Archive for March, 2012

Job o' the Day: Legislative/Policy Clerk at the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia!

March 7, 2012 at 1:15 pm · Filed under Public Interest Jobs

The Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia (PDS) provides and promotes quality legal representation to indigent adults and children facing a loss of liberty in the District of Columbia and thereby protects society’s interest in the fair administration of justice. PDS is regarded as one of the best public defender offices in the country—local or federal. It is the benchmark by which other public defender systems often measure themselves.

The Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia (PDS) seeks a talented law student to serve as a legislative/policy clerk for the summer of 2012.

The clerk will report to both the Special Counsel to the Director (Legislation) as well as to the General Counsel, and will conduct complex legal research and writing on both legal, policy and legislative issues.

 

To learn more, see the listing at PSLawNet!

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Does Private Firm Work Do More Good Than Public Interest Work?

March 7, 2012 at 11:20 am · Filed under Legal Education

by Kristen Pavón

First, some background — this year, Harvard Law re-established their One Day’s Work fellowship program. Students who enter the private sector after their second year of law school volunteer to donate one day’s worth of their summer salary and the money collected goes to one of their classmates entering the public sector upon graduation.

Some students like the program, others don’t like the way it’s funded… But one student thinks it’s “the best possible way to fund an unworthy cause.”

From The Record at Harvard Law:

Kudos to One Day’s Work for being up-front and honest with their request for charity.  The only problem is that the purpose of One Day’s Work is highly suspect.

A brief note on the provision of legal services.  Imagine a law student named Ames Greenleaf.  He works as a summer associate at a private firm and makes quite a hefty haul.  He spends his days that summer writing research papers on civil procedure esoterica to help, say, a can manufacturer get out of a suit.  His efforts raise the probability that the can manufacturer survives the suit and can continue employing dozens of workers who would otherwise end up indigent.

Now, imagine a law student named Barry Chosenone.  He works at a public interest firm that files copyright paperwork for indigent NEA-grant artists.  One such artist gets his copyright and airs to the world his passionate magnum opus “Piss Christ.”  Barry loves this work, but he is worried because it does not pay well enough to support an uptown New York lifestyle.

Which of those two students has done more to help the community?  Who can honestly claim that Barry deserves Ames’s money?  Baldly, public interest work is more emotionally rewarding because it involves directly helping people, a fact which leads many good-hearted people to choose public interest vocations.  Private firm work does more ultimate good, however.  The clients pay more because they ultimately provide more benefit for their communities than individual down-on-their-luck litigants.

Personally, I don’t want to pay an extra couple hundred dollars to incentivize my fellow students to get a legal job at the Department of Health and Human Services that will be paid for with the tax money I already have to pay to the government anyway. . . .

Anddddd, discuss.

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U. of Wisconsin Law School to Ramp Up Pro Bono Programs with New Funding

March 7, 2012 at 9:10 am · Filed under Career Resources, Legal Education, News and Developments

By: Steve Grumm

The University of Wisconsin Law School’s pro bono progams will be bolstered by two grants from the state bar association’s Legal Assistance Committee.  A report from the state bar:

The State Bar Legal Assistance Committee has awarded Pro Bono Initiative grants to Dane County Veterans Legal Clinic to start a free legal clinic and to the U.W. Law School to recruit law students to work on pro bono matters.

The Dane County Veterans Legal Clinic received a grant to start a new free legal clinic for veterans in the Dane County area. The project is administered by the U.W. Law School’s pro bono program and is a collaborative effort with initial support from the Dane County Veterans Service Office, the State Bar of Wisconsin pro bono program, representatives from the Wm. S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital in Madison, and the U.S. Army Wounded Warrior Program. Volunteer attorneys and law students will staff the clinic at the local veterans service office in Madison. The project is modeled on a similar effort in Milwaukee. The clinic aims to launch by Veterans Day, Nov. 12, 2012.

The U.W. Law School received a grant to help launch its new Pro Bono Society. With the assistance of the law school’s new pro bono coordinator and an Americorps VISTA coordinator, the law school is implementing an ambitious effort to recruit and recognize law student pro bono efforts. The program recruits volunteer attorneys to work with law students on pro bono matters. Additional special events will be organized throughout the school year to engage more law students in pro bono service. Students completing 50 hours of pro bono legal services during law school will be inducted into the Pro Bono Society and receive special recognition at graduation.

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Pardon This! Idea for Unique Law School Clinic to Focus on Executive Pardon Power

March 6, 2012 at 3:30 pm · Filed under Legal Education, News and Developments

By: Steve Grumm

From the Washington Post:

For years, lawyers, faith-based groups and students have helped file petitions for inmates seeking to cut short lengthy prison sentences. But there have been no comparable resources for felons who sought pardons after serving their time.That may soon change. In response to stories published in December by ProPublica and The Washington Post, former Maryland governor Robert L. Ehrlich (R) plans to launch the nation’s first law school clinic and training program devoted to pardons.

