The Charleston Gazette in lovely West Virginia has run a lovely profile of Adrienne Worthy, the non-lawyer who is at the helm of Legal Aid of  West Virginia.  Worthy arrived in West Virginia from Ohio in 1971, fresh out of college and eager to get involved in community activism. 

‘I answered an ad in a progressive ad bulletin looking for door-to-door citizen activist canvassers. I came to West Virginia, the closest place for an interview…. So for three years, I was going door-to-door every night from 4 until 9, five days a week, snow sleet or hail, to raise money and organize around environmental, consumer and utility issues.’

Worthy gravitated towards women’s issues, and spent several years with the West Virginia Women’s Commission.  Eventually, her talent for nonprofit administration and passion for being a force for positive change in people’s lives drove her into the legal services community, where she’s found a home at Legal Aid of West Virginia.

We are a statewide nonprofit poverty law firm. We provide civil legal assistance and advocacy to low-income people and vulnerable people, domestic violence victims, people struggling with homelessness or working to get benefits they are entitled to. We also run the state’s long-term care ombudsmen program, advocacy for people in nursing homes. Our third component is advocating for adults and kids with mental illness.

And Worthy talks a little bit about what keeps her motivated in the face of funding cuts and other adversities.

I’ve thought about leaving Legal Aid, but the people I work with are some of the hardest working, most committed people I know. I get inspired by them. I get inspired by clients who have overcome incredible odds and, through our help, have been able to make a difference. 

The Sikh Coalition seeks a highly motivated staff attorney based in the organization’s office in New York City.  The Sikh Coalition is a community-based organization that works towards the realization of civil and human rights for all people. In particular, we work towards a world where Sikhs may freely practice and enjoy their faith while fostering strong relations with their local community wherever Sikhs may be.

The staff attorney will provide direct legal services to victims of hate crimes, employment discrimination, public accommodation discrimination, profiling, and other forms of discrimination. This is a full-time position that reports to the Coalition’s Legal Director. 

Interested?  Have the qualifications?:

• Bachelors and Juris Doctor degrees required;
• Bar membership in at least one U.S. based jurisdiction;
• At least 1-3 years of previous legal experience, litigation preferable;
• Demonstrated passion for social justice;
• Excellent written, oral and analytical skills;
• Ability to handle a large caseload and multi-task effectively;
• Ability to work independently in a fast-paced environment;
• Basic computer and Westlaw skills;
• Punjabi language skills a plus.

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

Earlier this week, we highlighted pro bono and public interest work at the Charlotte College of Law on the blog.  Perhaps we wanted to wet your appetite for an available opportunity at CharlotteLaw…

The Charlotte School of Law invites applicants for the position of Director of the CharlotteLaw Program for Academic Success (“CPAS”). This is a non-faculty full-time administrative position starting as soon as possible, at a salary commensurate with qualifications and experience.

The Director of the CharlotteLaw Program for Academic Success reports directly to the Assistant Dean for Academics.  He or she will work with students seeking to improve academic performance or experiencing academic difficulty.  The Director performs other academic support functions essential to promoting students’ success in law school and to the success and growth of the institution.

The Director must be a licensed attorney with one to three years of legal experience and possess at least two years of full-time professional academic support experience (either as part of a graduate or law school program) or teaching experience (i.e., legal writing or comparable teaching experience in writing and analytical skills training).  He or she must have the ability to think creatively and critically about the goals of academic support in legal education and to design and present programs to meet those goals.

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

Happy Seis de Mayo, dear readers!  This is the day when many Cinco de Mayo revelers reflect, remorsefully, on just how easy it is to drink margaritas on a nice Spring day.  Your PSLawNet Blog permitted himself no such indulgences, however, as he scrambled to produce this week’s News Bulletin after having spent the first half of the week hiking in the Grand Canyon and driving throughout rural California and Arizona, of which there is much.  But that’s not why you’re here.  Without further ado…

This week: Indiana University law students pitch in to help taxpayers in need; the head of the Pro Bono Institute argues for allowing in-house lawyers to more easily do pro bono; New York Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman wants to bolster the state’s indigent defense system; a new plan in LA courts to help low-income individuals facing evictions; the Press of Atlantic City worries about the Garden State’s legal services infrastructure; public interest contributions by Charlotte College of Law students; Alabama law students and lawyers rally to assist tornado victims; the importance of better salaries for Wisconsin prosecutors.

• 5.3.11 – April 15th–err, April 18th–meant a little bit more to some this year.  In Indiana, the IU Newsroom reports that there are some low-income, elderly, disabled, and limited-English speaking residents who are appreciative of the efforts of 29 students at Indiana University Maurer School of Law.  The students volunteered 230 hours of their time to aid in filing 63 tax returns.  The students participated in the VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) program, and thus were trained and certified by the IRS.  Participants estimated the refunds to be “many thousands of dollars.”

