Based in Washington D.C., the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) advances the mission of the criminal defense bar to ensure justice and due process for people accused of crimes. With a direct membership of over 11,000 and an additional 35,000 international affiliates, the professional bar association works to promote the proper and fair administration of criminal justice.

NACDL is currently hiring a 6-month Project Attorney. From the PSJD job listing:

The Project Attorney is a limited-term grant funded position that will commence in March and conclude on September 30, 2013. One of the Project Attorney’s major responsibilities will be determining and notifying parties, including defendants and defense counsel, in a national project to identify cases of possible wrongful conviction based on unreliable forensic evidence. The Project Attorney will also assist NACDL’s Resource Counsel in developing and administering support services for criminal practitioners in a variety of practice settings throughout the United States, with an emphasis on post-conviction innocence claims. The Project Attorney will gather resources and further develop and update NACDL’s existing resources to provide technical and substantive assistance on all aspects of post-conviction criminal defense practice. The Project Attorney will provide resources on challenging the reliability of non-DNA forensic evidence to enable post-conviction lawyers to effectively identify and provide high quality representation in cases of wrongful conviction.

The Project Attorney will also conduct, community education and online resource development. For more information, view the full job listing at PSJD.org (log-in required).

Last week, former Maryland Governor Robert Ehrlich Jr. announced the formation of a new law school clinic at the Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law. The clinic will focus primarily on clemency and pardons. This initiative is innovative not only because it is the first clinic of its kind, but because 5 different law schools competed to house the program.

Since the United States has one of the highest incarceration rates in the world, this clinic will more than likely offer great relief to a very large and marginalized client community that has been relegated to second-class citizenship upon release, and offer insight into a presidential pardon system that often unfairly favors white applicants.

Speaking of clients: Earlier this week, the National Law Journal published an article detailing how law schools can prepare students to become more “client-ready” through regular coursework, in addition to clinical and capstone opportunities:

Undoubtedly, the limits on clinic seats led the ABA to write into the resolution a call for additional client contact outside the clinical setting. And it is here, in the nonclinical experiential courses, that law schools need to turn some client-centered attention, because it is in those courses that most of the curriculum takes place. What lawyers and the public actually want from law graduates is a sense of how to work with clients. Lawyers are paid to counsel clients and to advocate for their clients, whether they are people, companies, governments or nonprofits. As FMC Technologies Inc.’s general counsel, Jeffrey W. Carr, said in the 2011 New York Times article, “The fundamental issue is that law schools are not capable of producing people who are capable of being counselors.”

The article, written by Rutgers School of Law clinical professor Ruth Anne Robbins, goes on to call for law school faculties to “move the focus of nonclinical experiential courses toward the notion of client,” more than is already being done. Students and professors alike seem to be ready for more innovation within law school curriculum, so how can we as a public interest legal community aid in this process?

So trial advocacy is your favorite part of law school, you own the whole Law & Order series on DVD, and you have glorious dreams about litigating in a courtroom. Chances are you’ve taken a Criminal Law course and find yourself enthralled by the stories of crime and punishment held in the casebook.

If this is true for you, it may be time to take a look at PSJD’s Careers in Criminal Prosecution or Public Defense guides. With information on hiring and links to other resources, these guides offer up lots of help in deciding whether this kind of career is for you.

You may also want to check out our State & Local Government Career Resources center, which includes general information about working on a broader range of legal issues for state and local governments.

And, just for fun, check out our post on Nathaniel Burney’s Illustrated Guide to Criminal Law – a series of anecdotal drawings detailing core concepts of criminal law.

The Southern Education Foundation is the South’s oldest education philanthropy organization, dating back all the way to 1867. Their mission is to advance equity and excellence in education for low income students and communities in the South – a region that is home to the nation’s poorest people. With low levels of education attainment and high dropout rates, the Southern Education Foundation helps fulfill the need for new leaders to develop community partnerships and corrective public policies that will improve education equity, quality and opportunity at all levels.

In 2004, SEF initiated the Southern Education Leadership Initiative to provide highly motivated and diverse graduate students opportunities to develop leadership skills and engage with their communities on contemporary education issues. Students spend the summer in trainings and working at a leading nonprofit sector organization. From the PSJD job posting:

Interns Receive:

• An opportunity to work for eight weeks in an organization concerned with equity and excellence in education e.g., a policy institution, community-based organization or philanthropic institution;
• A modest stipend and travel expenses for summer trainings;
• Exposure to research in the field, practical experience, and opportunities to meet and work with outstanding and inspiring education reformers and advocates.
• Professional development and leadership trainings that orient them to issues in education and the nonprofit sector.
• Opportunities to network, reflect, and exchange ideas with fellow interns.

