by Christina Jackson, Director of Public Service Initiatives & Fellowships

Happy Memorial Day weekend everyone!  It’s been quite a week, so let’s get to it. . .

Spotlight on Outstanding Public Servants:  This week we congratulate and say thank you to Assistant Dean Eve Biskind Klothen of Rutgers School of Law-Camden.  She retires after 11 years directing the pro bono and public interest programs.

Here are the week’s headlines:

• New proposal for lessening student loan debt – reduce number of undgrad years required for a JD;
• Juris Master programs on the rise?;
• Muskegon County, Michigan creates a Public Defender Department;
• A Federal District Judge in Omaha has an interesting solution to cuts in indigent defense due to the sequester;
• Bay Area Rural Access to Justice Collaborative launched;
• Let in-house corporate counsel do pro bono work  – An “easy” way to add more pro bono attorneys to the mix, right?;
• University of Kansas School of Law cutting incoming 1L class size.  Should other schools follow suit?;
• NJ Public Defenders sue to halt closing of jail;
• Dean of the University of Arkansas School of Law pledges money to create Fund for summer stipend for students committed to committed to public interest work and rural community sustainability;
• Ron Flagg appointed as Vice President of Legal Affairs for Legal Services Corporation;
• LSC to provide grants for legal assistance for Sandy victims;
• “Low Bono” an emerging trend in the practice of public service law;
• Florida Governor Rick Scott vetoes legal aid appropriation;
• Miami-Dade public defender allowed to withdraw from cases due to workload;
• Spotlight on Public Service Servants – If there is someone you think we should recognize, let me know.
• Super Music Bonus featuring Ashley Matthews, PSJD Fellow!

The summaries:

May 18, 2013 – In an interesting twist on the debate about how we balance the high debt load of law students against the shrinking job market.  Instead of the usual calls to lower law school tuition or shortening JD programs, the National Law Journal suggests reducing the required undergraduate general education.  The Journal posits that since, in their opinion, many JD programs have a component of general education to them, that a 4-year undergraduate degree might not be required to go to law school.  It is an interesting theory with a good comparison to the European model of legal education.  What do you think?  (from the National Law Journal)

May 18, 2013 – Need legal knowledge, but don’t want a JD and don’t need to sit for a Bar?  That’s the population the Juris Masters programs want to attract.  Emory Law School is the latest in a string of nearly 30 law schools that have or soon will offer a master’s degree for nonlawyers, up from just a handful two years ago.  This move is just one way schools are responding to the economic impact of reduced applications for the traditional JD program.  (from the Connecticut Law Tribune)

May 20, 2013 – “Muskegon County is taking a step forward in its ability to provide indigent defense services in the county.”  The new department will consist of a staff of 16, including the County Public Defender, two senior Assistant Public Defenders, two more junior attorneys, and one entry-level attorney.  Officials are planning for the office to open January 1, 2014.  (from LegalNews.com)

May 20, 2013 – U.S. District Judge wrote on his blog that he is “seriously contemplating” dismissing a number of criminal immigration cases where the crime is being in the U.S. illegally.   He said this “will free up the 10 federal public defenders in Omaha and Lincoln who have a constitutional obligation to defend an accused person who cannot afford to hire counsel.”  A representative from the US Attorney’s Office said this would just mean they would have to refile the cases.  The Judge responded that he would dismiss then again.  While I’m not sure this is the solution to sequestration, this article does demonstrate the very dire circumstances already very strapped public defender offices find themselves. (from the DailyDealOmaha)

May 20, 2013 – “OneJustice and Cooley LLP, in collaboration with other Bay Area law firms and legal service providers, have launched the Bay Area Rural Justice Collaborative.” The Collaborative was developed to meet the goals of the Association of Pro Bono Counsel’s (APBCo) IMPACT Project. The objective of the IMPACT Project is to design innovative and sustainable new solutions that will increase access to free legal services by utilizing pro bono volunteers.  The first of eleven free clinics set to be held over the next three months focused on immigration.  Subsequent clinics will focus on housing or immigration issues.  (from Stockhouse)

May 21, 2013 – like this guest blogger for the Pro Bono Institute, I thought a great way to get more lawyers involved in pro bono is to allow a pro bono exception to the in-house counsel rules in all states.  I now see that’s it’s much more complicated than that for a number of good reasons.  Adam Hellman, Senior Associate General Counsel in the UnitedHealth Group Corporate Legal Department, and member of the PBI/CPBO Multijurisdictional Practice Task Force provides good insight on why this is still a work in process.  (from the Pro Bono Institute The PBEye)

