By Lauren Forbes

Happy Friday, everyone! This week: more unfortunate legal services cutbacks in North Carolina;  a profile on Wisconsin’s first woman state public defender; exploring limited-scope representation in Wisconsin;  shortfall woes in Oregon will likely lead to 20 positions being eliminated;  (good news!) a grant in Northern Florida that will help victims of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill access justice; a piece on Washington, DC’s Public Defender Service Director, Avis Buchanan; Indiana’s innovative program defrays the costs of providing defense attorneys. 

• 8.17.11 -Unfortunate cutbacks in North Carolina as per the nationwide trend– Johnston, NC’s The Herald reports that low-income Johnston County residents will soon have to travel to Raleigh or Wilson for legal help in civil-court matters.   “With legislative and Congressional cuts, we had nothing left to trim back,” North Carolina Legal Aid Director George Hausen said, noting that the organization has been in a hiring freeze for years. “We looked around at our 25 offices and felt that we could close some offices because these offices are close enough that the bigger offices could cover the ground.”
• 8.17.11 – Wisconsin Bar Association’s Inside Track features a story on Kelli Thompson, who is the first woman State Public Defender in Wisconsin, and one of only a very few across the country.  Thompson is a 12-year veteran in the State Public Defender’s (SPD) office – starting as an intern while a student at Marquette Law School.  “Kelli is a great communicator and really understands the mission of the public defender’s office,” said Paige Styler, attorney manager at the SPD Milwaukee Trial Office.  Best of luck, Kelli!
• 8.17.11 – Also from the Wisconsin Bar, Wisconsin is exploring “unbundled” legal services or limited-scope representation, which allows clients and lawyers to agree on a lawyer’s more limited role in lieu of full representation.  Expanding limited-scope representation has the potential to provide pro se litigants with affordable access to lawyers and improve court efficiency, according to a recent report by a subcommittee of the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s Planning and Policy Advisory Committee (PPAC).  “It is anticipated that recommendations for rule changes or amendments will be submitted to the Wisconsin Supreme Court in the fall of 2012,” Inside Track reports.
• 8.16.11 –  A story in the Statesman Journal delivers more bad news: low-income families receiving legal aid in Oregon may soon see a cut in services because of layoffs resulting from a 15 percent revenue shortfall.  Sandra Hansberger, executive director of The Lawyers’ Campaign for Equal Justice, estimates that 20 positions, both filled and vacant, would be lost statewide.  “Oregon lawyers have been generous in supporting legal aid by contributing over $1 million each year and by donating their time through legal aid’s pro-bono efforts,” said Steve Piucci, president of the Oregon State Bar, in a statement. “We need these other sources of funding to help meet the tremendous and growing unmet legal needs of the poor.”  Oregon Public Broadcasting also covered the issue, citing Legal Aid Board Chair Michael Mason in saying,  “We closed the Klamath Falls office in 1997 after major federal cuts. And it had a huge impact. People who are unwilling to follow the law by all accounts ran amok.” The union representing Legal Aid attorneys offered a package of wage freezes and furloughs that would have stabilized funding for a year.
• 8.15.11 – A small ray of sunshine, as The Panama City News Herald announces that legal Services of North Florida has received a grant for $200,000 to provide outreach and legal help to low-income residents and small businesses who were affected by the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill.  Legal Services of North Florida (LSNF), a private nonprofit corporation dedicated to providing free legal representation to low-income people with civil legal problems, will use the money over the next 18 months to provide outreach and support to those who either have not been able to file claims or are having difficulties with the claims process.
• 8.15.11 – The National Law Journal’s Legal Times features a piece on veteran DC Public Defender, Avis Buchanan.  As a staff attorney with PDS in the 1980s, Buchanan had a gentle style with judges and jurors, but her style did not prevent her from taking on clients who were “rough around the edges.” She left PDS, but returned as director in 2004. Caseload pressures are a nationwide problem for PDs, but the Washington Office is admired for its ability to put its foot down when attorneys are overloaded, said David Caroll, NLADA’s director of research.  Public service in her DNA, Buchanan is looking to implement technological upgrades and recruit top legal talent over the next couple of years.   Acknowledging PDS’ extensive history, Buchanan said, “We will work with what we have.  As long as the right people are in place, we’ll achieve what we need to achieve.”  [Note: premium access subscription required]
• 8.14.11 – Not a Tupelo Honey situation for Mississippi legal aid, as the Associated  Press reports.  A legal aid office for low-income individuals in north Mississippi faces closing down because of the budget cuts Congress is imposing. Ben Cole, the executive director of the North Mississippi Rural Legal Services, said the Tupelo office or another one in north Mississippi may have close.  The agency’s 25-member board is scheduled to meet Aug. 27 and budget cuts are on its agenda.
• 8.14.11 –  An interesting approach to provide criminal defendants with representation in Indiana:  The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette reports that  52 Indiana counties received more than $15.7 million during the last fiscal year to help defray the costs of providing defense attorneys to people who can’t afford them by using court fees and money set aside by the state legislature.  Counties are obligated to provide lawyers for criminal defendants who can’t afford to pay for representation.  “Established in 1989 by the state legislature, the Public Defender Commission recommends standards for, among other areas, determining who may have public defense attorneys, how many cases a public defender may handle, and the qualifications of attorneys seeking to be public defenders.  The commission reimburses participating counties for a portion of the money they spend providing public defense attorneys.  To qualify for reimbursement, counties must adopt an ordinance, establish a public defender board, adopt a comprehensive plan, have the plan approved and meet other standards set by the state commission – largely drawn from the American Bar Association.”