Eligibility Requirements:

• Must be between the ages of 20-32 years old to qualify for program.
• Completion of 60 credit hours (or the equivalent of junior status & above in undergraduate program) or enrollment in a graduate program or law program at a college or university.
• Familiarity with or demonstrated interest in social justice and/or education policy and practice.
• Excellent interpersonal, writing, and critical thinking skills, with flexibility to respond well to diverse people, settings, and tasks.
• Submission of the complete application by due date, including all supporting documents. (No exceptions on late applications will be made). Application available here: http://southerneducation.org/SEF/media/Education-Legends/2013-Program-Application.pdf
• Must be willing to potentially relocate for summer, not take any kind of coursework or other job opportunities during summer program, and attend in full the Orientation and Closing Meetings of the program.

The summer stipend is $4500 and the deadline to apply is March 1, 2013. For more information, view the full job listing at PSJD.org (log-in required).

Published annually by the Network of University Legal Aid Institutions (NULAI) Nigeria, the African Journal of Clinical Legal Education & Access to Justice is devoted to law and legal education of significant research value. The Journal focuses primarily on developments within clinical legal education, justice education, and access to justice.

The Journal is currently inviting articles and commentaries for publication. (NULAI Nigeria is also hosting a Law Clinics Essay Writing Competition, open only to students and graduates of law clinics in Africa.) Articles are usually accepted for submission at anytime, but articles for the October 2013 edition must reach the editor before May 31, 2013.

Click here to view a list of guidelines for exclusive publication. Applicants can send articles and commentaries that meet the stated criteria to Ernest Ojukwu, Editor-in-Chief, at africanjournal-cle@nulai.org. Good luck!

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) is one of two bodies in the inter-American legal system designed to promote and protect human rights. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the Commission represents all the member states of the Organization of American States. The other human rights body is the Inter-American Court of Human Rights located in San Jose, Costa Rica.

The IACHR is currently seeking a Human Rights Specialist to work in their D.C. office for 6 months. Here are the job’s responsibilities, as listed on PSJD:

1. Case processing and reporting

• Coordinate the preparation and presentation of contentious cases and requests for advisory opinions before the Inter-American Court: conduct legal research and analysis, draft briefs, manage case correspondence, identify and collect evidence, coordinate the presentation of witnesses, and may participate or help prepare arguments and witness testimony to be presented before the Court
• Manage a portfolio of cases according to procedural stage and complexity.
• Draft reports on cases for Commission review based on consultation with the Executive Secretariat and the IACHR.
• Issue pertinent drafts of documents in relation to evaluations of petitions and urgent measures concerning the Member States comprised in the Section’s portfolio.
• Provide policy advice and recommendations to the Supervisor and/or Section Chief on key issues relating to the processing of petitions and cases, the preparation of admissibility and merits reports, systemic issues and patters arising from the petitions and cases.
• Ensure that the Section’s electronic files (including the Section’s database records) are accurate, up to date, and in compliance with quality standards set by the Secretariat.

2. Researching and monitoring the situation (political, legal, human rights) in the Member States comprised in the Section’s mandate

• Provide advice to IACHR Country Rapporteurs for the Member States.
• Contribute to the deliveries of the Section to on-site visits, and country and special reports concerning the Member States. This requires gathering and evaluating data from a wide range of sources, legal research and analysis, editing and translating documents, and the drafting of reports for publication, pursuant to Commission approval.
• Prepare and deliver the materials necessary for the planning of public hearings during IACHR sessions.
• Maintain communications with representatives of the Member States comprised in the Section’s portfolio, as well as petitioners, organizations of civil society and other stakeholders; and warning the Section Coordinator of any communications requiring top management attention.

3. Other duties and responsibilities

• Carry out legal research and legal analyses requested by the Supervisor/Section Chief.
• Provide advice to the Supervisor/Section Chief in relation to the design and implementation of working methodologies common to all IACHR Sections.
• Issue drafts for the Section’s input to internal and external reports, among them, the IACHR’s Annual Report, the Executive Secretary’s reports, the inputs to General Secretariat reports, summit reports and reports to donor agencies.
• Participate in meetings, conferences and other academic or promotion activities.
• Perform other related duties as assigned, including replacing and backstopping for others.

The salary is $56,091.00, and the application deadline is March 1, 2013. For more information, view the full job listing at PSJD.org (log-in required).

The law schools at Duke, UNC Chapel Hill and the University of Virginia are all expanding opportunities for their students to get real-world legal experience by offering new pro bono and externship programs.

