NALP, the Association for Legal Career Professionals, is a Washington, DC based non-profit legal education association dedicated to continuously improving career counseling and planning, recruitment and retention and the professional development of law students and lawyers. Besides housing PSJD, NALP is also the leading provider of public service career information for its members.

NALP is currently seeking applicants for the Director of Public Service Initiatives & Fellowships position. Here’s a snippet from the PSJD job posting:

The Director of Public Service Initiatives and Fellowships provides leadership for, manages, and oversees all of NALP’s public service initiatives, including the PSJD website (www.psjd.org). The Director is the primary staff liaison to NALP’s Public Service Section. The Director also cultivates relationships between NALP and other public service-oriented organizations and will represent NALP at relevant programs and events.

Public Service Initiatives

The Director is responsible for coordinating all aspects of NALP’s public service programming, including the planning and implementation of the annual PSJD Public Service Mini-Conference, as well as public service programming at NALP’s annual education conference. In conjunction with NALP’s Public Service Section, the Director is responsible for designing and implementing new initiatives that will fulfill the public service goals established by NALP’s Long Range Strategic Plan and NALP’s annual business plan.

PSJD (www.psjd.org)

The Director directs all facets of the operation, enhancement, and promotion of NALP’s PSJD project, including, but not limited to:

• evaluating evolving PSJD subscriber needs and leading development and enhancement efforts to meet such needs;
• producing public relations materials and directing outreach efforts to increase participation in and use of PSJD among law schools, public service employers, law students, and attorneys;
• developing and leading career search workshops, and producing related materials for law school career professionals and students;
• editing and producing content for the PSJD Blog, and overseeing PSJD’s other social media platforms;
• leading PSJD subscriber renewal and retention efforts;
• designing and leading outreach to prospective subscribing schools;
• responding to current and prospective PSJD subscriber inquiries;
• directing annual production of the PSJD Comprehensive Fellowship Guide;
• guiding hiring process of administrative staff for PSJD;
• training and supervising administrative staff for PSJD;
• managing PSJD’s annual budget, in coordination with other NALP staff;
• exploring and identifying potential opportunities for additional funding and/or revenue for PSJD.

NALP Educational Programming, Publications, Research, Technology, and Membership Services

Working in close collaboration with other NALP staff directors, the Director of Public Service Initiatives will assist in the enhancement of existing and the development of new NALP educational programming, publications, research, technology services, and membership services as they relate to the public service-related needs of NALP members, law students, attorneys, and the public service community in general.

NALP/Street Law Legal Diversity Pipeline Program

The Director supervises NALP’s Pipeline Program Fellow, and works with the Fellow to plan programming, develop substantive curricula, create promotional materials, track and report Program developments, and build the program by engaging prospective participants.

The application deadline is February 15, 2013. For more information on job responsibilities, qualifications and salary, view the full job listing at PSJD.org (log-in required).

The Institute for Justice,  the nation’s only libertarian public interest law firm, engages in cutting edge litigation and advocacy on behalf of individuals whose rights are denied by the government. Their four pillars of litigation are private property, economic liberty, free speech and school choice.

Every summer, the Institute for Justice hosts its three-day Law Student Conference at the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. The conference offers a unique approach to public interest litigation that centers around the Institute’s four pillars:

The annual conference covers the Institute for Justice’s four litigation pillars: First Amendment rights, school choice, economic liberty and private property rights.  These topics are taught alongside others rarely discussed in law school, such as: natural rights theory, public interest litigation tactics, cutting-edge constitutional theories, media skills, and the use of social science research. The faculty combines IJ attorneys and staff members with leading law professors and legal experts including Randy Barnett, Roger Pilon, and Todd Zywicki. The conference’s keynote speaker is always a distinguished jurist, who offers a view of public interest law from the bench. After attending this crash course in public interest law, the IJ Way, participants are able to recognize and seize public interest opportunities in the future.

How do we fit all of this into a weekend?  Check out the sample conference agenda.

The Institute for Justice’s 2013 Law Student Conference will be held Friday, July 26 to Sunday, July 28, 2013 at The George Washington University in Washington, DC.

Click here for the application. The deadline to apply is April 1, 2013.

Public Justice is a national public interest law firm dedicated to pursuing justice for the victims of corporate and government abuses. Their lawsuits usually fight for consumers’ and victims’ rights, the environment, civil rights and civil liberties, public health and safety, workers’ rights, government and corporate accountability, and the protection of the poor and powerless.

Public Justice is currently hiring for their Public Interest Fellowship. From the PSJD job listing:

Public Justice … seeks to hire a recent law school graduate to serve as a Fellow for two years in either its Washington, D.C. headquarters or its Oakland, California office.  The Fellow will help develop and litigate Public Justice’s cases.  The two-year position will be open beginning in the Summer or Fall of 2013.  Please note in your cover letter when you would be available to start.

