PSJD Public Interest News Digest – November 8, 2013

by Christina Jackson, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives & Fellowships

Happy Friday everyone!  Hello from the NLADA Conference in sunny Los Angeles.   As such, we have a bit of a shortened digest this week.  And Happy Veteran’s Day.  Please join me in honoring those who serve!

Spotlight on Outstanding Public Servants: If you know someone we should honor, drop me a line.

Here are the week’s headlines:

  • Tulane student-run pro bono clinic heads to Panama;
  • Gulfcoast Legal gets grant to help sex trafficking victims;
  • Boston Community Capital launches $100K public interest fellowship;
  • Spotlight on Public Service Servants: Veterans;
  • Super Music Bonus!

The summaries:

November 2, 2013– “Tulane law students are working to bring free legal advice to residents of rural communities in lesser developed nations.  Tulane Law School’s International Law Society, this holiday season, will be running a pro bono legal clinic in the Darien Province of Panama through a student-run non-profit called Global Brigades.  Twenty students will volunteer their legal skills and time to help communities overcome obstacles to justice, working under the advice of local counsel to address severe civil issues through community-wide legal workshops and individualized counseling.”  (dailycomet.com)

November 2, 2013 – “Victims of human trafficking in Southwest Florida will soon have more help as they face a justice system that, by design, is better at punishing them than helping them. Gulfcoast Legal Services expects to double its efforts to represent domestic and foreign-born victims of labor or sex trafficking, thanks to a federal grant.  The $321,000 grant, awarded by a branch of the Department of Justice, will enable Gulfcoast, which provides free legal aid to poor residents, to hire another staff attorney and help twice as many victims, says Gulfcoast’s executive director, Kathleen Mullin.”  (Herald-Tribune)

November 4, 2013 – “Boston Community Capital has launched a $100,000 one-year fellowship for a recent law school graduate to work for the nonprofit organization doing public interest law work.” “I want someone to understand that they can engage in public interest work and do a fellowship that doesn’t commit them to an extended period of time but gives them experience. And leaves open the possibility of a longer term relationship,” said Elyse Cherry, chief executive officer of Boston Community Capital.  The fellowship will continue after it’s inaugural year, but Ms. Cherry is unsure if it will be awarded annually.  (Boston Business Journal)

Spotlight on Outstanding Public Servants:  Veterans Day originated as “Armistice Day” on Nov. 11, 1919, the first anniversary of the end of World War I. Congress passed a resolution in 1926 for an annual observance, and Nov. 11 became a national holiday beginning in 1938.  Veterans Day pays tribute to all American veterans–living or dead–but especially gives thanks to living veterans who served their country honorably during war or peacetime.  If you have an opportunity, please thank someone for their service.  And don’t forget the families who sacrifice just as much as the service member.  THANK YOU!!!  (History.com)

Super Music Bonus! Thank you to all veterans for standing up and taking the oath; for serving with integrity and honor; for running toward the fight while others run away.  This is for all warriors.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f02xlFYIycQ.