Duke University and UNC Chapel Hill’s law schools have partnered up to create the Cancer Pro Bono Legal Program, a project that sends volunteer law students to both the Duke Cancer Center and the the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center – in both cases to help patients create power of attorney documents. Supervised by licensed attorneys, participating law students will also host monthly seminars on topics relevant to patients with chronic illnesses. The Cancer Pro Bono Legal Program launched last Friday.

The University of Virginia School of Law has redesigned their program to include three new types of externships that will launch in the fall. Students can: earn a full semester of credit by working for a local, national or international government or non-profit agency; earn course credit by working part-time in Virginia; or participate in the “UVA Law in DC” program, which will allow students to spend a semester working full-time in Washington, D.C. for a government or non-profit agency for academic credit.

As law students struggle to compete in today’s job market, these expanded opportunities to gain practical legal knowledge are much-needed. In addition to hands-on experience, students also benefit from academic seminars that reinforce what they are learning in the office. Cheers to UVA, Duke and UNC Chapel Hill law schools for creating more opportunities for public interest law students!

Volunteer Lawyers for Justice (VLJ), based in Newark, New Jersey, provides comprehensive legal services to economically-disadvantaged adults, children, and families in New Jersey through volunteer attorneys recruited and trained by VLJ.  Programs include free legal counsel and advice, educational seminars on various legal matters, and direct representation for at-risk individuals facing critical civil legal issues.

VLJ currently has a vacancy for a 6-month Disaster Legal Response Program Fellowship. From the PSJD job listing:

The Disaster Legal Response Program Fellow position is funded for six months, with the possibility of extension with additional funding. The Fellow will work with a lead attorney for this program and together, both will coordinate all phases of the direct referral pro bono program. Duties will include conducting intake with clients, recruiting, training and supporting pro bono attorneys, placing cases with volunteer attorneys, managing attorney and client data and files and conducting outreach in the community. The Fellow may also work with the lead attorney on developing a coordinated legal response to future disasters. The legal issues that are currently being addressed by this program include FEMA appeals, storm-related unemployment compensation, insurance issues, and landlord/tenant issues and may change due to client needs. While the Fellow will work primarily on the Disaster Response/ Preparedness Program, the staff attorney will also be expected to assist on other VLJ programming when necessary. Those programs serve clients in the areas of family law, consumer law, bankruptcy, criminal re-entry and education law.

Successful applicants will have a commitment to public interest law and 1-5 years of experience, among other qualifications. For more information, view the full job listing at PSJD.org (log-in required).

By: Steve Grumm

Happy Friday, folks.  As many of you know I’m leaving NALP to take a position directing the ABA’s Resource Center for Access to Justice Initiatives.  I’m excited to join the ABA and to focus squarely on ATJ work, but there is much I will miss about NALP, PSJD, and the community I’ve worked in for the past seven-plus years.

I joke sometimes that this weekly blog post’s readership consists of four people.  I’m just being modest, of course.  The readership is nearly double that.  Well, in fact it’s a little larger, but I’m not setting any Web-traffic records either.  Numbers aside, what I see when I look at my email distribution list for this weekly post is a group of people who operate in every corner of the public interest legal world: law school administrators and clinicians, law students, nonprofit and government lawyers, legal-aid executive directors, law firm pro bono counsel, bar association officials, and so on and forth.  I’ve worked with a remarkably diverse, talented group of individuals.  I’m grateful for that.

What will become of the Public Interest News Bulletin? It will enter into a brief, late-winter hibernation.  But a few weeks from now NALP will return to publishing the bulletin here on the PSJD Blog.  Keep any eye out for it.  In the meantime, if you want to read a newsletter focused on the larger legal industry then check out my boss’s weekly offering here (updated every Friday).  I’ve learned a lot from Jim’s observations on the business of law and his aggregation of the week’s important stories – despite the inexplicable lack of a Super Music Bonus.

Separate from that, in early March I will begin publishing a weekly access-to-justice news digest on a new platform.  If you would like to receive this digest, please email me at sgrumm[at]hotmail.com.  I’ll add you to the distribution.

I don’t think of myself as a sappy person.  But my NALP departure has me thinking all the way back to my arrival in the public interest world.  It came when I served for a year, just after college, as a Jesuit Volunteer in the Northwest Justice Project’s Yakima office.  One of my enduring memories is of reading a quote which was framed and nestled in the bookcase of the first legal aid lawyer I met – Don Kinney.  Here’s the quote, penned by Bonaro Overstreet:

You say the little efforts that I make
will do no good: they never will prevail
to tip the hovering scale
where justice hangs in balance.