[Public Justice’s] Access to Justice Campaign works to keep the courthouse doors open for all – by battling federal preemption, unnecessary court secrecy, class action bans and abuses, unfair mandatory arbitration, and other efforts to deprive people of their day in court.The Fellow will work collaboratively with Public Justice’s staff attorneys, outside lawyers who support Public Justice’s work, and other public interest groups to develop and bring precedent-setting and socially significant litigation.  He or she may also help to develop materials designed to educate members of the public and the bar about Public Justice’s cases and the issues they address. 

The salary is $60,000 per year with benefits, and the deadline is February 15, 2013. For more information, view the full job listing at PSJD.org (log-in required).

Since 1899, the National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL) has served as an educational forum and active voice for the concerns of women lawyers around the world. Through their continuing efforts to support the social, political and professional empowerment of women, this association provides tools for women to advance and prosper their legal careers. Part of this effort is the Selma Moidel Smith Law Student Writing Competition, an annual contest that encourages and rewards original law student writing on issues concerning women and the law.

Here’s a snippet of the rules:

Entrants should submit a paper on an issue concerning women’s rights or the status of women in the law. The most recent winning paper was “All Things Being Equal, Women Lose. Investigating the Lack of Diversity Among the Recent Appointments to the Iowa Supreme Court” written by Abigail Rury, Michigan State University School of Law.

Essays will be accepted from students enrolled at any law school during the 2012-13 school year. The essays must be the law student author’s own work and must not have been submitted for publication elsewhere. Papers written by students for coursework or independent study during the Summer, Fall or Spring semesters are eligible for submission. Notwithstanding the foregoing, students may incorporate professorial feedback as part of a course requirement or supervised writing project.

FORMAT: Essays must be double-spaced in 12-point font, Times New Roman font type. All margins must be at least one inch. Entries must not exceed fifteen (15) pages of text, excluding notes, with footnotes placed as endnotes. Citation style should conform to The Bluebook – A Uniform System of Citation. Essays longer than 15 pages of text, excluding notes, or which are not in the required format may not be read.

JUDGING: NAWL Women Lawyers Journal® designees will judge the competition. Essays will be judged based upon content, exhaustiveness of research, originality, writing style, and timeliness.

QUESTIONS: Questions regarding this competition should be addressed to the chair of the Writing Competition, Professor Jennifer Martin at jmartin@stu.edu.

The deadline to submit essays is May 1, 2013. In addition to getting published in NAWL’s Women Lawyers Journal this summer, the winner will be awarded a $500 cash prize. Good luck!

The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center is a $10 billion global health non-profit enterprise headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. With over 20 hospitals, more than 400 clinical locations, and a growing international and commercial segment, UPMC is the perfect place for a law student interested in public health.

From the PSJD job listing:

The Legal Summer Associates Program is part of UPMC’s formal Corporate Services Summer Associates Program. This is an 11 week internship program, starting in late May and ending in early August, that combines real work experience with networking opportunities.

The legal department will provide a venue for a student to obtain relevant legal experience, particularly in various aspects of health law, as well as with other legal issues presented to the legal department of an extensive health care system. Legal Summer Associates are responsible for assisting attorneys with projects including research, writing, drafting agreements, organizing information, and participating in creation/delivery of presentations.

A bachelor’s degree is required. In addition, this program is limited to first year law students (students who will have completed only their first year of law school by the end of the 2012/2013 academic year). Excellent academic credentials along with strong communication, writing, research, and multi-tasking skills are required.

The Legal Summer Associate position pays $20/hr, and the application deadline is March 1, 2013. For more information, view the full job listing at PSJD.org (log-in required)!

It’s never too late (or too early, for that matter) to start managing your law school debt. And with the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, financing a public interest legal career may not be as heavy of a burden as you think.

Want to know the ins and outs of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program? Take a look at this very important message from Equal Justice Works’ about how they can help you figure it all out:

Student debt remains 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.

If you or someone you know needs a detailed guide to dealing with their student loans and earning forgiveness, consider purchasing our comprehensive eBook, Take Control of Your Future. It goes into the details borrowers need to understand and the exact steps they need to take to manage their educational debt and take control of their future. Even better, the proceeds help fund Equal Justice Works’ student debt program so we can help more people!

One of the things it will help us continue is our weekly U.S. News blog, the Student Loan Ranger. Last month featured an interview with the author of the Student Loan Forgiveness Act petition, took a close look at the value of online education, asked where all your tuition dollars are going and examined the impact of student loans on credit scores.

Every month, our free, live webinars also provide a comprehensive overview of the debt relief options available for students and graduates – including Public Service Loan Forgiveness and Income-Based Repayment – and provide viewers with the opportunity to ask questions. Click here to view a schedule of our webinars and to register for an upcoming session.

