I WANT YOU...to look at the sleek new website I put on the Internets.

By: Steve Grumm

FYI, the newest version of the USAJobs website is now up and running.  We haven’t poked around on it yet.  In concept the redesign seemed promising.  The Government Executive news site reports as follows:

According to the Office of Personnel Management, the new USAJobs was designed to make the employment search process easier for potential hires and federal recruiters alike. One official even compared the revised system to Amazon and other major retail sites that allow users to “window shop” and find the products they are seeking with ease.

But as with any overhaul, glitches and confusion are bound to occur. We’ve had a hard time connecting to the site, and the USAJobs Facebook page has been flooded with complaints that the system isn’t functional or user-friendly.

It’s not surprising that there might be a glitch or two, but let’s hope all of that gets taken care of soon.  Good luck, federal job seekers!  (And don’t forget to take advantage of our free 2011-12 Federal Legal Employment Opportunities Guide.)

By: Steve Grumm

Every summer we update the postgraduate fellowship listings in PSLawNet.  There are hundreds in there now, many of them for fellowships beginning in 2012.  We encourage you to log in to PSLawNet and search.

Also, though, we pull as many application deadlines from those listings as we can.  We put them together in this application deadline calendar, which is a handy tool for law students/grads who are applying for many fellowships.

Good luck!

National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC) is a non-profit, civil rights, media advocacy organization, whose mission is to improve the image of American Latinos as portrayed by the media, enhance employment equity in the media industry, and advocate for media and telecommunications policies that benefit Latinos and other people of color.

NHMC is seeking a legal intern for the Spring 2012 semester. Interns will have the opportunity to build their legal research and writing skills, and draft administrative filings under the supervision of a former Georgetown Law clinical fellow who is now NHMC’s Vice President of Policy & Legal Affairs.

Interested? See the listing at PSLawNet!

By: Steve Grumm

Happy Friday, dear readers.  Your PSLawNet Blog authors made a jaunt to the White House yesterday to watch as 16 Champions of Change, including two with PSLawNet ties, were honored for their extraordinary work in narrowing the civil justice gap.  I had hopes of starting a pickup basketball game with the president – as a youth I developed a pretty wicked crossover dribble on the Philadelphia playgrounds – but it was not to be.  Nice time all the same. 

This week: more on the Champions of Change event; a legal services office closure in Tupelo, Mississippi; former AppalReD exec. director sues the legal services provider for discrimination;  urging for a (limited) civil right to counsel in Wisconsin; O’Melveny & Myers pro bono counsel, David Lash, emphasizes the integral role of lawyers in narrowing the justice gap (great work, David!); federal honors attorney programs are shrinking considerably (boooo!!!!); “Police Women of Broward County” TV show puts bee in public defender’s bonnet; the Family Justice Center opens its doors as a one-stop-shop for DV victims in Sonoma County, CA; Congressional Quarterly looks at the legal services resources crisis.

• 10.13.11 – the White House’s Champions of Change program shined the spotlight this week on lawyers throughout the country who lead the charge in promoting access to justice for the poor.  You can view the full slate of honorees here.  At the event, the honorees fielded questions from law students about launching public interest careers and what they can do to narrow the justice gap while still in school.  On Monday, 10/17, those discussions and blog posts from the Champions will be on the Champions of Change site.  Some additional notes/coverage:
• The DOJ’s Access to Justice Initiative facilitated this event, and Attorney General Eric Holder led the ceremony and panel discussion.  Here is DOJ’s wrap-up of the event.
• We at NALP are thrilled that longtime member Deb Ellis of NYU Law is among the Champions of Change honorees.  Throughout her career in legal education Deb has produced programming and resources that are freely shared with law schools throughout the country, ultimately enabling them to better assist students on public interest career paths.  In this sense Deb has played a role in launching countless public interest careers.  (And thanks for the PSLawNet shout-out, Deb!)   
• We are also thrilled that Todd Belcore of the Shriver Center, who won NALP’s 2009 PSLawNet Pro Bono Publico Award (and has some great thoughts on how law students can develop leadership skills), is a Champion.  Way to go, Todd.
• The Champions honorees also include four leaders at LSC-funded legal services programs.