May 21, 2013 – The University of Kansas School of Law is cutting the size of its incoming class in light of dwindling applications.  Law schools across the country are seeing a decrease in the number of law school applications.  So, schools will have to either cut class sizes or accept students with potentially lower credentials.  Either solution could have broad implications for the public service sector.  What do you think is the right way to go?  (from the Kansas City Business Journal)

May 21, 2013 – Access to justice also means being able to find your client when you want to talk to him.  That is one premise of the lawsuit filed by New Jersey’s public defenders want to stop Gloucester County from closing its county jail and splitting its 250 to 350 inmates among four other county jails.  The public defenders rely on jail visits to meet with their clients because there is no other workable space.  If moved, the inmates would have even less access to their attorneys.  Burlington County Superior Court Judge Ronald E. Bookbinder will hear arguments May 24. (from Philly.com)

May 21, 2013 – The Legal Services Corporation announced today the appointment of Ronald S. Flagg, senior counsel in the Washington, DC office of Sidley Austin LLP, to the position of vice president for legal affairs, general counsel, and corporate secretary.  He previously served in a number of public service positions including president of the DC Bar, chair of the DC Bar Pro Bono Committee, chair of the Governing Board of the AARP Legal Counsel for the Elderly, and member of the board of the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs and LSC’s Pro Bono Task Force.  He currently chairs the board of the National Veterans Legal Services Program. (Press Release from LSC)

May 22, 2013 – Also from LSC – Legal Services Corp. will provide $950,000 in legal assistance to low-income people (that appropriations was reduced by $50,000 due to sequestration) and another $250,000 in financial assistance to cover damages caused by Sandy. All applications for these LSC grants must be submitted by June 21.  (from Government Security News)

May 22, 2013 – Stacey L. Leeds, Dean of the University of Arkansas School of Law, pledged $50,000 for an endowed fund to support JD and Master of Law students committed to public interest work and rural community sustainability. The Public Interest and Rural Community Sustainability Fund will provide summer stipends to students who are pursuing public interest law or working with private firms in underserved communities. The Fund will allow students to accept jobs in sectors where they may not otherwise be paid for their work or where compensation is well below market rates compared to positions at private firms in the region.  The ultimate goal of the fund is to address problems of access to justice and rural economic development.  (from the University of Arkansas Newswire)

May 23, 2013 – Low Bono is a phrase we’re going to be talking about a lot more in the coming months.  The idea is to capture the clients who are currently going unrepresented because they make too much for legal aid but not enough to afford a private attorney.  Several recent Quinnipiac University School of Law grads are among many recent grads who are hoping this is a trend that’s going to catch on quick.  (from Law.com)

May 23, 2013 – Florida Gov. Rick Scott vetoes a $1million appropriation for legal aid as part of a series of appropriation vetoes.  The money would have gone to help in cases of elder and child abuse, domestic violence, disabilities, consumer fraud and immigration.  (from the SaintPetersBlog)

May 23, 2013 – “Describing what it called a ‘damning indictment’ of representation for poor criminal defendants, the Florida Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that the Miami-Dade County public defender’s office could withdraw from a large chunk of felony cases because of excessive workloads.”  This decision is a resolution of two related cases pending since 2008.  (from the Miami Herald)

Spotlight on Outstanding Public Servants:  “As a female student in the male-dominated law school culture of the early 1970s, Eve Biskind Klothen had such a terrible time that she figured she would leave, go into public-interest law, and never return to academia.”   But return she did, and made both Rutgers Law School-Camden and her community a better place.  She created a culture of service at the law school, where pro bono has become an important and expected part of the law student experience.  This is how she describes a law school’s duty to its community in civil cases where no right to counsel currently exists.  “A lot is at stake in those civil cases – you can be thrown out of your home, you can lose your child, you can lose your job. There are all kinds of really critical things that get litigated in civil actions, and if you can’t afford counsel, sadly, that’s too bad,” Dean Klothen says. “There is no meaningful access to justice without access to counsel, and because lawyers have a monopoly on the courthouse, they really hold the keys.”  She has put the philosophy into action by expanding the program and giving 1Ls and 2Ls the opportunity to contribute.  Congratulations to Dean Klothen on a wonderful career and an even better contribution to her community.  (Complete article from Philly.com)

Super Music Bonus! PSJD Fellow Ashley M. is kicking off the long weekend right with a Stepkids’ Jazz Cover of the Top 40 hit “Suit & Tie” by Justin Timberlake ft. Jay-Z. Enjoy!