh produce. The White House Farmer’s Market is located at 810 Vermont Avenue, NW (between H St, NW and I St, NW), Thursdays from 3 to 7pm. Another large and popular market is located in Dupont Circle on 20^th Street, Sundays from 8:30am to 1pm. If you’re looking the get out of the city, the nation’s oldest farmer’s market (and the one where George Washington’s vegetables were sold) takes place at 301 King Street, Alexandria, on Saturdays from 5:30 to 11am.

Kennedy Center: If you’re going to take in a show, you might as well go all out and see it where presidents do. Even if Wicked is outside your price range, the Kennedy Center has plenty of free events, and discounted young adult tickets. The theater is a beautiful monument in itself- with a rooftop view that can’t be beat!

Happy Hour Roundup:

Farragut North/Dupont

Café Citron, 1343 Connecticut Ave., NW:Check out this Dupont Circle hotspot for a tropical-flavored happy hour. The fried plantains and mini crab cakes are delicious. Fruity drinks like mojitos ($4) and tropical rum lemonade ($4), and bottled beers like Corona ($3) and Portuguese Sagres ($3) are discounted. Happy hours: Monday through Friday, 5 to 7 PM.

Capitol Hill

Capitol Lounge 229 Pennsylvania Ave., SE: After a fire ripped through this popular Hill bar in August 2005, it reopened with a fresher look, the same quirky political posters, and the same good happy-hour deals. Suit- and khaki-clad Hill staffers talk politics and sip on $2.50 beers and $3.50 rail drinks.

Georgetown

Rhino Bar & Pumphouse 3295 M Street, NW: A great sports bar with specials every night of the week!

Check out The Washington Post‘s Guide to Intern Happy Hours for additional suggestions!

By Lauren Forbes

Public Law Center seeks an Equal Justice Works Americorps Legal Fellow for its consumer law issues.

• Provide direct legal services to low income clients on a variety of consumer law matters, including housing foreclosure and bankruptcy
• Organize and coordinate community legal clinics where client intake interviews will be conducted
• Assist in staffing courthouse based bankruptcy clinic to assist unrepresented Chapter 7 debtors
• Oversee case referrals to pro bono attorneys and provide support to those volunteers as needed
• Work with Pro Bono Director to facilitate and expand law student involvement in pro bono
• Conduct community education presentations to clients and service providers
• Represent PLC at legal networking and community outreach events

Qualifications

• Admission to California Bar or awaiting Bar exam results
• Excellent computer and oral/written communication skills
• Interest in problems of low-income communities
• Commitment to working with volunteer lawyers and law students
• Ability to manage multiple tasks
• Relevant Law School course work in subjects relevant to consumer law and/or clinical work or pro bono work on consumer or bankruptcy cases a strong plus
• Bilingual English/Spanish or English/Vietnamese a strong plus
• Must have own transportation, valid California Driver’s license, and good driving record
• Occasional evening and weekend work required

To view the full job listing, go to PSLawNet (login required).

By Jamie Bence

I think the thing I remember most about the summer before law school is the anticipation- waiting to find out who my professors would be, what my schedule would look like, whether I’d like my classmates. I’m not a fan of the unknown, so it was a weirdly stressful time for me. Looking back, I wish I’d worried less and listened more. Here are 5 things I wish I’d known about law school before I walked through the doors on my first day.

1. The work is never “finished,” per se. In theory, law school could literally take up all of your time. With an endless array of study aids, practice exams and then of course your actual assignments, it can seem like you should be working 24/7. However, letting law school take over isn’t exactly healthy, or even helpful, so it’s important to find balance. For me, this meant treating school like a job. I got there early, worked between classes, and left around the time most of my friends were commuting home from their office jobs. This way, I could still enjoy my evenings, even if I occasionally had assignments to finish up. On weekends, I got up early and worked while most of my friends slept in. It wasn’t exactly what you would call fun, but being able to have time with important people in my life was important enough to me that I stuck to it.

2.  Not everyone is as excited about this as you are. If you have a supportive group of family and friends, they will probably want to know about your experiences in law school, and what your day-to-day life is like, and what classes you’re taking. However, around week 3, you will be into material very few people outside of the legal industry really know (or want to know) anything about. Thus, while it’s fun to share anecdotes and keep your friends and family in the proverbial loop, it’s also important to keep perspective especially if you are living with a partner or parent, for there will only be so much they want to hear about your new adventure. Which brings me to my next point.

3. Find Hermione and Ron. Law school can be incredibly competitive, and sometimes it might seem counter-intuitive to talk to your classmates about what you’re going through. For the first month, I heard all sorts of crazy stories, and thought maybe I was better off just sticking with the friends I had before this whole thing started. However, I soon realized I wasn’t going to get too far without a group of people I could trust and talk to, and that having a 3L mentor was incredibly helpful. There will be times when you feel overwhelmed and lost, and you will need to commiserate. There will also be the occasional flat tire, the job interview during class, and you will need people who will give you accurate and complete notes. It’s never a bad idea to lean more toward Hermione than Ron under such circumstances.

