Civil legal aid openings in the Nutmeg State:

Greater Hartford Legal Aid, Inc. (GHLA) provides free legal representation to low-income residents of Hartford County in housing, family/domestic violence, employment, senior, AIDS, government benefits, health, education, and disability matters. 

GHLA will accept applications from attorneys with experience in one or more of GHLA’s practice areas and from law school graduates from the class of 2012. Admission to the Connecticut bar or ability to waive in is preferred for experienced attorneys.

 View the full job posting on PSLawNet (login required).

Law & order in the Grand Canyon State. Here’s an entry-level opening for a prosecutor in Glendale, AZ, nearby Phoenix.  Although the job is “open until filled,” application review began on July 20.

Job Elements:

• Prepares and appears for arraignments, tries jury and non-jury trials and arranges and conducts pre-trial conferences with defendants and/or attorneys.
• Reviews the file on each case including police reports, previous convictions and motions from defense attorney; prepares any necessary correspondence and prepares for the pre-trial conference.
• Reviews cases forwarded by the Glendale Police Department and Code Enforcement and make the determination whether to prosecute.
• Provides assistance to the general public regarding pending cases and responds to questions from Glendale Police Department and Code Enforcement officials; meets with victims and explains court procedures prior to trial.
• Researches case law writes appellate briefs and provides written responses to motions.
• Argues motions before the court.
• Reviews dismissed cases for possible re-filing.
• Gathers and prepares statistical data on office workload.
• Provides daily update of cases going to trial.
• Records daily public message regarding cases going to trial.
• Files and retrieves case files.

Qualifications
Requires graduation from an accredited school of law and demonstrated working knowledge of the principles of civil and criminal law, rules of evidence, the methods and practices of pleadings, judicial procedures and the principle methods, practices and references utilized in legal research.

And the salary range starts in the high $50s.  Not so bad.  See the full listing on PSLawNet (login required).

By: Steve Grumm & Maria Hibbard

Lisa Abrams, Director of Career Services at the University of Chicago, contributed a terrific article to the August edition of the NALP Bulletin.  The article, “Ten Ways Law Students Can Be More Persuasive in Interviews,” offers solid advice for students and recent grads alike.  At its core, the article is a reminder that even though an interview is a real-time experience requiring job-seekers to think and speak on their feet, pre-interview preparation is critical.  We all perform better in these settings when we’ve thought through what we want to say, what questions we may expect to be asked, and how we may answer those questions in a way that puts our best professional foot forward.  Abrams’s ten tips begin…

1. Thoroughly and thoughtfully research the organization.
2. You must be able to answer the question “Why did you go to law school?”
3. To show you’re a valuable candidate, be able to identify your strongest skills (at least three and give up to three examples of each from your educational experience or work history.
4. Be able to tell the firm, government agency, or public interest organization what you think is special about them….

Check out the full article here to read the rest of the tips. Our takes:

Rising 2L (Maria here): I’m reminded especially of what I’ve learned through my background as a musician when reading this article. I wouldn’t dare go into an audition or major performance without hours and hours of practice and some time spent in mental preparation – as I search for jobs for my second law school summer and beyond, I’m reminded that I need to apply this same kind of diligence to my preparation for interviewing. One of Lisa’s tips focuses on the need to practice answers to interview questions out loud – although I’ve spent thousands of hours practicing presentations, solos, or other types of performances, I don’t think I’ve ever practiced verbally articulating answers to interview questions!

Lisa’s second tip focuses on the need to have a succinct answer to “Why did you go to law school?” – although I could ramble on and on about the myriad of experiences that led me to the legal profession, after reading Lisa’s tip I want to edit this answer down to a type of “newspaper headline,” saying “I went to law school because of ____ and ____.” One sentence can convey all of the important information, but this idea, or “theme” can be elaborated if needed.