• 10.13.11 – and now, after that, here’s bad news on the access-to-justice front: “North Mississippi Rural Legal Services, which provides legal help for low income families, will remain in Oxford but a Tupelo office will close. Legal Services has five offices covering 39 counties. The Tupelo office served 10 counties.” (Blurb from an AP story appearing on The Republic’s website.)

• 10.13.11 – and more bad news, this time out of Kentucky.  From the Herald-Leader:  “A woman who once directed the agency that is the main provider of civil legal help for poor people in Eastern Kentucky has alleged that its board fired her because of her gender and race.   Cynthia Elliott, who is black, also contended in a lawsuit that the board of the Appalachian Research and Defense Fund of Kentucky fired her in retaliation for firing white employees. The board dismissed Elliott in January. She had been director of the agency, known by the acronym AppalReD, since 2007, and had been one of its staff attorneys earlier.”

• 10.12.11 – Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee executive director Thomas Cannon makes the case for a civil right to counsel in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: “Poverty qualifies more than a million Wisconsin residents for free legal services, but because of the chronic underfunding of civil legal aid programs, only about 5% of these individuals will actually get a free lawyer. The other 95% are on their own. Congress is proposing to cut the modest budget for federal legal services programs. In Wisconsin, Gov. Scott Walker and the Legislature eliminated all state funding for civil legal aid. Wisconsin is now one of a handful of states that provide no funding for civil justice. This dire situation could change if the Wisconsin Supreme Court enacts a proposed rule change that directs trial court judges to appoint lawyers at public expense in civil cases where basic needs – food, shelter, clothing, heat, medical care, safety and child custody – are at stake. The court recently held a public hearing on the rule change; it will discuss the matter in open session on Oct. 17 in Madison.”  Just as an interesting bit of trivia, Cannon notes that the Wisconsin Supreme Court established a criminal right to counsel all the way back in 1859.  I come from a civil legal services background, so I’m fairly ignorant on state-by-state criminal right-to-counsel jurisprudence predating Gideon. This was a surprise to me.

• 10.10.11 – David Lash, managing counsel for pro bono at O’Melveny & Myers (and friend of the PSLawNet Blog), penned a great piece about the vital role of lawyers in providing access to justice at a time when more and more people fall into poverty.  Writing in the L.A.-based Daily Journal (and writing in his individual capacity, not on behalf of his law firm), Lash highlights the growing numbers of Californians living in poverty (over 16% of the state population) and notes that many more people are technically above the poverty line but hardly able to make ends meet.  He then lists concrete examples of the work that pro bono and legal aid lawyers do to serve those clients on society’s margins, and closes the piece as follows: “So let us not forget that although our greatest hopes lie in the greatest judicial system the globe has ever seen – that system is daunting, intimidating and overwhelmingly complex for those who are unrepresented. Democracy’s promise sometimes is entirely dependent on access to the justice system; access that requires a lawyer to navigate its intricacies and nuances. So as we debate budget cuts, let us remember the key role of the legal system. It is a worthy investment where every dollar spent is leveraged through the generous largesse of everyday lawyers devoting their time and skills to save lives.”  Well said.  Alas, the article is password-protected, so we can’t provide a link to it.

• 10.10.11 – wonderfully reported article, but bad news.  In the National Law Journal, “Cuts constrict lawyers’ route to federal jobs” takes a close look at how the attorney honors program pipeline, which has historically served as a terrific point of entrance to federal government, is looking more like a funnel.  The article contains several useful data points about agency-by-agency honors program hiring.  DOJ, for instance, took on 165 honors attorneys this year, but that is “down from 211 in 2010. Next year, there are only 70 to 80 slots available.”  The piece also notes that competition for the dwindling slots is up significantly, as more and more students who feel shut out of the private sector look to Uncle Sam for a job.  Interestingly, the piece goes on to note, law school rank is not necessarily a big criterion in hiring decisions. DOJ hires grads from lower-ranked schools if they have strong academic credentials and a demonstrated interest in the subject matter area.  The piece closes by suggesting that salary is not the allure of honors programs; rather, honors attorneys get hands-on practice experience right out of the gates.

