Tired of working on cases you don’t believe in?  Long to do something meaningful with your law degree?  Love our Constitution and its founding principles?  The Institute for Justice (www.IJ.org), the nation’s leading libertarian public interest law firm, is seeking an experienced litigator for its Florida Chapter located in downtown Miami.  With a 20-year track record of accomplishments, including five cases at the U.S. Supreme Court, IJ is the premier law firm working to vindicate the liberties of all Floridians.

The constitutional litigator’s primary responsibility will be litigating cases in the areas of economic liberty, free speech, private property rights and school choice in both state and federal courts in Florida.

Learn how to apply at PSLawNet!

From Politico:

The Alabama legislature approved Wednesday changes to the state’s controversial immigration law – keeping key portions intact while adding a new provision to publish the names of undocumented immigrants who appear in court, regardless of the trial’s outcome, according to reports.

The state’s House and Senate approved changes to the law that would require the Department of Homeland Security to post a list of undocumented immigrants who appeared in court for violations of state law, even if they are not eventually convicted of a crime, reports the Montgomery Advertiser.

The bill kept in place the immigration measure that has generated the most controversy: the requirement that police verify the immigration status of anyone they suspect of being in the country illegally, according to Reuters. . . .

The changes in the immigration law are partly due to an embarrassing incident in which a German Mercedes Benz executive was detained after failing to show proof of his immigration status – he was later released after the governor’s office intervened.

To address this, an amendment passed Wednesday would allow individuals to use a credit card or a voter ID to prove residency status if the person does not have their state driver’s license handy.

Read more here.

Founded in 1956, Legal Services of Northern California (LSNC) provides high quality civil legal assistance to the poor, elderly, and people with disabilities in 23 northern California counties.  The Sargent Shriver Civil Counsel Act project addresses the enormous imbalance of representation in judicial evictions by providing representation to tenant litigants. LSNC will operate one of seven pilot projects funded through the Act.  Attorneys working with the Sacramento project will provide direct representation to defendants  in eviction proceedings in Sacramento County courts.

Under supervision of the Supervising Attorney, will participate in all aspects of litigation including, but not limited to: client interviews, factual investigation, legal research, discovery, preparation of legal documents, negotiations, trials, and appellate work in both State and Federal Courts; provide legal advice to individual clients, and general legal information to eligible community groups as well as to the public in general.

Interested? Find out how to apply at PSLawNet!

From CNNMoney:

 The film emperor may be striking back. For 25 years, filmmaker George Lucas tried to persuade his Marin County, Calif., neighbors to let him build a digital production studio on his ranch there, but the area’s residents thwarted the plan.

So Lucas has come up with an alternative for his Grady Ranch property: To build low-income housing on it.

In a letter posted online Lucasfilmwrote, “It is with great sadness that Skywalker Properties has decided to pull its application to build a studio facility.

Instead, the maker of some of the biggest box office successes of all time, including the “Star Wars” and “Indiana Jones” franchises, intends to sell the property to the Marin Community Foundation (MCF), a non-profit that has already funded more than 2,500 units of affordable housing and will explore options for developing Grady Ranch.

Lucas had applied to the county planning commission for permits to build a 260,000 square-foot compound that would be used as a digital media production studio. The company claimed the facilities would create about 600 high-paying jobs.

“The level of bitterness and anger expressed by the homeowners in Lucas Valley has convinced us that, even if we were to spend more time and acquire the necessary approvals, we would not be able to maintain a constructive relationship with our neighbors,” Lucasfilm said in its statement. . . .

It may seem as if the affordable housing project is a way for Lucas to stick it to his opposition, but Tom Peters, the CEO of the Marin County Foundation disagrees. “I know Lucas and checked with him on that point personally and directly. It was essential that I was convinced that it was not done out of spite. I would not have accepted the project if I thought it was,” he said.

Read the rest here.

Communities for a Better Environment is looking to hire a staff attorney to prosecute environmental lawsuits in state and federal courts on behalf of CBE.

CBE is a California environmental health and justice organization that combines grassroots organizing, legal advocacy, and science-based research to achieve its goals.  CBE’s mission is to build power in urban communities of color and low-income communities to achieve environmental health and justice by reducing pollution and building healthy and sustainable communities.