Employer (Steve here): as noted above, interview prep is vital.  In doing background research, job seekers should not just memorize facts and figures from an organization’s website.  Talk to your career services office to find out if alumni of your school work(ed) with the organization.  While it may not be appropriate to reach out to current employees of an organization, it could be useful to reach out to former employees for their take on the organization’s culture, how they carry out their mission, etc.  Also, perform Google News searches to see if and why the organization is making headlines.  You must be able to convey why you want to work with this organization during the interview.  Gathering as much background info as possible will help you to do that.

I could write on and on about this topic but Lisa’s article succinctly captures the key tips.  Good luck on the job hunt!

Bonus: check out PSLawNet’s interview tips  tailored specifically for public interest jobs.

San Francisco! There are certainly worse places to live.  Check out our Job o’ the Day:

The California Criminal Justice Reform Campaign is a new, multi-year criminal justice reform campaign to reduce California’s costly over-reliance on incarceration. The intent of this effort is to engage a broad cross section of the public to question the use of limited public dollars on costly incarceration instead of more effective approaches to public safety, and to create an initiative grounded in strategic partnerships to reduce the number of lower-risk people incarcerated in California prisons and jails and make smarter investments of public dollars.

In order to substantially reduce levels of incarceration and free public dollars for other public expenditures, the campaign will work to promote sentencing reform and advance other systemic policy reform at the state level and in target counties. The Campaign will also work to expand the use of alternatives to incarceration, including community-based supervision, drug treatment, mental health treatment, community service, workforce development, and other evidence-based practices and to reduce the re-incarceration of formerly incarcerated individuals for probation and parole violations.

Housed as a project of Tides Center, the campaign is supported by several local and national donors seeking to support more justice and rational criminal justice policies. The campaign is expected to last at least 3 to 5 years. To our knowledge, this is the first time a sustained criminal justice reform effort of this size, scope and duration has been created in California.

The Policy Associate will be responsible for engaging in extensive policy and data research and analysis, producing reports and briefings, and supporting the outreach and community engagement strategies of the campaign. The Policy Associate will engage with criminal justice experts, Sacramento legislative offices’ staff, allied organizations, and various local and state criminal justice agencies, among others. It is envisioned that the Policy Associate will support overall campaign strategy development and work collaboratively with the campaign team on a daily basis.

…

View the full listing on PSLawNet (login required).

Ever wanted to live in Rome?  Like employment law and the idea of managing the inner workings of a large organization?  Check out this great opportunity:

The World Food Programme (WFP) is the world’s largest humanitarian agency, fighting hunger worldwide. We are currently seeking to fill the position of Legal Officer P2 in the Administration & Employment Law Branch (LEGA) in our headquarters in Rome, Italy.

LEGA is responsible for administrative matters and matters arising in connection with WFP’s personnel.

Within delegated authority, the Legal Officer P2 will be responsible for the following duties:

• Consider the application of Regulations, Rules and procedures relevant to the internal justice system and other relevant aspects of human resources management, including disciplinary matters, privileges and immunities, rights and obligations of staff, legal status of staff and their dependents, financial recovery, taxation and social security benefits

• Provide legal advice and support to the Executive Director, Regional Bureaux, Country Offices and HQ Divisions on the legal and constitutional aspects of their activities, including but not limited to, governance, accountability and risk management issues.

• Provide legal advice and support on administrative issues arising in connection with the Programme’s personnel including but not limited to, handling appeals in the internal justice system.

• Provide legal advice and support to new initiatives, assisting transactions and developing standard model agreements and other operational documentation.

• Handle contractual disputes both at HQ and field level. Negotiating legal documents. Raising awareness of legal issues and providing training/support instruments to other units.

View the full listing on PSLawNet (login req’d.).