• 5.2.11 – In the National Law Journal this week, Esther Lardent contends that corporate lawyers should be allowed to provide pro bono services, unsupervised, in states where they work, even if not admitted there.   Many state rules allow in-house attorneys licensed in another jurisdiction to work for an employer-client, but do not allow those same attorneys to provide pro bono legal services.  Lardent argues that states that expressly  permit nonlocally admitted attorneys to undertake pro bono often handcuff them with restrictions that are “unnecessary, insulting and unjustifiable in the face of the crisis in access to justice.”   There are beacons of hope found in some states’ exceptions.   Recently, Colorado and Virginia changed rules for in-house pro bono work by removing problematic obstacles.  Perhaps other states will follow? Until then, we’ll need to keep thinking creatively to fill the widening gap between the legal needs of the low-income and disenfranchised and the assistance available.

• 5.2.11 – In New York, Judge Jonathan Lippman calls state’s routine failure to provide lawyers for poor criminal defendants being arraigned in local courts a problem that cannot be tolerated any longer. The New York Times reports about Judge Lippman’s speech at the State Court of Appeals, in which he cited that too many New Yorkers were needlessly spending nights in jail after appearing without legal counsel at criminal arraignments in small-town and village courthouses.  He vowed that the state would spend $10 million in an effort to improve the availability of legal defense provided to the poor. Acknowledging the ambitious timeline, Judge Lippman said that within a year he hoped to make it rare for criminal defendants to lack counsel at their first court appearances.  After all, we claim to be living in a modern, principled society governed by the rule of law.  Judge Lippman, a longtime favorite of the PSLawNet Blog for his advocacy on the civil legal aid front, seems to be concerned that such a society is actually realized.

• 5.2.11 – from the LA Times, we learn that a quartet of legal services providers is collaborating to bolster services to low-income persons facing evictions: “Thousands of residents in Los Angeles’ poorest neighborhoods will get new legal help in fighting high-stakes eviction cases involving slumlords and foreclosures under a pilot project approved by the state’s judicial leaders Friday.  The new Eviction Legal Assistance Center at Los Angeles County Superior Court’s downtown civil courthouse will provide legal representation to about 15,000 people facing eviction over three years, according to legal aid groups, which will be jointly running the center.”  The Inner City Law Center, Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles (LAFLA), Neighborhood Legal Services, and Public Counsel are joining forces to staff the new project.

• 5.2.11 – sobered by a recent report from Legal Services of New Jersey, the editorial board of the Press of Atlantic City (AC, by the way: great HBO show, great Springsteen song, lousy town) wonders whether slashing government funding for legal services may do more harm than good: “Even the most rabid of the budget-cutters, deficit hawks and don’t-dare-raise-my-taxes crowd must, at some point, think about what kind of nation we are creating” if budget cutting results in the poor being unable to meaningfully access the justice system.  The LSNJ report, released late last month, is indeed sobering.  And as the PofAC editorial notes, at a time of increased client need, LSNJ has been forced to downsize from 720 staff members to 490 in less than three years.  

• 5.2.11 – as we noted in a blog post earlier this week, the Charlotte Observer reports on pro bono and public interest work at the Charlotte College of Law: “Students must perform at least 20 hours of free legal work….  Since the for-profit school opened in 2006, students have performed 27,000 pro bono hours. Under supervision of lawyers, they’ve provided legal assistance to immigrants, the elderly, an entrepreneur program at Central Piedmont Community College and helped nearly 450 buyers of Beazer-built homes file claims from the company’s $50 million restitution fund.  With externships and internships, Charlotte Law students have donated 40,000 hours of legal service.

• 5.2.11 – the National Law Journal reports that advocates from all corners of Alabama’s legal community are coming together to offer pro bono services to victims of last week’s storms.  Those groups which have rolled up their sleeves include the Alabama State Bar, the Alabama Association for Justice, law firms, and the Univ. of Alabama School of Law.  Roll pro bono tide.  (Here’s a little more from the School of Law about a pro bono partnership they’ve forged with the state bar to aid tornado victims: “Disaster Relief Assistance Project will provide free legal services both on-site at local area aid centers and at the law clinic programs office at the University of Alabama School of Law…. Legal advice will be provided concerning public benefits and programs, insurance claims and processes, housing rights, and other civil matters related to the storm and the displacement that resulted from it.”)