The legal department focuses largely on energy (both encouraging alternative energy and phasing out fossil fuel dependence) and establishing more effective and sustainable local land use and air pollution regulation.

To learn how to apply, visit PSLawNet!

From the New York Times:

THE chief judge of New York State, Jonathan Lippman, announced at a Law Day ceremony on May 1 that, starting next year, aspiring lawyers must perform 50 pro bono service hours before joining the state bar. The goal is to provide legal services to needy clients, including those facing eviction, foreclosure and domestic abuse.

Mandatory pro bono work for lawyers is a good idea. But Judge Lippman’s plan is deeply flawed, as it affects only aspiring lawyers who have not yet gained admission to the bar. . . .

The Lippman plan hurts these budding lawyers most of all. Recent law school graduates face a growing employment crisis: the Law School Transparency Data Clearinghouse lists 67 schools (out of the 185 that were scored) with full-time legal employment rates below 55 percent. At the same time, law school tuition and student debt have skyrocketed. The average 2011 law graduate from Syracuse owes $132,993, not including any debt incurred for undergraduate education. At Pace, the figure is $139,007; at New York Law School, $146,230.

After commencement, things get worse. Law graduates often borrow more money for bar preparation, to pay for both living expenses and prep courses, which can cost more than $3,000. Even graduates with good jobs lined up face tight summer budgets; many work in retail or food service to make ends meet, as do many law students. The irony is that many recent law graduates may well qualify for the free legal services Judge Lippman will bestow on New York’s poor. It is from these struggling New Yorkers that Judge Lippman demands over a week’s unpaid labor. . . .

Read more here.

The Southern Poverty Law Center seeks an attorney to join its New Orleans, Louisiana office.  The Center is a national non-profit organization dedicated to reducing bigotry and oppression through education and litigation.  Currently, the Center’s areas of legal advocacy include juvenile justice, immigrant justice, education reform, LGBT rights, and combating hate groups.

The Southern Poverty Law Center is dedicated to fighting hate and bigotry, and to seeking justice for the most vulnerable members of our society. Using litigation, education and other forms of advocacy, we work toward the day when the ideals of equal justice and equal opportunity will be a reality.

To learn more about the position, check out the listing at PSLawNet!

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.

Drowning in Debt? Learn How Government and Nonprofit Workers Can Earn Public Service Loan Forgiveness

Thursday, May 17, 2-3 p.m. EDT

 A must attend for anyone with educational debt planning to work or currently working for the government or a nonprofit, this webinar explains how you can benefit from the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, the most significant law affecting public service in a generation.

This webinar will teach you how to:

– Understand your federal loans

– Manage your monthly payments using income-driven repayment plans like Income-Based Repayment plan

– How to qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness

Register here.

Michael P. Maslanka, the managing partner of the Dallas office of Constangy, Brooks & Smith, penned Five Tips for Writing a Get-Noticed, Persuasive Resume for LawJobs.com. He offers creative advice specifically for attorneys (like “Be vivid.” Bet you haven’t hear that before!)– it’s a quick and easy read, so check it out here!

Pro Bono Net, a national nonprofit organization using innovative technology to increase legal assistance for poor persons, seeks a highly qualified candidate to spearhead pro bono recruitment campaigns and support and maintain partnerships with nonprofit legal aid organizations in New York and nationally building legal resource web sites to serve pro bono, legal aid and human rights advocates. This full-time position reports to the Deputy Director and is based in New York City.

Pro Bono Net (PBN) works in close partnership with other nonprofit legal organizations across the U.S. and Canada to increase access to justice for poor and moderate-income people. It does so by (i) supporting technology innovation by the nonprofit legal sector, (ii) increasing participation by volunteers, and (iii) facilitating collaborations among advocates working on
similar issues or in the same region. Pro Bono Net’s programs include LawHelp.org, probono.net, Pro Bono Manager, and LawHelp Interactive. To learn more about Pro Bono Net’s programs, visit http://www.probono.net/about/item.Mission

To learn how to apply, check out the full listing at PSLawNet!