By: Steve Grumm

Happy Friday, dear readers.  All other news this week was eclipsed by the Glorious Philadelphia Phillies Baseball Franchise’s personnel decisions.  In the midst of a woeful season, the Phils traded away center fielder Shane Victorino, a fan favorite because of the grit, grace, and enthusiasm with which he plays the game.  I commemorate Victorino’s (a/k/a “The Flyin’ Hawaiian”) splendid Philadelphia years in haiku:

Flyin’ Hawaiian

Embodied Philly baseball

He’s gone; I’m dyin’

I don’t often post my original poetry here.  YOU’RE WELCOME.  Heh.  Before turning to this week’s access-to-justice news, here is a pair of other, more serious items that have caught my attention:

• Much ink has been spilled over the questions of whether and how the widening income gap between the U.S.’s wealthiest and poorest is impacting American culture.  Much of the spilled ink takes form as speculation; relatively little hard data is available to help us explore the question.  But some interesting Pew research shows that we are increasingly segregated by income with respect to the neighborhoods/housing-clusters we live in.  There are fewer mixed-income and middle-class neighborhoods.  Here’s a Washington Post article and here’s a link to the Pew research overview.
• The Chronicle of Philanthropy put out research on a salary gender gap among junior-level nonprofit employees: “Even early in their careers, women are likely to make less than their male counterparts, according to a Chronicle survey of entry-level nonprofit workers. The study of more than 900 people who have been in the nonprofit workforce less than five years also found that women have lower salary expectations than men do.”  Read more here and play around with charts that sort the data by education level, including one sorting for “Law degree, medical degree, or PhD.”

Okay, access-to-justice and public interest news (which happens to be heavy on indigent defense this week):

• the Nat’l. Center for Access to Justice has launched a survey on law student pro bono;
• The Montana Legal Services Association benefits from national mortgage foreclosure class-action settlement funds;
• The Virginia Legal Aid Society shutters an office;
• Some public defenders in the Peace Garden State (great nickname!) face swollen caseloads;
• Four NorCal immigration legal services providers splitting $650K in foundation funding;
• Short-staffed Philly public defender’s office pulls out of 3 busy courtrooms;
• A community-based diversionary court program is lowering recidivism in D.C.;
• NOLA defender sues traffic court, says “Show me the money!”;
• the Show Me State’s high court issues a (limited) decision on public defender caseload limits;
• the Legal Services Corporation releases its 2011 annual report;
• the Wisconsin ATJ Commission begins a series of public hearings;
• a possible prosecutors’ strike in Contra Costa County, CA(?);
• a county near Pittsburgh, PA may go to more staff defenders, fewer appointed counsel;
• Garden State pro bono numbers;
• grant funding available for state ATJ commissions;
• a look at caseload pressures on Bluegrass State public defenders;
• Why can’t we end poverty in the U.S.?;
• a look at the Indianapolis Legal Aid Society;
• Calcasieu defender’s office in Louisiana forced to cut back on conflict counsel;
• Music!  And Space!

The summaries: 

• 8.1.12 – “The National Center for Access to Justice is preparing a Guide to Strengthening Law Student Pro Bono to Increase Access to Justice and is seeking your help.  If you work in a court, legal services program, law school, law firm, Access to Justice Commission, bar association, or other justice system setting, we hope you will respond to this call. The Guide is focusing on ‘volunteering,’ as distinct from clinics, externships, fellowships, and other activities which law students pursue for credit or pay.  The Center is gathering examples of best practices in which law students, as volunteers, are making a difference….  The Center seeks your input via a survey monkey instrument or via email, info@nc4aj.org. Please also feel free to email the Center’s Executive Director with any questions, David Udell, udell@yu.edu.”  

• 8.1.12 – Montana’s attorney general announced how the state’s share of settlement funds from a class-action over shady lending and foreclosure practices are being divvied.  The Montana Legal Services Association will receive $863,000 to serve low-income homeowners facing foreclosure-related problems.  (Here’s the AG’s announcement.)  

• 8.1.12 – the Virginia Legal Aid Society, citing a 20% decrease in funding, is closing its office in Emporia.  (Here’s a short article from the Independent-Messenger.)

• 8.1.12 – public defenders in North Dakota are facing swollen caseloads and are short on attorneys to handle them.  The state’s indigent defense program director cites a “crushing” caseload in one rural office on the state’s western edge.  (Full story from the Williston Herald.) Unsolicited speculation by your author: North Dakota has enjoyed a natural-resource-driven economic boom of late, and droves of people have found employment there.  I suspect that with all of this inflow and churn, the state government – including its indigent defense program – is feeling some strain to keep up with the need for services.  Also, speaking of western North Dakota, if you’ve never been to Theodore Roosevelt National Park you’re missing out.