I don’t think I ever thought they would.
But I am prejudiced beyond debate
in favor of my right to choose which side
shall feel the stubborn ounces of my weight.

That quote’s appeared in some form or fashion in every office I’ve occupied since that experience in 1999.  It’s pegged to a corkboard next to me right now.  And it will follow me to Chicago, where I look forward to placing my stubborn ounces on the scales of (access to) justice.   Thanks for reading this blog post for the past few years.  Let’s stay in touch.

Okay, the week’s news in very, very short:

• $800K in class action residuals going to Legal Aid of W. Missouri;
• a new social justice center at Temple Law (hey, I went to school there!);
• debate continues on how to fix the Show Me State’s public defense system;
• New York Law School offers scholarships to government employees;
• recap of recently passed ABA resolutions impacting ATJ;
• pay Montana public defenders more;
• California county bows to pressure and starts assigning defenders at felony arraignments;
• corporate pro bono in Canada;
• find more funding for Wisconsin’s public defense program;
• a Georgia county’s public defense program closes;
• the “business case for pro bono” is made outside the legal arena;
• some changes in providing legal aid to low-income seniors in N. California;
• Super Music Bonus!

The summaries:

• 2.14.13 – from a press release: “Legal Aid of Western Missouri has received nearly $800,000 in additional funding to help provide services to low-income families in the state.  The funds are residual proceeds from a class action lawsuit settled in 2011 titled Allen & Lande v. UMB Bank. The court-approved settlement was secured by plaintiffs’ attorneys from the law firms of Tycko & Zavareei LLP, Stueve Siegel Hanson LLP and Gray, Ritter & Graham, P.C. The Court’s order approving the settlement provided that settlement checks not presented by individual class members for payment within one year would be distributed to Legal Aid to carry out its charitable mission.”
  
• 2.14.13 – good things from my alma mater.  “The Temple University Beasley School of Law will use a $1.5 million donation to launch a center for social justice.The gift is from plaintiffs attorney Stephen Sheller and his wife, Sandra Sheller, an art and family therapist.  The Stephen and Sandra Sheller Center for Social Justice is slated to open in the spring. It will work with city agencies and nonprofit organizations that focus on social justice throughout the Philadelphia region in areas including civil liberties, consumer protection, the environment and disability rights.” (Short article from the National Law Journal.)

• 2.13.13 – this story’s password-protected, but FYI: “A bill that would transfer the majority of cases from the Missouri State Public Defender system to private attorneys was greeted with both support and skepticism at a House committee hearing Wednesday.”  (Story from the Columbia Missourian.)  And here are dueling op-eds re the state public defense system’s problems (both from St. Louis Public Radio):
  • 1.30.13 – law professor Michael Wolf says the system’s woes stem from a lack of resources;
  • 2.13.13 – prosecutor Jennifer Joyce lays blame at the feet of the system’s management.

• 2.12.13 – “Police, firefighters and other public workers in New York City now have the chance to land a free ride at New York Law School.
  Administrators have announced the Public Service Scholarship Program, which will pay full tuition to three public servants next fall and half-tuition scholarship to 12 more…  The scholarships are open to public workers at the city, state, or federal levels, and recipients may attend either full time or part time. Recipients will be selected based on their [LSAT] scores, their undergraduate grade-point averages and a ‘dedicated commitment to community service’.”  (Story from the National Law Journal.)

• 2.11.13 – recently passed ABA House of Delegates resolutions pertaining to indigent defense and civil legal aid issues:
  • from the ABA Journal: “Resolution 104A urges Congress to create and fund an independent, federally funded Center for Indigent Defense Services to help governments carry out their constitutional obligation to provide effective assistance to indigent defendants…. ”  Resolution 104C urges state lawmakers to pass laws that would prohibit firing a chief public defender or other indigent-services leader who limits acceptance of new clients in a good-faith effort to ensure competent representation.”
  • again, from the ABA Journal: “Resolution 10A approved by the ABA House of Delegates on Monday urges federal lawmakers to assure adequate funding for federal courts and the Legal Services Corp.”
• 2.11.13 – from the Treasure State: “[P]ublic defenders are paid far less than other state-employed attorney and county attorneys. The office has high turnover and high caseloads.  Turnover in the public defenders’ office has been more than 40 percent annually. According to testimony last week at a legislative hearing, public defenders routinely get 600 cases in their first year out of law school….  The appropriations subcommittee got the full picture of the importance of public defenders. We call on all lawmakers, especially those from Yellowstone County, the busiest defenders’ office in the state, to study this problem and help remedy it in the upcoming budget.”  (Editorial from the Billings Gazette.)