• May, 2011 – Wisconsin State Bar president Jim Boll makes the case for adequately funding prosecutors’ offices and boosting prosecutor salaries so that the state can retain talented, experienced lawyers: “District attorneys (DAs) face significant challenges as their offices around the state continue to be inadequately staffed and underfunded…. A 2007 report issued by the Wisconsin Legislative Audit Bureau showed that prosecutor positions have been cut while prosecutors’ workload has continued to rise, forcing them to spend less time on each case or even to choose which offenses to prosecute…. Further exacerbating the problem is the lack of pay progression, which leads to high turnover and very few mid-level prosecutors…. Thus, DA offices are staffed by a small number of highly experienced attorneys and a large number of recently hired attorneys, with nearly no one in the middle…. The governor has taken a step in the right direction in his proposed biennial state budget by providing $1 million annually to increase retention of experienced assistant DAs in each year of the biennium. However, for the criminal justice system to function effectively the state must be willing to fund all the essential parts of the system.”

Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County is in search of a Staff Attorney!  The Staff Attorney will be an advocate at NLSLA’s innovative and nationally recognized flagship Medical Legal Community Partnership (MLCP) program located at St. John’s Well Child and Family Health Centers in South Los Angeles and at the Northeast Valley Health Corporation Sun Valley Health Center.  Neighborhood Legal Services (NLSLA) is one of Los Angeles County’s leading public interest law offices and has been the primary legal aid program serving the San FernandoValley for 40 years and the San Gabriel, Pomona & Antelope Valleys since 2001. The NLSLA staff of 100+, including 45 lawyers, provides legal assistance to low-income individuals, families and groups in the areas of family law and domestic violence, housing, health care, education, public benefits, economic and job development, immigrant rights, consumer rights, and environmental justice.

MLCPs require advocates who can work effectively with medical personnel and in a medical environment to address the social determinants of health.   Staff Attorney may also be assigned work through NLSLA’s Health Consumer Center.  The Attorney is expected to provide individual client assistance, policy advocacy, and work closely with community organizations.

California Bar membership or pending membership and bilingual verbal, reading and writing skills in Spanish required. Highly motivated attorney passionate about public service work, with sensitivity to those in crisis. Prefer someone with 1-3 years experience; new graduates will be considered.

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

Karen Sloan of the National Law Journal wrote a piece earlier this week covering post-natural-disaster pro bono efforts in Alabama:

 Five days after a series of tornados ripped through Alabama and several other Southern states, legal organizations are stepping up to help the victims of the storms and their lawyer colleagues.

The Alabama State Bar has announced a number of initiatives it hopes to have up and running by mid-week, including a hotline that people can call for pro bono referrals and an online bulletin board where lawyers can ask for or offer assistance such as office furniture or temporary space.

The Alabama Association for Justice is already taking requests from affected residents for help filling out insurance claims and matching them with volunteer lawyers. Local bar associations throughout the state are also planning walk-in clinics and other assistance programs. The University of Alabama School of Law plans to open a clinic next week to help people fill out Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) paperwork and answer any legal questions.

Fifty years ago today on May 4, 1961, the first bus of Freedom Riders, carrying 13 people — both black and white — set out from Washington, D.C. for New Orleans.  These men and women took to America’s interstate buses to challenge the racial segregation that had become institutionalized in so much of the South.

To remember this day, the Job o’ the Day features an opportunity with The Southern Poverty Law Center.  The Center’s mission is the advancement and protection of the rights of minorities, the poor, and victims of injustice in significant civil rights and social justice matters.

The Southern Poverty Law Center, a non-profit legal and educational organization, seeks an attorney/law fellow to join its staff to focus on the educational rights of children, with a focus on immigrant or limited English proficient (LEP) children in the South. This is a new position and will be based in Montgomery, Alabama.

The attorney will be expected to develop and handle cases related to education, particularly related to the rights of immigrant and LEP children and their families in schools throughout the South. Substantial travel may be required.

The attorney will be expected to develop and handle cases related to education, particularly related to the rights of immigrant and LEP children and their families in schools throughout the South.  Substantial travel may be required.   This position provides the chance to help develop a new area of advocacy for the Center, focusing on equal educational opportunities and language access for immigrant and LEP students. The Southern Poverty Law Center is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applications from people of racial, religious, and ethnic backgrounds that are underrepresented in legal professions, immigrants, women, lesbian, gay, and transgendered people, and people with disabilities.

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

Summer is approaching quickly, and folks here at the PSLawNet Blog cannot wait! For many of us, summertime = summer job or internship!

A couple of weeks ago, the PSLawNet Blog highlighted some tips to maximize your summer public interest experience.  As we’re all aware, a public interest experience offers a glimpse  into how  public interest and pro bono attorneys use the law as an instrument of social justice.  A summer experience also allows one to cultivate practical skills that are useful in any number of settings.