• 8.1.12 –  The Silicon Valley Community Foundation “announced Tuesday, July 31, that it is donating $654,090 in grants to organizations providing immigration [legal] services for low and moderate-income residents of Santa Clara and San Mateo counties. This is the foundation’s third year of donating to legal services for immigrants in the area. The money will be divided between four organizations: Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County, the Mission Asset Fund, the Immigrant Legal Resource Center and the International Institute of the Bay Area.  The organizations receiving the grant money all offer various immigrant services, including visas, naturalization, asylum and assistance to survivors of violence.”  (Full story from the Mountain View Voice.)

• 8.1.12 – the Philly public defender’s office has pulled out of three courtrooms on account of longstanding attorney shortages: “Staffing has been eliminated for now at three of the busiest Common Pleas courtrooms in Philadelphia.  The action is not being taken by city officials.  Rather it’s a form of protest by the defender’s association. (Here’s a WHYY interview with Philadelphia Public Defender Ellen Greenlee.)

• 8.1.12 – a report from the D.C. Superior Court (our trial-level court) highlights the success of a neighborhood court diversionary program, most of the participants of which are minor drug offenders.  The main takeaway is that the recidivism rate among East of the River Community Court (ERCC) participants was markedly lower compared to defendants in the regular court system. Here’s a link to the report, courtesy of the Legal Times.

• 7.31.12 – “The chief public defender in Orleans Parish and the state board that oversees indigent defense in Louisiana filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the four New Orleans Traffic Court judges, seeking millions of dollars they claim the court has illegally withheld in fees slated for poor defendants. The lawsuit, filed in East Baton Rouge Parish, claims the judges have failed to follow state law in collecting and turning over an indigent defense fee that rose from $35 to $45 per conviction this year. The lawsuit follows a standstill between the state Public Defender Board and the judges over the court’s responsibility to make up for past failures and pay what it owes.”  (Full story from the Times-Picayune.)

• 7.31.12 – “A divided Missouri Supreme Court concluded Tuesday that a judge exceeded his authority when appointing a public defender despite a rule that restricts new clients to control caseloads…. The state public defender system has set maximum caseload standards for its offices. When limits are exceeded for three consecutive months, the public defender director can certify that the local office has limited availability for cases. Officials then are supposed to work with prosecutors and judges to reduce demand for public defenders and can refuse new cases if an agreement is not reached…. The Supreme Court ruled, in a 4-3 decision, that the caseload rule should have been applied because nothing was shown to suggest that the protocol was invalid or inapplicable.”  (Here’s the full AP story.)  More coverage:
  • “With Tuesday’s decision, the Supreme Court affirmed that Missouri State Public Defenders Commission has the authority to set rules governing procedures for the district offices.  But the twist: The court did not decide whether this specific rule, which allows a district office to close when caseloads reach a maximum level set by the commission, was proper.”  (Full article from the Springfield News-Leader.)

• 7.31.12 – the Legal Services Corporation has released its 2011 annual report.  Here are some key data points from the report’s “By the Numbers” section:
  • The number of Americans eligible for LSC-funded legal assistance reached an all-time high: 64.6 million.
  • LSC’s 135 grantees employed 8,363 full-time staff at 915 offices throughout the United States and its territories.  4,097 were attorneys, 1,447 were paralegals.  [Ed. note: according to prior year’s (2010) report, there were 9059 full-time staff working with LSC grantee programs.]
  • 32,101 private attorneys accepted pro bono cases through LSC-funded programs.
  • Cases closed: 899,817, including 79,578 with the involvement of pro bono attorneys.
  • 117,595 clients were at least 60 years old.
  • 637,426 were women.
  • 105,090 of the cases involved domestic violence.
  • Total number of people in all households served: 2,284,162.

• 7.31.12 – “On Tuesday [7/31/12], the Wisconsin Access to Justice Commission hosted a public hearing to learn more about that challenge.” The committee is hosting a total of six hearings throughout the Badger State, and intends to produce a report based on the data and stories it gathers.  (Full story from WQOW.)
  • Here’s earlier coverage from Wisconsin Public Radio.