…

Ehrlich said he intends to contribute to the program and raise funds for it. He is working to find it a home, looking at Georgetown law school and George Washington University, as well as other institutions in the Washington area.

…

Ehrlich’s proposal is modeled in part after the country’s only law school clinic for commutations, started a year ago at the University of St. Thomas law school in Minneapolis. The commutations program is run by Mark Osler, a former federal prosecutor who has argued numerous cases before the Supreme Court.

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Landing the Job: A Few Resume Tips From Legal Recruiters

March 6, 2012 at 2:45 pm · Filed under Career Resources

by Kristen Pavón

This morning, I listened to a pretty informative ABA Journal podcast on “How to Craft a Resume that Recruiters Will Love.” While the recruiters focused on resumes for private law firms positions, some of the speakers’ advice also applies to public interest resumes.

  1. Objectives are out — if you’re a senior lawyer, try a summary instead.
  2. Including your hobbies and interests is a personal choice. Depending on what you include, it may help build rapport or it could hurt you.
  3. Don’t use pronouns.
  4. High school is ancient history — leave it off.
  5. If your GPA is 3.0 or above, put it on your resume. (*I’m undecided on this one…)

The podcast speakers — legal recruiters — emphasized that lawyers are snooty and snobby about education (her words, not mine) and because of that, if you leave your GPA off your resume, employers will assume that it’s below a 3.0. Is this true? Is this true in the public interest world?

You can listen to the 25-minute podcast or read the transcript here.

Thoughts?

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Job o' the Day: Election Complaints Legal Fellow at the International Foundation for Electoral Systems in DC!

March 6, 2012 at 1:15 pm · Filed under Public Interest Jobs

Under the Election Law Reform project, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, is conducting research and will create a publication to assist practitioners in their global electoral law reform efforts, with a specific focus on investigating and prosecuting election offenses.

The Election Complaints Legal Fellow will provide the following support to the Election Law Reform project:

  • Provide legal research, writing, and editing support to the Election Law Reform project, including research assistance for specialists/ expert writers;
  • Conduct comparative research and draft summaries regarding country specific approaches to remedies for election offenses;
  • Assist in managing expert writers, their related contracts and deliverables;
  • Maintain research project files and records; and
  • Perform other duties as assigned.

Interested? Check out the listing at PSLawNet!

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Presidential Management Fellows (PMF) Program Under Scrutiny for Application Mishap

March 6, 2012 at 9:10 am · Filed under Career Resources, News and Developments, Public Interest Jobs

By: Steve Grumm

A PMF mishap we noted earlier, which resulted in 300 applicants being given (temporary) false hope, has caught lawmakers’ attention.  From Government Executive:

he House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has asked Office of Personnel Management officials to explain a recent Presidential Management Fellows program mishap.

In a March 1 letter to OPM Director John Berry, Reps. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and Dennis Ross, R-Fla., chairmen of the committee and its Federal Workforce Subcommittee, respectively, sought more information related to a Jan. 23 incident when OPM mistakenly sent acceptance emails to 300 semifinalists who hadn’t qualified for the prestigious fellows program. About a quarter of the 1,186 semifinalists received the erroneous letters. Later that day the same applicants received another email informing them there was an error in the system.

In the letter, Issa and Ross expressed concern that the notification mistake was “indicative of larger IT failures at OPM,” including the agency’s recent troubles with retirement processing and USAJobs.gov.

Issa and Ross’ request included a description of “all issues that may have adversely affected a candidate’s ability to apply for the program,” as well as a timeline of changes that have been made to the fellows program, the retention rate for fellows and a list of formal complaints filed with OPM regarding the program. The agency has until April 13 to provide the information.

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Landing the Job: Blog Your Way to the Top!

March 5, 2012 at 3:20 pm · Filed under Career Resources, Legal Education

From the National Law Journal:

Lawyers finish school prepared to think like lawyers, but are they prepared to develop business and survive in a competitive economy?

Well, no, not usually. To remedy this situation, Fordham University School of Law brought in Silvia Hodges, who earned the first doctorate degree on record in legal services marketing. Last spring, she launched a course on the topic. While a far cry from the usual torts or constitutional law curricula, her class is essential. It aids law students in developing their personal brands.

Hodges encourages students to improve their value by blogging (among other things like taking courses in the area you want to practice in, joining associations and interest groups, etc.).