Here are some more tips from the experts:

Network, Network, Network.

• Networking ≠ Schmoozing

Even though many of you might equate networking with schmoozing, they aren’t the same thing.  Networking is simply building relationships, and even friendships, among the folks you work with.  It is an extraordinarily valuable tool.   In all honesty, many professionals in the law world would admit that their professional networks are their most valuable professional asset.

• Express a Genuine Interest in Someone 

We realize that it can be intimidating to approach someone and ask he or she to have a cup of coffee with you.  But most public interest lawyers are very receptive to making new contacts, and to helping law students.  Our advice is simply to show a genuine interest in the person you’d like to meet – or the work they do – and go from there.  In the long term, it’s one of the best time investments that you can make.

Plan your exit strategy and stay in touch!

• Identify Loose Ends before Last Week

Be sure to accurately check the status of any of your projects and make sure you’re aware of the right point person to update.  Often, a memo on the status of all that you’ve worked on is a helpful tool for your supervisor and successors.  It’s likely a good idea to start the memo with case or project summaries before your last week, so that you do not leave anything out!

• Keep in Touch!

When folks at your summer job tell you to keep in touch, they are sincere. Harkening back to our point about professional networks, keeping in touch is an excellent way to allow everyone to stay abreast about what you’re up to and where they’re at. You would not want to miss an opportunity perfectly tailored to you because you didn’t make the call or send the email.

Smile, Share & Laugh!

• Take Stress in Stride

Remind yourself that it is summer, after all. Regardless of your experience, no supervisor expects you to be stressed out all the time. Aim to be efficient while you’re at work, but remember that work-life balance is a healthful thing. 

• Share Laughs, Not Just Work!

While we’d warn against inappropriate office gossip and venting to co-workers, be sure to get to know your colleagues. Knowing more about them–and allowing them to know you–will be helpful both personally and professionally. In most offices with which we’re familiar, a good sense of humor goes a long way.

Seton Hall University School of Law is seeking applications for a Practitioner-in-Residence for the Urban Revitalization Project within its Center for Social Justice from July 2011 to July 2012 with the expectation of renewal of the position for one additional year, dependent on grant funding and performance.

The Practitioner-in-Residence will take a multi-disciplinary approach to addressing issues of urban revitalization, with an emphasis on housing and education, and will work in collaboration with faculty in two sections of the Civil Litigation Clinic of the Center for Social Justice, led by Professors Linda Fisher and Shavar Jeffries.  The Civil Litigation Clinic represents clients in cases addressing foreclosure scams, housing discrimination, and public education reform.  Examples of cases/projects undertaken by the Project include representing homeowners against foreclosure rescue scams, representing tenants in a housing conditions case for appointment of a rent receiver to manage their building, challenges to municipalities’ affordable housing plans, and advocacy for an equal education for all children in New Jersey.  The Practitioner-in-Residence litigates cases, undertakes community education, and generally advocates on urban issues.

All applicants must be members of a state Bar; New Jersey bar membership is preferred but not required.  All applicants should have a strong academic record, an ability to be proactive and work independently, and excellent written and oral communication skills.  We welcome applications from those with at least 5 years of experience working in one or more of the areas of concentration of the Urban Revitalization Project.  This is not a tenure-track position and cannot be converted to a tenure-track line.

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

Only a few U.S. law schools – like CharlotteLaw – require pro bono work. Often, current students enter law school with a history of service. They did it in high school and college, and they believe in public service.  This week, The Charlotte Observer featured CharlotteLaw’s pro bono program.

It is not a secret that across the country, lawyers for low-income people are in short supply, so pro bono opportunities like the ones CharlotteLaw provides for students are extremely timely.

A 2009 “justice gap” report by the federal Legal Services Corporation shows that 80 percent of low-income people who need legal help can’t get it.

That’s why the American Bar Association requires that all law schools provide some mechanism for pro bono work for students, said Sylvia Novinsky, assistant dean for public service at the UNC Chapel Hill Law School.

“It’s really also a great way to gain some practical skills.”

Pro bono at CharlotteLaw is one of three pillars in the school’s mission statement.  Serving the underserved is an oft-repeated ideal taken seriously at CharlotteLaw, the only law school in the state that requires students to complete pro bono work to graduate.

For five days over spring break, 16 CharlotteLaw students traveled to Biloxi, Miss., to help attorneys at the nonprofit Mississippi Center for Justice, still advocating for victims of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and last year’s BP oil spill.

The students, supervised by Lew and MCJ attorneys, worked on a study on fair housing, explored access to healthy and affordable food. They also worked with residents on the controversial closing of a historically black elementary school. And the BP oil spill.