• 7.30.12 – From Contra Costa County in N. California: “Contra Costa supervisors voted Tuesday to impose a labor contract on [unionized] county prosecutors that includes deep pay cuts, despite District Attorney Mark Peterson’s assertion that he can find savings the county needs elsewhere in his budget…. The District Attorney’s Office is the most understaffed, overworked prosecutorial unit in the Bay Area, and cutting compensation further will hurt morale and likely lead to more attorneys leaving, Peterson said…. The supervisors said they were only able to pass a balanced budget this year because the county’s employee unions have made sacrifices, and that deputy district attorneys need to do the same…. The prosecutors say they have been discussing striking, and could challenge the contract in labor court.”  (Full story from the Silicon Valley Mercury News.)

• 7.30.12 – Westmoreland County (PA) officials are mulling a plan to cut the number of private lawyers appointed to represent criminal defendants. Court administrators estimate that about $150,000 a year can be saved by retaining a staff of five attorneys earning an annual salary rather than the current system in which dozens of lawyers are appointed and paid on an hourly basis. ‘Other than personnel, this is the courts’ largest line item,’ said court administrator Paul Kuntz.  Last year, judges appointed more than 50 private lawyers who represented about 330 defendants. The county paid $368,000 for those lawyers.  Attorneys are appointed by the courts to represent criminal defendants when there is a conflict of interest with the public defender’s office. For the last several months, court officials have explored methods to reduce these costs.  Kuntz surveyed 33 counties throughout Pennsylvania and found that most — 25 — used independent staff to deal with these cases.  (Full story from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.)

• 7.30.12 – Garden State pro bono numbers.  “New Jersey’s top 20 firms racked up 100,746 pro bono hours in 2011, breaking 100,000 for the second time but leaving intact last year’s record of nearly 104,000 hours.  Still, the 2011 figure represents an impressive average of more than 33 hours for each of the 3,027 attorneys at the top 20 firms.  And the proportion of those who did 20 hours or more of pro bono went up in 2011, from 25.7 percent to 28 percent.  Leading the pack once again were the same firms that have held the top four spots since 2008: Lowenstein Sandler in Roseland, Gibbons and McCarter & English, both in Newark, and Porzio Bromberg & Newman in Morristown.”  (Full story from the New Jersey Law Journal.)

• 7.30.12 – funding available for state access-to-justice commissions: “With funding from the Public Welfare Foundation, the ABA Access to Justice Commission Expansion Project is making grants to strengthen the Access to Justice commission movement nationally by facilitating development of new Access to Justice commissions and expanding agendas and promoting innovative initiatives in existing commissions.”  (Here are grant application process/timeline details from the ABA.)  Tip of cap to Richard Zorza’s Access to Justice blog.

• 7.29.12 – here’s an article looking at the pressures weighing upon Kentucky’s indigent defense network (the Department of Public Advocacy), with particular focus on the very busy Bowling Green office.  (DPA just released its 2011 annual report.)  From the article: “The picture of the overworked public defender buried in casework is rooted in fact, particularly in the Bowling Green office….  The Bowling Green office handled 5,437 new cases, the fifth-highest total among the 30 trial offices. The average caseload of 515.1 new cases per attorney in the local office is the third-highest average in the state, and when ongoing criminal cases are factored into a public defender’s caseload, the Bowling Green office had the highest average attorney caseload, with each attorney responsible for 799.8 cases….  Overall, Kentucky’s public defender caseload, which includes the Trial and Post-Trial divisions, has increased by about 43.5 percent from 2002 – when 108,078 new cases were assigned to the DPA – to last year, according to the DPA’s annual report.”  (Full article from the Bowling Green Daily News.)