• 10.10.11 – is the Discovery Channel THE LAW in Broward County?  On something of a lighter note, the Sun-Sentinel looks at a Broward County public defender’s objections to Discovery’s “Police Women of Broward County.”  From the article: “Contracts for four deputies who appeared on the ‘Police Women of Broward County’ reality show give TV producers too much power, the Broward public defender says. ‘Who is producing the arrests, the officer or the show?’ asked Chief Assistant Public Defender Gordon Weekes Jr. ‘This contract basically delegates a law enforcement officer’s duty to a third party’.”

• 10.10.11 – from the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, we learn that the newly opened Family Justice Center of Sonoma County offers a broad array of support services for domestic violence victims:   “A study determined victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and crimes such as stalking and elder financial fraud could be required to visit two dozen different agencies if they wanted to use public services available to them. Since many victims can lack transportation, be financially strapped or be pursued by an abuser, advocates determined it would be best to put all the assistance for them under one roof. The county bought and renovated a former office building with grants and donations of about $6 million and invited more than a dozen victim advocates from organizations like Catholic Charities, the Council on Aging, the YWCA and the Inter-tribal Council. The center is staffed by police and district attorney employees, an immigration adviser, an advocate for the deaf and a civil attorney who provides advice about harassment and getting restraining orders.” 

• 10.7.11 – the Congressional Quarterly Researcher put out a report on the civil legal services community’s resource crisis.  It’s password-protected, though, so we can’t get to it.  But FYI. 

By: Steve Grumm

In a 2pm ceremony today, the White House and the DOJ’s Access to Justice initiative are recognizing 12 outstanding public interest advocates for their extraordinary work in narrowing the civil justice gap.  We at NALP are especially proud that longtime NALP member Deb Ellis of NYU Law is among the honorees, as is Todd Belcore, who as a 3L in 2009 won our PSLawNet Pro Bono Publico Award.  Congrats, Deb and Todd!

Join in on the fun.  The Champions ceremony is being webcast live at 2pm Eastern.  You can view it at http://www.whitehouse.gov/live. 

And for more on the Champions themselves (we assume the website will be updated today to highlight the newest group of Champions – UPDATE: the website will feature the Champions on Monday, 10/17) go to http://www.whitehouse.gov/champions.

The Peter Cicchino Youth Project (PCYP) in the Urban Justice Center is a legal services, systemic advocacy, and community education project that focuses on the legal needs of homeless and street-involved lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, and questioning (LGBTQQ) young people (up through age 24) in New York City. PYCP is looking for experienced attorneys for its Project Director position.

PCYP works to interrupt the cycles of poverty and criminalization that prevent LGBTQQ youth from living fulfilling, enriching lives. We advocate for LGBTQQ young people living in poverty on a wide range of issues, including safe and affirming access to shelter, obtaining lawful immigration status, public benefits, accurate identification documents, and discrimination.

The Project Director is responsible for fundraising and managing a $400,000 annual budget, and will represent PCYP to the broader Urban Justice Center, the media, and the public. The Project Director works with program staff to coordinate PCYP’s legal services, to ensure that our clients receive high quality legal representation. The Project Director, along with program staff, will continue to identify systemic priorities and to develop PCYP’s capacity to take direction from the communities we serve.

If you’re interested, see the listing at PSLawNet!

by Kristen Pavón

Huh?

That was my initial thought after reading an article in the NY Times about the repeal of a domestic violence law in Kansas. Seriously, people?

With slim budgets all around, dangerous games with people’s safety at stake are being played. Prosecutors are forced to play the priorities game — having to decide which cases they’ll take on and the ones they’ll let slide. City leaders play chicken — repealing laws hoping the county or state will pick up their slack.

This week, at a seemingly routine City Council meeting in Topeka, Kansas, domestic violence victims were on the losing end of these games.

By a vote of 7 to 3, the City Council repealed the local law that makes domestic violence a crime.

The thought behind this being that the state’s District Attorney would be forced to prosecute domestic violence cases because they would remain a crime under state law.

However, the problem is that the state is struggling financially as well.

Eighteen people have been arrested on domestic violence charges since September and released without charges because no agency is accepting new cases. That has raised concerns among advocates for victims of domestic violence, some of whom gathered Tuesday outside government buildings to express outrage over the gamesmanship.

To me, this is pretty outrageous. I understand we have to make some sacrifices because of our nation’s dire economic state, but I gotta ask — How far back are these budget cuts going to take us?

Read more here.

Thoughts?