Our February sessions include:

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

Wednesday, February 13, 1-2 p.m. EST

Thursday, February 28, 3-4 p.m. EST

 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, and includes updates on President Obama’s new Pay As You Earn program.

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

The Public Interest Law Initiative (PILI), founded in 1977, works with 57 participating agencies in Illinois to help cultivate a lifelong commitment to public interest law through the creation of opportunities for law students and lawyers to provide public interest and pro bono work throughout the state. In addition to operating a state-wide internship and fellowship program, PILI reaches out to new associates, seasoned lawyers, and senior attorneys working in every sector of the legal community – private, academic, government and nonprofit.

PILI is currently accepting applications for its Summer Law Student Internship Program. From the PSJD job listing:

PILI’s Law Student Internship Program connects first and second-year law students with legal service agencies in Illinois. Interns work 400 hours during the summer or 200 hours during the school year, with PILI ensuring quality supervision by experienced attorneys and providing supplemental educational, networking and mentoring opportunities. The result is an increase in the capacity of these legal service agencies to meet the needs of their low-income clients and an increase in the number of emerging lawyers connected and committed to public interest law.

PILI administers an online application system at www.illinoisprobono.org, through which you will be able to upload your resume and cover letter(s), along with requested applicant demographic information. After receiving your application through PILI’s online application system, the individual agencies make their own hiring decisions. For information and listing of the various agencies participating in the PILI Internship Program visit http://www.pili-law.org.

Many PILI Interns provide low-income and disenfranchised clients with critically needed direct legal assistance. Other PILI Interns conduct advocacy, policy-based work or impact litigation that enhances the health, safety and welfare of the disenfranchised. All PILI Interns gain valuable work experience that distinguishes their education and ultimately their careers.

PILI raises the funds necessary for each agency to pay its PILI Interns. PILI also ensures quality supervision by experienced agency attorneys, and provides supplemental educational, networking and mentoring opportunities. View our upcoming summer schedule.

Through PILI Internships, law students work at and learn about public interest law, and begin what PILI hopes is a lifelong commitment to public interest law and pro bono work.

The stipend for summer work is $5,000. The application deadline is March 31, 2013. For more information, view the full job listing at PSJD.org (log-in required).

Are you a Latina public interest attorney interested in improving your leadership skills for the sake of the communities you serve? Check out this opportunity presented by the Hispanic National Bar Association:

The Hispanic National Bar Association’s Commission on the Status of Latinas in the Profession is sponsoring a Public Interest Latina Leadership Workshop to inspire and train the next generation of diverse leaders in public interest law. In 2010, the Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA) commissioned a national study, “La Voz de la Abogada Latina: Challenges and Rewards in Serving the Public Interest.” The research findings suggest that Latinas are not well represented in leadership positions in public interest and government organizations and that there is a need to create programs to help minimize barriers to promotion and professional success. The research conducted by the HNBA provides the foundation for this innovative and ground breaking training for Latinas working in the public interest sector.

The Latina Leadership Program is open to attorneys who have been in practice for 5 or more years at legal services, public interest nonprofit organizations, and government positions, including military personnel. Space is limited, so we encourage interested individuals to apply without delay. Additional requirements for eligibility include (a) Good standing in the bar of your current state of admission; and (b) Confirmed membership in the Hispanic National Bar Association- to become a member of the HNBA, click here.

To download the application, click here.
The deadline to submit application is February 8, 2013.
All applicants will be notified by February 15, 2013.

Any questions? Contact the Public Interest Latina Leadership Workshop at latinaleadershipworkshop@yahoo.com!

Happy Friday, ladies and gents.  This week’s bulletin brings you two weeks of news (read: your author dropped the ball last week).  A legal education update before that.  This New York Times story suggests that law schools will face smaller student bodies and decreased revenue in the near future.  A National Law Journal piece focuses on the recent enrollment decline.

On to the public interest and access to justice news.  In very, very brief:

• the poor job market in civil legal aid;
• profiles of pro bono champions;
• $1 million in Sandy relief funding to LSC;
• Massachusetts lawyers march for more legal aid funding;
• family law pro bono in the Bay Area;
• controversy over Nebraska’s indigent defense system;
• ditto, Washington State;
• pro bono’s growth in Charm City;
• indigent defense hits the silver screen;
• a recap of two events promoting technology as an ATJ tool;
• the work of Iowa Legal Aid
• MN practice rule change could result in more in-house pro bono;
• New York’s top jurist is intrigued by proposal to allow bar exam after 2 years of law school.

