Archive for December, 2018

PSJD Public Interest News Digest – December 21, 2018

Sam Halpert, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives

Photo: Harris and Ewing Collection, Library of Congress

Hello there, interested public! I hope you all have a chance to take a break from things in the near future, but in the meantime, some news. One big story is featured immediately below. For the other, check out the “Student Loans” section, where a new Senate bill aims to make it easier for debtholders to save for retirement via employer matching contributions, the DoE released new PSLF data, and a report from a new non-profit purports to expose misfeasance in the way the federal government has administered the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.

Editor’s Feature: “Law Schools are Bad for Democracy”

In a strongly-worded piece, Professor Samuel Moyn of Yale Law wrote an opinion piece in the Chronicle of Higher Education suggesting that legal education misdirects aspiring lawyers’ desire for social change into judicial activism and provides “social-justice work [that] harmonizes [] easily with elite credentialing for power and wealth.” Multiple responses followed, including this one from Dean Raymond of the University of Wisconsin Law School (printed as a letter-to-the-editor in the Chronicle), and this blog post from Prof. Lubet of Northwestern Law.

Immigration, Refugee, & Citizenship Issues

Student Loans

Access to Justice – Civil

Access to Justice – Criminal

Criminal Justice Reform

Pro Bono

Music Bonus

Dee1, “Sallie Mae Back”

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Job’o’th’Week (Fellowship Edition)

Photo: Brenda Gottesman – CC License

The Organization

The Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti (IJDH) has successfully helped Haitians enforce their human rights since 2004. IJDH partners with the Haiti-based Bureau des Avocats Internationaux(BAI) to support grassroots struggles for justice in Haiti and in the powerful countries abroad where decisions about Haitians’ rights are often made. IJDH and BAI combine traditional legal strategies with organizing, emerging technology and public advocacy to address the root causes of instability and poverty in Haiti. 

We fight with routinely excellent legal work, but also with creativity, humility, inspiration and humor, and a supportive work culture. We effect broad changes with modest resources by nurturing large advocacy networks.

The Position

IJDH is offering a two-year legal fellowship for an emerging lawyer passionate about supporting justice struggles in the Global South. The Fellowship is part of the Bertha Foundation’s Bertha Justice Initiative, a global network of progressive lawyers that provides solidarity and training to movement lawyers around the world.  The Bertha Foundation supports 4-8 fellows at BAI in Haiti, and one fellow at IJDH. The Fellowship at IJDH will focus on developing skills necessary for lawyers from the Global North to support social change movements and progressive lawyers in the Global South and build effective transnational advocacy movements.

The IJDH Bertha Fellow will work closely with IJDH and BAI teams in the U.S. and Haiti on advocacy and legal work, including our groundbreaking project holding the UN accountable for introducing cholera to Haiti. The Bertha Fellow will also serve as a support to the BAI Fellows in Haiti and a liaison between the BAI and the broader Bertha Network.

See the full post on PSJD: https://www.psjd.org/opportunitydetails?OppID=87589

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PSJD Public Interest News Digest – December 14, 2018

Sam Halpert, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives

Photo: Harris and Ewing Collection, Library of Congress

Hello there, interested public! Things continue to be busy here at NALP. Looking forward to checking in with you all more in the New Year. In the meantime, here’s some news:

Immigration, Refugee, and Citizenship Issues

Legal Technology

Student Loans

Public Benefits

Pro Bono

Access to Justice – Civil

Access to Justice – Criminal

  • In Montana, the Office of the State Public Defender

Criminal Justice Reform

Judicial Appointments

Music Bonus!

Brass Against the Machine, “Cult of Personality” (Living Colour Cover)

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Job’o’th’Week (Internship Edition)

Photo: Brenda Gottesman – CC License


The Organization

The Jerome N. Frank Legal Services Organization (LSO) provides legal representation to individuals and organizations in need of legal services but unable to afford private attorneys. Students, supervised by Law School faculty members and participating attorneys, interview clients, write briefs, prepare witnesses, try cases, negotiate settlements, draft documents, participate in commercial transactions, draft legislation and regulatory proposals, and argue appeals in state and federal courts, including the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and the Connecticut Supreme Court.

The Position

LSO seeks to hire 20-25 Summer Fellows to work with clinical faculty in order to continue this client representation. These are paid positions, with a salary of $7,080 for 12 weeks of full-time work ($14.75/hour). The Fellowship will run from May 21 to August 16, 2019, with some flexibility as to start and end dates. Part-time work or full-time work for a portion of the Fellowship period may also be possible. 

LSO clinics perform a wide range of exciting work, including litigation in state and federal court and before administrative agencies, transactional work on behalf of community organizations, and policy and legislative advocacy at the local, state, and federal levels. For 2019, LSO seeks Summer Fellows for the following clinics:

  • Advanced Sentencing Clinic
  • Challenging Mass Incarceration Clinic
  • Ludwig Community and Economic Development Clinic
  • Criminal Justice Clinic
  • Housing Clinic
  • Veterans Legal Services Clinic
  • Worker and Immigrant Rights Advocacy Clinic

See the full post on PSJD: https://www.psjd.org/opportunitydetails?OppID=87219 

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Job’o’th’Week (Fellowship Edition)

Photo: Brenda Gottesman – CC License

Organization 

Lambda Legal is the nation’s oldest and largest legal organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and everyone living with HIV.

Since 1973, Lambda Legal has used impact litigation and other advocacy tools to decriminalize same-sex relationships; challenge discrimination against LGBT people and people living with HIV in the workplace, the home, in schools, in health care, and in the military; and protect LGBT families, including by winning and defending marriage equality. Supporters across the country contribute to a growing budget of approximately $27M. Clients are not charged for legal representation or advocacy and Lambda Legal receives no government funding. Headquartered in New York City, Lambda Legal has regional offices in Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas, and Washington, D.C.

Position 

Lambda Legal welcomes applications for the 2019-2021 Tyron Garner Memorial Fellowship for African-American LGBT Civil Rights. This fellowship honors the memory of Tyron Garner, one of the men Lambda Legal represented in our groundbreaking Supreme Court victory Lawrence v. Texas (which struck down all remaining state sodomy laws in the country) and helps expand Lambda Legal’s work in African-American LGBT communities. Mr. Garner died in 2006, after his case vindicated the constitutional right to express sexual intimacy in adult relationships.

Through the Garner Fellowship, Lambda Legal seeks to support law graduates dedicated to LGBT issues within African-American communities in ongoing engagement with civil rights work on behalf of LGBT individuals and people living with HIV. The Garner Fellowship contributes to Lambda Legal’s expansion of our current work to serve communities of color and address the intersection of LGBT discrimination and racism that affects African-American LGBT communities.

See the full post on PSJD: https://www.psjd.org/opportunitydetails?OppID=86887 

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