Still in nascent stages, but it’s worth noting this blurb from the ABA Journal (unfortunately the link they reference is password-protected):

The State Bar of California has formed a task force that will consider requiring law grads to get practical experience with clients before obtaining a law license.

California Bar President Jon Streeter tells the Daily Journal (sub. req.) the proposal is “still a concept in its infancy.” Among the ideas that will be considered: Mandating legal residencies, similar to those required for doctors, or allowing law school clinical courses to satisfy all or part of the requirement.

By: Steve Grumm

Happy Friday the 13th, dear readers.  This week’s horrific development was the Hostess bankruptcy – the company’s second in recent years.  The very idea of Ding Dongs and Suzy Q’s – to say nothing of Twinkies – succumbing to capitalism’s merciless machinations is heartbreaking.  If government can subsidize public transportation, the arts, and other “important” societal goods, government can damn-well subsidize Ho-Ho’s.  Si tu puedes, Obama. 

In light of it being Friday the 13th and as a lamentation on the Hostess news, I offer this sonic gem by punk rock legends Social Distortion.  Social D is the second-best thing to come out of Orange County, California – the best thing being whatever road gets you out of Orange County the fastest.   

I didn’t really digress up there so much as I never got on topic.  Sorry.  Here’s this week’s public interest news in summary:

• Montana’s Office of the Public Defender facing criticism and may be short on resources at it tries to replace its retiring chief;     
• NOLA’s defender says they don’t have money to compensate outside counsel – judge not happy;
• Dayton’s pro bono clearinghouse feels the caseload strain;
• A report critical of indigent defense funding in PA is released; one county defender stops taking some cases;
• Brevard County, FL kicks $250,000+ to the local legal services program;
• A Charleston Gazette editorial looks at Legal Aid of West Virginia’s funding woes;
• a newly-created federal defender’s office, and a little bit of attorney hiring, in Northern Alabama 

The summaries:

• 1.12.11 – the Missoula Independent reports that the ACLU of Montana has kept up its criticism of the state’s Office of the Public Defender as, this month, OPD tries to settle on replacing its retiring chief.  One of OPD’s main problems seems to be a shortage of resources to build an effective program infrastructure.

• 1.10.12 – several days ago the New Orleans Public Defender announced that, due to fiscal woes, his office would not be able to pay outside counsel to handle cases that the PD couldn’t.  This has of course caused a stir within the criminal defense bar and the court system. From the Times-Picayune:  “The new austerity plan at the Orleans Parish public defender’s office has started to make waves, including one that lapped into a courtroom Tuesday on the eve of a death penalty trial. The plan, to cut off all payments to private lawyers hired by the office, drew a biting response from Criminal District Judge Lynda Van Davis, who upbraided Derwyn Bunton, the chief public defender.”

• 1.9.12 – the Dayton Business Journal looks at how the Greater Dayton Volunteer Lawyers Project is contending with high-volume case referrals.  As is the story everywhere else, while financial resources are scarce, the legal services community is overwhelmed with client demand.

• 1.8.12 – in PA, a joint legislative committee issued a damning report last month about the state of indigent defense in the Keystone State.  Read “A Constitutional Default: Services to Indigent Criminal Defendants in Pennsylvania.”  Some related items:
  • the Luzerne County (PA) public defender’s refusal to take on some new cases makes his office one of several around the country which has put a foot down, saying they don’t have the resources to do their constitutional duties.  The Wilkes-Barre Times Leader looks at what’s going on across the U.S., and notes that prosecutors are facing similar dilemmas.
  • And here’s a Times Leader editorial highlighting the local defender’s caseload overload, and calling on county residents to contact local officials.)

• 1.7.12 – in Florida, Brevard County Legal Aid got some good funding news: “The county will pay $256,500 to provide low-income residents free legal services this year, but Brevard County commissioners want the majority of those services to benefit victims of domestic violence and children.”  Like a lot of providers, Legal Aid is seeing many more clients than it can help.  Legal Aid’s currently turning away 8 of every 10 who otherwise qualify for services, according to Florida Today.

• 1.5.12 – a Charleston Gazette editorial argues that with Legal Aid of West Virginia facing $650,000 in funding cuts ($500,000 of that being a cut in LSC funding), the state legislature and those in the justice system must find additional funding.

• 1.5.12 – the  Birmingham News reports that a new federal defender’s office is opening in the Northern District of Alabama, which had been “one of only four federal…districts, out of 94 nationwide, that didn’t have some form of public defender office…”  Federal Public Defender Kevin Butler, is looking to hire about six assistant defenders, along with investigators and support staff. “Butler said he will focus on hiring attorneys experienced in federal criminal defense work. But he said there will be room for hiring younger attorneys ‘who have shown a commitment to equal protection under the law’.”  