The summaries:

• I just wrote about recently collected data on the civil legal aid job market:  “As has been well documented, the Great Recession led to a great diminution in the funding that supports the civil legal aid community. Federal funding for the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) has been slashed. Interest on lawyers trust account (IOLTA) funding, which supports LSC-funded providers and legal aid providers that don’t receive LSC funds, has bottomed out.  Foremost on the minds of all legal aid stakeholders is the impact that this funding shortage will have on clients, of whom there are recently many more— also a consequence of the recession. One facet of the legal aid funding crisis is the limitation that providers suffer in hiring and retaining attorneys to serve clients. Data compiled separately by LSC and NALP in 2012 shows that strains on funding are drastically limiting the legal aid community’s hiring capacity.”  Here’s the full piece, which reviews the new data,  in the February edition of NALP’s Bulletin.

• Speaking of February editions, the cover story of this month’s ABA Journal is entitled “Working for free: Lawyers incorporating pro bono into their lives talk about its rewards, challenges.”  The piece notes the increasing sophistication of pro bono programs in law firms, and profiles a handful of lawyers who maintain pro bono practices.  “Once perceived and defined as ‘charity work’ governed solely by personal conscience, pro bono has evolved into a professional responsibility and a powerful force inside the practice of law.”

• 1.29.13 – an announcement from LSC: “The Hurricane Sandy Disaster Relief Bill (H.R. 152), which passed the U.S. Senate last night on a 62-36 vote, includes $1 million for the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) to provide assistance to low-income people in areas significantly affected by the super storm.  The House passed an identical version of the bill on January 15^th.  President Obama is expected to sign the bill this week.”

• 1.28.13 – “Lawyers are planning an event to urge Massachusetts lawmakers to increase state funding for civil legal aid for children and adults living in poverty.  ‘Walk to the Hill,’ scheduled for Wednesday, is sponsored by the Equal Justice Coalition, the Boston Bar Association, the Massachusetts Bar Association and other bar associations throughout the state.”  (Short report from the AP.)

• 1.27.12 – from the Bay Area, an Oakland Press story looks at the work of the Family Law Assistance Project, a pro bono clearinghouse through which “more than 150 volunteer attorneys offering their services to low-income Oakland County residents.”

• 1.25.13 – a battle over how county-generated funds are used by Nebraska’s state indigent defense program.  “Omaha Sen. Scott Lautenbaugh has renewed his quest to let Douglas County quit contributing to a state commission that defends indigent people in criminal matters.  That’s because Douglas County rarely uses the commission, most often opting instead for private, court-appointed lawyers to augment its county public defender’s office….  ‘We (in Douglas County) have our own defense bar we retain for indigent defense when our public defender has conflicts,’ Lautenbaugh said. ‘We don’t need the commission, and shouldn’t have to fund such a large portion of it.’  The commission, which has six lawyers and two administrative staffers, has an annual budget of some $1.1 million — all paid for by a $3 surcharge on all state court cases. Douglas County sends some $385,000 to the commission each year, or 35 percent of the commission’s budget.”  (Story from the Lincoln Journal Star.)

• 1.25.13 – from Washington State: “The state Attorney General’s office is trying to put the brakes on a legal settlement that would give public defenders access to the same state pension benefits as prosecutors and other court employees. In a letter earlier this month to attorneys for the plaintiff and King County, AG senior counsel Anne Hall said the settlement appears to violate state law and could be “catastrophic” for the pension plan’s financial health.  Meanwhile, public disclosure documents recently obtained offer new–and some say, troubling–information about a related plan to make public defenders county employees.”  (Story from a Seattle Weekly blog.)

• 1.25.13 – a password-protected Baltimore Business Journal story looks at the growth and sophistication of law firm pro bono programs.

• 1.23.12 – the director/producer of “Gideon’s Army”, a new documentary focusing on public defenders and the country’s indigent defense framework, talks about her film in a New York Times video piece.

• 1.22.13 – LSC’s newly appointed Chief Information Office, Peter Campbell, recounts his experience at two LSC-sponsored events which focused on technology’s role in promoting access to justice.

• 1.20.13 – a local paper highlights the work of Iowa Legal Aid, which has staff of 50 attorneys and coordinates the work of 2,500 volunteer attorneys [who provide] more than $2 million worth of pro bono service each year.”   (Story from the Times-Republican.)

• 1.18.13 – a practice rule amendment in Minnesota makes it easier for in-house counsel to do pro bono work.  (Short story from the Minnesota Lawyer.)

• 1.18.13 – “A proposal to allow students to take the New York Bar Exam after two years of law school has piqued the interest of the state’s top judge.  Court of Appeals Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman stopped short of formally endorsing the idea when it was taken out for a public airing on January 18 at New York University School of Law. But he told the more than 100 gathered legal educators, practitioners and judges that the concept deserves serious study.”  (Story from the National Law Journal.)

• Super Music Bonus: let’s hear a new song from Benjamin Gibbard, with an assist from Aimee Mann.  Here’s a live version of “Bigger Than Love.“