by Christina Jackson

Happy Friday!  I can’t believe it’s the end of May already.  Now it’s time to turn our attentions to summer interns and summer counseling.  It’s also the time to update resources, so stay tuned.  And here’s this week’s headlines.

Spotlight on Outstanding Public Servants:  If you know someone we should honor, drop me a line.

Here are the week’s headlines:

• Is access to a computer for legal research the same as access to the courts?;
• Six entities in Alabama receive funds to help families facing forclosure;
• Law Schools – veteran’s benefits an area begging for pro bono;
• OPM launches new job search and operating status apps;
• Penn Law launches new center to improve U.S. justice system;
• New pro bono program provides DCF (Connecticut) kids with legal representation;
• New York Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman creates advisory group to examine role of non-lawyer advocates in legal service to the poor;
• Cuts in staff at Gulfcoast Legal Services could mean a loss of funding and closing of an office;
• ABA says law students should be able to work for free on pro bono matters;
• Federal Government posting jobs during sequester;
• Are ethics rules impairing access to justice?;
• Federal Defender furloughs increased to 20 days;
• Texas legal aid increase signed into law;
• Spotlight on Public Service Servants – ProBono.net
• Super Music Bonus featuring Ashley Matthews, PSJD Fellow!

The summaries:

May 23, 2013 – The North Carolina legislature proposes replacing the North Carolina Prisoner Legal Services with computer terminals in the prisons and access to legal research software.  Sen. Thom Goolsby says this is a way to save money and is in response to an inmate complaint.  Opponents of the measure say it will add costs and doesn’t provide the mandated access to courts.  If the budget plan passes, it would mean a 98% cut in funding to the firm and cause it’s closure.  (Charlotte Observer)

May 24, 2013 – “Attorney General Luther Strange today announced the six recipients of nearly $4 million that his office is awarding through the National Mortgage Settlement Funding Program.  The money is being distributed to governmental entities or charitable organizations for projects to mitigate and prevent ill effects of the foreclosure process for Alabama consumers.”  Legal Services Alabama and the University of Alabama School of Law among the recipients.  (LoanSafe.org)

May 28, 2013 – William and Mary School of Law clinic is helping to reduce the VA backlog.  Congress and the White House hope other law schools will replicate the effort.  “On Thursday, the effort gained momentum when U.S. Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Chris Murphy, D-Conn., introduced a bill that authorizes the VA to provide support to law school programs that provide legal assistance to veterans. The Veterans Legal Support Act of 2013 would allow the VA to spend up to $1 million a year assisting those programs.”  Currently, 30 schools in 18 states have clinics that specifically help veterans in some way.  (Washington Post)

May 28, 2013 – OPM announced Thursday a new Android app and improved iOS app to broaden the reach of USAJobs and enhance the job seeking experience.  The new operating status app provides a real-time look at the current operating status for federal offices in the Washington, D.C,. area.  OPM also launched a set of operating status APIs to help organizations and agencies make full use of operating status data.  (from NextGov)

May 29, 2013 – The University of Pennsylvania Law School is launching a new policy center “to advance the fairness of our justice system by deepening our understanding of the most crucial issues affecting its performance and proposing improvements that will ensure a just process for all,” Law School Dean Michael A. Fitts said in a prepared statement.  The Center will focus on improving the country’s criminal justice system with a $15 million gift from Former Credit Suisse Group banker Frank Quattrone and his wife Denise Foderaro, both Penn alums.   The Center will begin operation in the 2013-2014 academic year.  (Philly.com)

May 29, 2013 – The new Connecticut Child Justice Foundation, with the support of several experienced pro bono attorneys in the state, aims to help children who are under the supervision of the Connecticut Department of Children and Families with special education needs.  “The goal of the new foundation, which relies on pro-bono efforts of several experienced lawyers throughout the state, is to make sure that each child under DCF supervision is provided with legal representation during expulsions, suspensions, and administrative actions, including requests for special education tutors and programs.”  “The new program makes sure every such child has a lawyer in his or her corner.” (Connecticut Law Tribune)

May 29, 2013 – New York Chief Judge Lippman has announced the creation of an advisory group to examine the role non-lawyers could play in addressing the justice gap.  The 22-member committee includes representatives from the court system, legal service providers, the bar, law schools and community service organizations.  “Among other issues, it will consider what qualifications should exist for non-lawyer advocates, what type of legal work they should be permitted to perform and how to protect residents who use their services.” (Thomson Reuters)

May 29, 2013 – Deep cuts in personnel, including eliminating volunteer lawyers, at the Sarasota office of Gulfcoast Legal Services could mean the office can’t meet it’s grant requirements, thus losing important sources of funding.  Gulfcoast Legal Services is a non-profit corporation providing free legal aid to income eligible residents of the greater Tampa Bay area.  With the recent firing of the Legal Director of the office, there are questions about whether the office is set to close in the near future.  (Herald-Tribune)

May 29, 2013 – “ABA President Laurel G. Bellows, wrote a letter sent to the solicitor of the U.S. Department of Labor, M. Patricia Smith, on Tuesday, urging the government to make it clear that unpaid internships to work on pro bono cases are permitted under the minimum wage provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.”  The letter was prompted by law schools who believe the additional scrutiny on unpaid internships by the Labor Department is keeping law students from getting experiences and opportunities with for-profit employers.  A spokesperson for the Labor Department stated “We have received the ABA’s letter, and we are taking their request under advisement.”  (Wall Street Journal Law Blog)

May 30, 2013 – Many equate the sequester with pay/hiring freezes and furloughs.  While that is one way for an agency to deal with budget cuts, agencies may cut costs elsewhere.  In fact, agencies still need personnel to accomplish their missions, so many are trying to fill current vacancies or starting the hiring process in anticipation of the start of the new fiscal year.  What does this mean for government hiring?  It will still happen, but all the job postings up during the summer may not be for positions that ultimately will get filled.  (Government Executive)

May 30, 2013 – Esther Lardent of the Pro Bono Institute says yes.  Here she walks through a few of the unnecessary issues caused by ethics rules that may not be in step with the way the practice of law works today.  (National Law Journal)

May 30, 2013 – A committee of judges deciding how the federal judiciary would allocate cuts due to sequestration originally stated federal defenders would not be furloughed more than 15 days.  According to [an unpublished] May 10 memorandum sent by Chief Judge William Traxler Jr., chairman of the Executive Committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States, the committee reconsidered its April decision after getting new information on how defender offices were coping with the cuts, also known as sequestration.”  So far the biggest impact to clients has been in scheduling, but that could change.  As cases don’t stop just because of sequestration, defenders are trying to work during their furlough days.  (The Blog of the LegalTimes)

May 30, 2013 – “Gov. Rick Perry has signed into law a bill that will increase funds dedicated to legal aid for indigent Texans from civil penalties and civil restitution recovered by the Texas attorney general.  House Bill 1445, authored by State Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston, will raise the cap on the amount of money raised through civil penalties and civil restitution that can be dedicated to legal aid for indigent Texans.”  (Austin Business Journal)

Spotlight on Outstanding Public Servants:  This week we are shining a spotlight on an organization – ProBono.net.  A national site, it provides resources for pro bono and legal services attorneys and others working to assist low income or disadvantaged clients.  Law students and lawyers at any level of experience can get involved.  It’s also a great resource if you’re looking to expand or start a pro bono program.  Check it out.

Super Music Bonus! PSJD Fellow Ashley M. is fabulous! Enjoy!