“Blogging is a great tool to help law students accomplish this [building your brand],” Hodges said. “Great posts show that you are familiar with the topic. You become part of the discussion, become known among those interested in the topic. Having valuable contacts online is part of becoming a thought leader. You get your name out, it gives you visibility and helps you with search engine optimization. Your name and content will pop up when people look for your topic. Hopefully, this will help you get hired.”

I agree that blogging on legal topics you’re interested in can help you land a job. However, because blog writing is not the same as legal brief writing, I would suggest researching blogs and blog writing styles before starting your own.

Do you have a blog? Are you thinking about starting one?

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Job o' the Day: Summer 2012 Advocate at Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services in St. Paul, MN!

March 5, 2012 at 1:15 pm · Filed under Public Interest Jobs

Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services is hiring two advocates to handle migrant farmworker cases for the summer of 2012. The office in St. Paul covers the migrant farmworker stream of central and southern Minnesota. 

The summer advocates operate SMRLS’s satellite offices in the small towns in the migrant stream under the supervision of unit attorneys. The work of the summer advocates primarily involves conducting outreach, interviewing clients, and developing their cases. Such representation commonly includes investigation, negotiation, legal research and administrative representation. The caseload is made up of employment issues, public benefits, immigration and numerous miscellaneous areas of law.

The experience also provides an excellent opportunity for the exercise of considerable responsibility with close supervision by experienced attorneys.

Ready to apply? Learn how at PSLawNet!

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Sign Up for EJW's March Educational Debt Webinars!

March 5, 2012 at 11:45 am · Filed under Career Resources, Uncategorized

Did you miss EJW’s educational debt webinars last month? It’s all good — there’s 4 this month! Don’t miss them!

Educational debt has become a crippling burden for far too many, and especially for those who want to pursue careers in public service. Equal Justice Works provides in depth information on loan repayment assistance programs and relief programs like Income-Based Repayment and Public Service Loan Forgiveness to help everyone pursue the career of their dreams.

Click here to view a schedule of our free, live webinars that teach you how these programs work, and to register for an upcoming session.

Our current sessions include:

Special session presented by the New York State Bar Association and Equal Justice Works: What Every Public Interest Attorney Should Know About Public Service Loan Forgiveness

Wednesday, March 7, 3-4 p.m. EST

The Steven C. Krane Special Committee on Student Loan Assistance for the Public Interest (SLAPI) is hosting a free webinar on loan repayment for public interest/government attorneys and for public interest/government employers on March 7, 2012 at 3:00 p.m.  The webinar is collaboration with Equal Justice Works.

SLAPI was created in the summer of 2001 to review the impact of law school indebtedness on the ability of government and public service employers to attract qualified attorneys to undertake careers in public service, and to develop a plan to assist new attorneys in pursuing public service careers by reducing indebtedness.  SLAPI has two goals:  to continue to provide financial assistance to mid-level government and public interest attorneys – those out of law school 3 to 6 years – burdened with large educational debt (who are less likely to qualify for federal loan repayment assistance), and to help educate attorneys and employers on the developments in the loan repayment assistance landscape.

SLAPI awarded new loan repayment assistance grants – the first since 2008 – at the January 2012 Annual meeting and will award further grants in January 2013 (go here for more information).  SLAPI’s website also provides information about federal and state loan assistance repayment options.

Plan Before You Borrow: What You Should Know About Educational Loans BEFORE You Go to Graduate School

Friday, March 9, 3-4 p.m. EST

Interested in government or public interest work after graduating? This webinar will help you plan ahead and make sure you can take full advantage of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, the most significant law affecting public service in a generation.

The webinar will teach you about:

– Taking out the right kind of loans

– Consolidating or reconsolidating your previous student loans

– How the College Cost Reduction and Access Act can free you to pursue a public interest career

How to Pay Your Bills AND Your Student Loans: Utilizing Income-Based Repayment

Friday, March 16, 3-4 p.m. EDT

Saddled with high student debt? This webinar reviews Income-Based Repayment, a powerful provision of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act that allows anyone with high debt relative to their income to reduce their federal student loan payments.

This interactive webinar will teach you:

– How to understand your federal loans

– How Income-Based Repayment works and if it is right for you

– How to sign up for Income-Based Repayment

Get Your Educational Loans Forgiven: Public Service Loan Forgiveness

Friday, March 23, 3-4 p.m. EDT

For recent graduates with jobs in government or at a nonprofit, this webinar explains how to make sure you immediately begin fulfilling requirements to qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness so that your educational debt will be forgiven as soon as possible.

You will learn about:

– The importance of having the right kind of Federal Loans

– What you need to do to qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness

– How long it will take to have your educational debt forgiven

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