4.   Study guides are your friends, if you choose wisely.  When I was first told that almost everyone uses study aids in law school, I thought, “Are you kidding me? I’ve never touched CliffNotes in my life!” However, in law school, rather than serving as a way around the hard work, study aids make the hard work doable. When selecting study guides, think about how you learn best. For example, I really like audio lectures a lot, even though they are not widely popular (I run and I take the train, so I have a lot of time to listen to them).  There’s no shame in that- just because something doesn’t work for everyone (or because it does) doesn’t mean you will have the same result. So think about how you learn (and consider the materials carefully) before you buy.

5.  Study smart not (necessarily) hard. There is a lot of “conventional” advice on how to approach 1L year. Everyone told me that I would be lost in class if I didn’t brief cases. I did this for exactly one week before I realized how it didn’t really help me understand the cases or rules. I also realized there were people on law review who never made an outline, who never wrote briefs. They learn differently and they have succeeded because they have unlocked what has worked for them, probably through trial and error. So I stopped briefing, because it was boring and I wasn’t paying attention when I was doing it anyway. It’s all a matter of figuring out what works for you. My advice would be to consider all the advice you’re given (maybe even this post…) then let it all go, and just be you.

If you will be starting your 1L year in August, good luck, and until then, have a relaxing summer!

By Lauren Forbes

Amnesty International–International Secretariat seeks a Policy Adviser for its London office.

As Policy Adviser you will work closely with country and thematic researchers, advocates and campaigners in the International Secretariat and sections and structures on the application and development of AI’s human rights policies with regard to research projects, advocacy initiatives, and campaigns. You will be expected to develop specific areas of expertise within the programme. You will also work with senior legal and policy advisers and assistant advisers to ensure effective, coherent and timely approvals and consultations.

JOB PURPOSE: To provide advice regarding AI’s policy position on a specified area of Human Rights, and to draft policy documents recommending a position for the organization on new or emerging human rights issues – supporting the Senior Policy Advisers in translating legal analysis into actions for the Movement

Duties:

• To support Senior Policy Advisers in the development of proposed policy positions, and the application of AI’s legal analysis to human rights situations, drafting policy proposals that will translate analysis into action that will develop and implement AI’s strategic goals and global campaigns, drawing on international law, AI precedent, and best practice of other agencies.
• Provide advice on the application of AI’s policy to country and thematic specialists and others at the IS and the wider Movement, in order to contribute to the consistent, accurate, timely and impartial documentation and presentation of Amnesty International’s concerns.
• Approve and write materials for external and internal publication related to existing and emerging human rights issues and other themes related to AI’s concerns (including external documents, briefing and discussion papers, AI policy guidelines) and assisting in the preparation/writing of country/thematic reports as required to contribute to ensure policy is consistently applied and published – referring to Senior Policy Advisers for more detailed expertise where appropriate.
• Contribute to the maintenance and availability of comprehensive reference materials relating to the development and application of AI’s policies in order to facilitate its consistent and innovative application.
• Represent AI for a related to areas of expertise (as requested) to raise public awareness of AI and its concerns, and position AI at the forefront of the human rights movement.
• Manage small project teams on specific areas, and participate in crisis response and other project teams as appropriate.
• Support the management of the Law and Policy Programme within agreed areas of responsibility and contribute to the overall smooth running of the programme.

To view the full job listing, go to PSLawNet (login required).

By Jamie Bence and Lauren Forbes

Welcome to DC, summer interns! Make the most of your summer in the District by seeing all that the nation’s capital has to offer and attending events geared towards you. You won’t have to break the bank either, as some of the most fun and interesting things to do are free! Here are a few of our favorite things, followed by a list of resources to help you find additional activities.

The National Zoo: The Zoo currently has a record number of lion cubs, a pregnant panda and baby apes. Admission is free, and if you go early, you can avoid the crowds.

Jazz in the Sculpture Garden: In the summer, the National Gallery of Art’s Sculpture Garden is a great place to spend a couple of hours. In the summer you can enjoy Jazz in the Park on Friday afternoons after 5 PM.

Monuments in the Dark: When the sun is out in Washington, so are the tourists — especially at the monuments. That is why it is best to see them at night.  Not only will you avoid the crowds, you will also get to enjoy the beautiful lighting.

Outdoor movies for free:  One of the more well-know is Screen on the Green.  Every Monday night starting in mid-July, there are free movies on the National Mall (an outside area of land in the middle of the district). Bring a blanket, some snacks and a friend to enjoy an outdoor movie… for free!

Walk Up the Exorcist Stairs: If you haven’t seen The Exorcist, firstly, go see it. Georgetown alumnus William Peter Blatty wrote the 1973 thriller and he included the dark stairs in one of the most chilling scenes of his movies. On the brighter side, Georgetown athletes use the stairs to train.

More Resources

• Washington Post’s Intern Guide covers everything from Happy Hour to theater tickets on the cheap.
• NPR provides another great list of things to do, geared toward interns.
• For information about happenings on the Hill, sign up for The People’s List by sending a message to geoffrey.browning@gmail.com.