The Loyola Law School Center for Juvenile Law and Policy is seeking applications for a post-graduate fellowship in the Center’s Juvenile Justice Clinic.  The fellowship is designed for attorneys who possess a demonstrated interest in indigent juvenile defense and juvenile justice issues. 

The fellowship is a two-year appointment, beginning on August 1, 2012.  The fellowship is designed to provide a well-developed practical skill set as well as clinical teaching experience.

The Center is a legal clinic that brings public service, education and advocacy together to improve the quality of legal services provided to youth in the juvenile delinquency system.  The clinic provides free legal services to children in the Los Angeles delinquency courts while providing students with vital litigation skills and the opportunity to practice in the public interest.

To learn more and to find out how to apply, see the listing at PSLawNet!

by Kristen Pavón

With law firms cutting back on the size of their incoming associate classes and a new article from the National Law Journal that, with brutal numbers, details drastic reductions in federal entry-level attorney hiring, we are scratching our heads and wondering — where will all the new attorneys go?

Federal honors programs are a great way for new law grads to really sink their teeth into substantive legal work and even gain some expertise in an area. The federal government offers flexibility, mentoring and a variety of opportunities.

For honors lawyers who decide to jump into private practice, opportunities abound, said legal recruiter Cynthia Sitcov of Washington’s Sitcov Director. ‘Coming from an honors program, especially DOJ, is an excellent credential to have,’ she said. Firms appreciate ‘the insider perspective, the training and the fact that you have to be really good to get an honors program job in the first place.’

Here are the Department of Justice honors program stats. Let me warn you, the numbers are not pretty.

Dep’t of Justice (the largest employer of lawyers in the nation)

• 2010: Hired 211 honors attorneys
• 2011: Hired 165 honors attorneys (Almost a 22% decrease)
• 2012: Will hire between 70-80 honors attorneys (Almost a 58% decrease from 2011, and a 67% decrease from 2010!)

Many federal agencies are following suit, including the Internal Revenue Service, Office of Chief Counsel (will only hire from those who worked for the agency over the summer) and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (their program is  on hold completely).

There is a glimmer of hope however. A few agencies are hosting new or reinstated honors programs — the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Department of Energy, and the Federal Communications Commission.

In addition to hiring cuts, fiercer competition is  to blame for making the path to a federal job tougher.

Statistics from the [University of Arizona] Honor handbook gives a sense of just how competitive the hiring process has become. In 2010, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, for example, hired six new lawyers our of 2,000 applicant; the Department of Urban Development and Housing selected 25 out of 1,100; and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission picked five out of 1,400.

So where do soon-to-be law grads go from here?

In addition to thinking outside the box in terms of legal careers, it’s more important than ever that law students know what employers are looking for — especially when applying for a government job because their hiring practices are less predictable than those of law firms.

Here are a few landing-the-job tips from the head of the Bureau of Competition at the Federal Trade Commission and the director of DOJ’s Office of Attorney Recruitment and Management.

• A demonstrated interest in the agency’s area of law
• A commitment to public service
• Enthusiasm
• A foreign language is a plus
• Internships or other experience in the agency’s area of law

Interestingly, law school rankings are not so important — at least to the DOJ.

So, really — Where will all the new attorneys go?

The Center for Social Justice at Seton Hall University School is looking to fill a fellowship spot immediately! The clinical fellowship would run through July 2012, with the possibility for renewal.

The Center is home to eight clinics, as well as the International Human Rights/Rule of Law Initiative, the Urban Revitalization Initiative and a large pro bono program. The clinics focus on predatory lending and foreclosure, education and prison reform, constitutional law and civil rights, equal justice, impact litigation, family law, immigrants’ rights and international human rights, and juvenile justice.

The Fellow will work with clinics that focus on complex civil litigation, including multi-party litigation as well as law reform and impact litigation. Preference will be given to those interested in issues surrounding urban justice and experienced with housing, foreclosure, predatory lending, and/or education reform advocacy.

The Fellowship provides a unique opportunity to gain public interest litigation and clinical teaching experience in a supportive law school environment. The Clinical Fellow will assist with client intake, all aspects of civil litigation, supervision of clinical students, and the teaching of clinical seminars, and will be responsible for case coverage during the summer months

Sounds like a great opp! Find out how to apply at PSLawNet!