•  7.28.12 – Prof. Peter Edelman, chair of the D.C. Access to Justice Commission and longtime supporter of civil legal aid, asks why we cannot end poverty in the U.S.  Edelman IDs federal programs that have helped the poor – Social Security, food stamps, and the Earned Income Tax Credit, and then asks: “With all of that, why have we not achieved more? Four reasons: An astonishing number of people work at low-wage jobs. Plus, many more households are headed now by a single parent, making it difficult for them to earn a living income from the jobs that are typically available. The near disappearance of cash assistance for low-income mothers and children — i.e., welfare — in much of the country plays a contributing role, too. And persistent issues of race and gender mean higher poverty among minorities and families headed by single mothers.” (Read the full New York Times op-ed.)

• 7.28.12 – the Indiana Business Journal’s publisher just joined the board of the Indianapolis Legal Aid Society, and he’s put pen to paper extolling the importance of ILAS’s work. (Here’s his piece in, naturally, the Indiana Business Journal.)

• In Louisiana, “Calcasieu Public Defenders Office announced it must cut back services due to budget shortfalls and that the office will withdraw as counsel for about 400 felony cases it’s now appointed to handle.  A spokesman says they will work with the judges to assign new attorneys from the private bar.”  The positions being cut are four of the office’s six conflict attorney slots.  (Full story from KPLC.)  

Music!  Hard to withstand The Temptations if you want to smile on a Friday morning. (Edit: link fixed.)

Space!  Check out this extraordinary time-lapse footage of Earth as seen from the International Space Station.  As trite as this notion may seem, perspective is everything, and viewing Earth from above is somehow humbling, frightening, and tremendously satisfying at once.

The Lawyers’ Committee for Better Housing seeks law students for fall 2012 internships. LCBH believes that all persons have a right to safe, decent, and affordable housing on a non-discriminatory basis. We promote the availability of and access to such housing and support low and moderate-income households in Chicago through legal representation, individual and public advocacy, supportive services and education.

Law students will have opportunities to research legal issues, draft legal memoranda and correspondence, conduct discovery and investigation, meet with clients, and attend intake meetings.  Students with valid 711 licenses will have opportunities to appear in court on behalf of clients.

Find out how to apply at PSLawNet!

The National Center for Access to Justice is gathering information about law student pro bono:

We are preparing a Guide to Strengthening Law Student Pro Bono to Increase Access to Justice and we are seeking your help.  If you work in a court, legal services program, law school, law firm, Access to Justice Commission, bar association, or other justice system setting, we hope you will respond to this call.

The Guide will focus on “volunteering,” as distinct from clinics, externships, fellowships, and other activities which law students pursue for credit or pay.  We are gathering examples of best practices in which law students, as volunteers, are making a difference.  Law students may represent clients, assist lawyers, carry out policy advocacy, conduct legal research, provide legal information, help litigants complete court forms, conduct court-watching projects, and more.

The models we seek come in many forms.  Some draw on efficiencies of scale, attract new resources, or have systemic impacts.  Some are based in courts, involve multiple law schools, or rely on private attorneys.  Some are valuable to legal services programs or courts, or fill niches in particular communities, including in rural areas far from other law schools and courts. We are especially interested when models help people in underserved practice areas, such as family law, housing law, foreclosure law, consumer law, public benefits law, and immigration law.

Please share your ideas and examples with us.  We welcome your input via a survey monkey instrument located here http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/9BTCF6C, or via email, info@nc4aj.org. The survey is also posted on our web site at:  http://www.ncforaj.org/law-student-pro-bono.  Please also feel free to email me with any questions, David Udell, udell@yu.edu.  Let us hear from you.

There’s something in it for you, too: If you know of any awesome law student volunteers, you can also nominate them for PSLawNet’s Pro Bono Publico Award!

Legal Services of Central New York, Inc. (LSCNY) is hiring for a Staff Attorney position. The attorney will work in the Syracuse office.

This is a project, funded for one year, designed to improve access to services and care for persons with developmental, psychiatric, or physical disabilities who are incarcerated in a county jail.

Advocate for policy and process changes on behalf of jail inmates with disabilities. The staff attorney will engage in policy and public advocacy, negotiation, litigation, and networking, as appropriate.

The deadline to apply is 8/3 – find out how at PSLawNet!