While this opportunity is unpaid, there is a possibility of permanent employment after the internship training. Check it out —

Eviction Defense Network (EDN) is a network of trial lawyers founded in 2003 that advocates for tenants. EDN is dedicated to defending the right to affordable housing and ensuring access to justice in housing matters to tenants in Los Angeles County. EDN is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides legal assistance and representation to tenants facing eviction.

Eviction Defense Network (EDN) is be expanding its services starting with a two-month training opportunity for four attorneys.

From January 28, 2012 through March 30, 2012, EDN is offering a training opportunity with possible salaried positions at the conclusion of the two-month training.

This is a two-month unpaid Internship Program for attorneys interested in then applying for 4 possible job openings at the conclusion of the training.

The training starts with a half day orientation on January 13, 2011 and 1 full day of classroom training on January 14 (Saturday).

Is this position for you? Find out how to apply at PSLawNet!

by Kristen Pavón

Here at NALP we have a bookstore filled to the brim with incredibly helpful books on the legal market and career development. One of particular interest to us at PSLawNet is Landing a Federal Legal Job: Finding Success in the U.S. Government Job Market by Richard L. Hermann.

In addition to going into great detail about … well, almost every facet of federal legal jobs, the author lays out over 20 pros and cons of getting into the fed biz. Here are a few of the highlights:

The Pros

• The Inevitable Exodus of Retirees.

The average federal employee is 50 years old. In the next several years, the government anticipates a demand for new hires.

• Work/Life Balance

The majority of federal government attorneys enjoy 35-40 hour work weeks. Also, the government’s vacation policy and benefits are generous.

• Transferability

Once you get your foot in the door, you’re in a good position to move around laterally within your agency and even other agencies.

The Cons

• Promotion Ceilings

I like this quote on the subject; it says it all — “If you are consumed with ambition, the federal government may leave you somewhat frustrated.”

• Marketability

Oftentimes, government attorneys practice within a very narrow field, which makes it difficult to move into the private sector. However, there are exceptions.

• Drug Testing

LOL. I’ll say no more.

Also, unofficially — I’d add the ugly job market and its effect on landing government positions to the con list.

So, now I want to know — are you interested in federal jobs? Have you applied to some already? What were your considerations before applying?

By: Steve Grumm

My friend and colleague Leeor Neta, Assistant Director for Public Interest Programs at Golden Gate University School of Law, has written a nice piece about the varying – and sometimes strange – paths he’s been on during his legal career.  The article is entitled “The Most Common Path to a Public Interest Career is Also the Least Discussed.”  In it Leeor draws a distinction between the better-understood-but-quite-narrow points of entry, such as postgraduate fellowships and judicial clerkships, and the path that most grads take: shaking every tree, making connections, and staying optimistic until the right opportunity comes along. And even at that stage, the first “right” opportunity generally won’t be the last one.  So one job may lead to another and another as a graduate is 1, 5, 10 years out of law school.

The article’s intended audience is law school career services professionals, but I’ve no doubt that public-interest minded students and grads can take much from Leeor’s recounting of his experiences.  Leeor begins:

There are ultimately three avenues to a public interest legal career. The first is a postgraduate fellowship with a public interest organization. The second is a judicial clerkship; clerkships demonstrate a commitment to public service that can attract public interest employers. While these paths to a public interest career are certainly desirable, it is probably fair to say that most future public interest lawyers pursue a third avenue: taking whatever comes, maintaining a long-term perspective, and doing one’s best to exemplify a commitment to public interest in the meantime.

…

How then do we counsel the countless law students who graduate each year without either a fellowship or a clerkship but still an abiding commitment to the public interest? CDOs need to broadcast the stories of the many people who took a long-term path to a public interest career. When possible, we need to speak from our own experiences. And if you will pardon a minor indulgence, I will do just that: I came to law school with little idea of what I wanted to accomplish with a law degree. All I knew was that I wanted to serve my community, especially those who did not have the same opportunities I’d had….

From there Leeor runs is through his own winding career path.   He’s done everything from capital defense to broader indigent defense work in Illinois, to running (after founding) a juvenile diversion program in California.  Also falling in there – in fact, his first job out of law school – was a stint doing non-public-interest-but-very-educational work in insurance law.  Now, of course, Leeor’s at Golden Gate where he helps students and alum to launch public interest careers.