• 2.11.13 – “Public defense attorneys are now staffing felony arraignment courtrooms in Contra Costa County, where the prior absence of such attorneys spurred a federal class action lawsuit.  Contra Costa County’s former practice — not uncommon in cash-strapped and rural counties in the nation — was to assign defense attorneys to indigent criminal defendants after their initial court appearance. That meant that people who couldn’t afford bail would sit in jail for up to two weeks before a public attorney would appear at their side in court. Public Defender Robin Lipetzky said that the office had been fighting for money to have deputy public defenders appear at arraignments long before a local attorney in December filed suit in U.S. District Court in Oakland to force the issue. The lawsuit seeks damages for allegedly violating defendants’ Sixth Amendment right to counsel.”  (Full story from the Mercury News.)

• 2.11.13 –  corporate pro bono in Great White North.  The executive director of Pro Bono Law Alberta offers insight as to how and why corporate counsel to get involved in pro bono work.   (Full piece in Canadian Lawyer.)

• 2.10.13 – bolstering Badger State support for indigent defense: “The budget for the state public defender’s office is $83.4 million for fiscal 2013.  And that isn’t enough to keep up with demand.  For instance, the state has fallen behind in its payments to private attorneys who are hired to help handle cases at $40 per hour for in-court work. That rate doesn’t meet industry standard and doesn’t come close to the cost of running a law firm…  In addition, assistant state public defenders have been passed over for a system of pay raises that has been implemented for assistant district attorneys in our state.  The investments required to pay the bills on time and to treat staff equitably are relatively modest. But those moves are the right approach to support a system that is crucial to a fair trial and vital to living up to our constitutional requirements.”  (Full editorial in the Lacrosse Tribune.)

• 2.10.13 – “In a few months the Dougherty County Public Defenders’ Office will close as a cost saving measure.  Starting July 1st Dougherty County will no longer have public defenders on their payroll. It’s been decided that two already vacated public defender positions and two administrative jobs will go away….  Dougherty County’s Public Defenders’ Office has already begun the transition by hiring several contract workers. Officials say the next step is to talk with county leaders to find out how much money will be allotted for more contract positions.”  (Story from FOX 31 in Southwest Georgia.)

• 2.8.13 – this Q&A piece in the Huffington Post explores how Capitol One has incorporated pro bono into its culture, and highlights this accomplishment in the legal arena: “[L]ast year, a pro bono team of 15 volunteers from across Capital One’s IT, Legal, Communications, Supply Chain Management, Business Systems Analysis, and Brand teams partnered with the Virginia Legal community to create a technology solution, called JusticeServer, which matches low-income clients to volunteer attorneys offering pro bono legal services. The new tool came at a critical team for Legal Aid in Central Virginia, which had lost half their staff attorneys, while demand for their services increased by nearly 60 percent.”

• 2.8.13 – “A North Coast nonprofit is expanding its legal offerings to focus on seniors in Lake and Mendocino counties.  Legal Services of Northern California began offering the new services at the start of the year in order to fill the void left by the closure of the Lakeport-based Senior Law Project.The Senior Law Project, which had provided free legal services to seniors in Lake and Mendocino counties, closed after 30 years….”  (Story from the Lake County News.)

Super Music Bonus!  Long-distance drives are one of my true loves, and I’ve logged thousands of miles throughout the country.  I’m about to hop in a moving van and drive to Chicago.  (Driving a U-haul truck through Ohio and Indiana may not prove the most relaxing excursion, but you get my larger point.)  In a country of such size and geographic diversity, an American does herself a huge disservice by not taking the ground-level tour.

In 1995 the band Son Volt released the album “Trace.”  The band’s songwriter, Jay Farrar, was living in St. Louis.  Two bandmates were living in Minneapolis.  Farrar’s girlfriend was living New Orleans.   As a result the album’s writing and recording took place up and down the Mississippi River.  Trace has been referred to as a love poem to America’s mighty river.  And the lyrics reflect that.  The album’s opener is “Windfall.”  It’s a song about healthy restlessness, and the feeling of liberation that comes with movement.  (It’s also the song that taught me that Country & Western music can be cool.)  So here’s “Windfall.”  Cheers.

Applying for a public interest fellowship – such as Equal Justice Works or Skadden – can be a daunting task. If you plan on applying for the 2013 cycle of fellowships, do yourself a favor and check out PSJD’s mini-guide “Project-Based Fellowships: Tips from Those Who Know“.

The downloadable 2-page handout includes advice about what works and what to avoid when building your project. You can also check out the whole Postgraduate Fellowships section of PSJD’s Resource Center for more information!