Leeor’s a very sharp lawyer with some hefty academic credentials (certainly heftier than mine).  My hope in sharing his story is that all 3Ls and recent grads can take some solace from the fact that a few missteps and uncertainties along the way are far more the norm than you might think.  This post is edging into “too-long-didn’t-read” territory, so for now it must suffice to say that I never envisioned that I, as someone who wanted nothing but to work on public benefits cases in a legal aid office, would not touch a public benefits case during or after law school.  But I’m thrilled with the crazy, unforseen way that things have turned out.  It happens to most of us.

Here’s another opportunity to work at the NALP office!

We’re currently accepting applications for our NALP Street Law Legal Diversity Pipeline Project Fellowship! This two-year fellowship provides a wonderful opportunity for a public interest-minded law graduate who also has an interest in education and diversity in the legal profession.
The NALP/Street Law Legal Diversity Pipeline Program, a joint initiative undertaken by both organizations in 2008, is designed to provide information about the law and the legal profession to high school students and encourage them to pursue legal careers. In particular, the program targets students from minority groups that are underrepresented in the practice of law.

The Fellow will administer this program and support its growth. The fellow will have responsibility for providing training, curriculum development assistance, and planning support to participating law firms, law schools, and high schools. (To learn more about the program and current participants, click here.)

Interested in learning more? See the full listing at PSLawNet!

by Kristen Pavón

As if shrinking budgets weren’t enough, a legal aid office in Athens, Georgia was burglarized last weekend. I mean, really?

Almost a dozen laptop computers were stolen. Attorneys didn’t seem too upset about it though…

“As far as the effect of the theft on our work, it’s not going to slow us down much,” he [Public Defender John Donnelly] said. “We’ll work around it until we can get them back or replaced.”

“They are all password protected, so the files are not easily accessible,” Donnelly said.

That’s a great attitude. If it were me, I’d be up-the-wall upset — what could I get done without my computer?! Nada.

Read the rest of the story here.

by Kristen Pavón

Last week, the Association of American Law Schools held its annual meeting and “skyrocketing cost of tuition, ever-higher graduate debts and a growing feeling that legal scholarship is of little use to the bench or practitioner” quickly became the hottest topic of discussion.

Cabranes, like others before him, noted that law schools are in “something of a crisis,” given the skyrocketing cost of tuition, ever-higher graduate debts and a growing feeling that legal scholarship is of little use to the bench or practitioners. These themes emerged as the hottest topic of discussion during the four-day conference, which drew about 3,000 legal educators.

“For years, [the rising cost of tuition and growing debt loads] have raised eyebrows. Now, they raise blood pressure,” Cabranes said on Jan. 6. “These developments literally threaten the enterprise of legal education.”

U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Jose Cabranes offered a three-part approach for alleviating these issues plaguing law schools.

To get back on track, law schools should shift their curricula back to core courses and away from the interdisciplinary classes that have grown in popularity, he said; they should introduce a two-year core law program followed by a yearlong apprenticeship, and increase transparency regarding costs, job prospects and financial aid information.

As a recent law graduate and the bearer of two law school loans, I have to say that I agree with Judge Cabranes’ suggestions. More emphasis needs to be on honing real lawyering skills so that law students have a real chance at landing jobs (and at being effective advocates) and having a third-year, full-time apprenticeship program does just that.

Judge Cabranes also talked about a growing “cult of globalization” … You can read more about that the National Law Journal.

What do you think about this?

The Street Vendor Project of the Urban Justice Center is currently seeking interns for the summer of 2012.

The mission of the Street Vendor Project is to advance economic justice and political power among the approximately 15,000 people who sell food and merchandise on the streets and sidewalks of NYC. Vendors, who are primarily recent immigrants and U.S. military veterans, have serious problems: they have been denied access to vending licenses and driven from their vending locations. Fines reach as high as $1,000 per ticket for trivial violations.

The Street Vendor Project of the Urban Justice Center is a membership-based organization that provides legal representation and small business training to individual vendors while organizing them to speak together in one unified citywide movement for justice and respect.

Interns will have the chance to represent vendors in administrative hearings, where you can present evidence and cross-examine police officers. You will also attend organizing meetings and help plan demonstrations, rallies, and other events.

Sounds interesting, right? Find out more at PSLawNet!

Here’s an opportunity to do some important work!

Idaho Legal Aid Services, Inc. (ILAS) is seeking applicants for an attorney position with its satellite office located at the Nampa Family Justice Center. The Nampa Family Justice Center is a partnership of agencies dedicated to ending family violence and sexual assault through prevention and response by providing comprehensive, client-centered services in a single location. Supervision of Justice Center staff is provided by the Caldwell ILAS office.

The Justice Center office is staffed by one and one-half attorneys and a half time support staff person.  The Justice Center office focuses solely on providing services to victims of domestic violence, stalking and/or sexual assault cases in the Third Judicial District.

Ready to apply? Find out how at PSLawNet!