by Christina Jackson, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives & Fellowships

Happy Friday everyone!  See below for more great Orientation Service Projects!

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

Here are the week’s headlines:

• New commission to make recommendations on access to justice in AZ;
• Young immigrants could benefit from proposed bill in CA;
• Legal Aid Alberta welcomes new funds;
• Jacksonville (FL) to cut legal aid for thousands;
• Legal Aid groups to get $30 million from bank settlement;
• Spotlight on Public Service Servants: Professional Development and Pro Bono staff of Boston University School of Law, Wayne State University, The University of Iowa College of Law, DePaul University College of Law, and George Washington University Law School;
• Super Music Bonus!

The summaries:

August 22, 2014 – “A new commission will make recommendations on ways to improve access to justice, including use of Arizona’s legal system and obtaining legal representation.  Arizona Supreme Court Chief Justice Scott Bales ordered the formation of the Commission on Access to Justice, naming Court of Appeals Judge Lawrence Winthrop as its chairman.  Other members include lower court judges, court officials and legal aid providers.  Bales set initial priorities that include helping people representing themselves in legal matters to get access and fair processing of family court and eviction cases. Another is encouraging law firms to provide free legal services or financial support for legal aid.  Winthrop says he also hopes to encourage more business involvement. He says a business can suffer when an employee is burdened by dealing with a legal matter.”  (azdailysun.com)

August 22, 2014 – “Young immigrants poised to flood California’s courts could get extra legal help under a bill offering $3 million to bolster legal services.”  “The newly announced bill would set aside $3 million that would be distributed to nonprofit organizations that offer legal services. Many of the immigrants pressing their cases could be seeking refugee status.”  (The Sacramento Bee)

August 22, 2014 – “Legal Aid Alberta welcomed the news Friday that the province will cover some unexpected costs that have taxed the already overburdened agency.  Alberta Justice and the Solicitor General confirmed it will provide funding over and above Legal Aid’s 2014/15 budget to cover costs when a judge orders the province to pay for a client’s defence lawyer.  Legal Aid used to get one or two such orders a year, but they have had more than 40 so far in 2014 and expect more.”  Deputy Minister Tim Grant said “his department would cover all orders for state-funded counsel until March 2015 and revisit the issue during next year’s budget discussions.” (Global News)

August 25, 2014 – “Thousands of working poor in Jacksonville could soon be out of luck when looking for a lawyer in a civil case.  The Executive Director of Jacksonville Area Legal Aid says he’ll need to make big cuts if more than $400,000 in funding taken out of the budget isn’t restored.”  “In Mayor Brown’s budget for next year, the agency was set to receive $433,000 to help them continue to provide those services. The Finance Committee looked at the budget, and slashed those funds completely.  JALA also didn’t get any funding last year.”  (First Coast News)

August 27, 2014 – “The $17 billion settlement that Bank of America reached with the Justice Department last week will result in at least $30 million for a program that raises funds for the nation’s providers of civil legal services to the poor.  The settlement — which resolved claims that the bank and its subsidiaries sold billions of dollars of mortgage-backed securities without fully disclosing to investors the quality of the loans — requires Bank of America to allocate $7 billion to consumer relief efforts. Of that portion, at least $30 million will go to the Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts program, known as IOLTA.  The program, which is run independently in all 50 states, D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands, pools interest generated from client funds being held by lawyers in each state, and distributes the proceeds to civil legal services providers in that state.”  (Washington Post)

Spotlight on Outstanding Public Servants: 

The Boston University School of Law Pre-Orientation Service Day saw more than 80 1Ls serve six locations.  Participating in service day is great way to get to know Boston, while volunteering for local non-profit organizations and making friends with your new classmates at the same time.

Incoming students at Wayne State University Law School, as well as returning students, faculty and staff, volunteered at the Michigan Urban Farming Initiative site near campus in Detroit, MI on Thursday, August 21, 2014.  Tasks ranged from planting and harvesting produce to demolition and construction of structures located on the farm.

Super Music Bonus!  This week is the battle of the Big 10 with myself and Meghan.

by Sam Halpert, PSJD Fellow (2014 – 2015)

This week, the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Program announced the launch of a new national practice area within Probono.net designed specifically for federal government attorneys. Probono.net is Pro Bono Net’s national online resource promoting collaboration between attorneys in order to foster pro bono work. The new practice area, located at www.probono.net/governmentprobono, helps government attorneys understand how to avoid conflicts of interest, connect with pro bono programs in different geographical areas, and locate the pro bono policies of various federal agencies.

Lise B. Adams, Assistant Director of the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Program, took time when announcing the resource to thank the multitude of federal government lawyers who take time to handle pro bono cases in their individual capacity through the D.C. Bar’s various clinical programs.

by Christina Jackson, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives & Fellowships

Happy Friday everyone!  This week the 2014-2015 PSJD Fellow Sam Halpert and the 2014-2016 Street Law Fellow Emily Peeler joined our team.  We are thrilled to have them!  We have also gotten a great response from our request to schools to share their Orientation Service Projects.  So, for the next few weeks, we will be featuring information about those projects.  There is some amazing work going on out there, and we’re thrilled to see the dedication these students and law school professionals have to their communities.

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

Here are the week’s headlines:

• Legal Aid Alberta ordered to take on more clients;
• Mississippi Center for Legal Services celebrates 40 years;
• Columbia Law given $3.5 mil for climate change center;
• Suffolk University closes Rappoport Center;
• University of Ottawa Law School launches Business Law Clinic;
• Duke Law launches Civil Justice Clinic;
• Spotlight on Public Service Servants: Professional Development and Pro Bono staff of IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law, Fordham Law School, USC School of Law, Georgetown University Law Center, and Penn Law;
• Super Music Bonus!

The summaries:

August 14, 2014 – “Legal Aid Alberta’s already-dire finances worsened this week when a provincial court judge decided the group should fund three more clients previously rejected based on eligibility requirements.  Assistant Chief Judge Larry Anderson called Legal Aid’s budget ‘clearly’ inadequate and concluded that the right to a fair trial for three separate accused was in jeopardy without a government-funded defence. All three receive Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped that puts their monthly income roughly $40 too high to qualify for a discounted lawyer.  Anderson ordered all three should be provided with Legal Aid counsel within a week. Failing that, he wrote, their charges should be stayed.  ‘Providing access to justice is the obligation of the government,’ he wrote.  Such court-ordered funding is an unbudgeted expense for Legal Aid. Since February, when Legal Aid began to strictly enforce financial eligibility because of stagnant government funding, it has been ordered to provide counsel 40 times. In all of 2013, that only happened twice.  ‘The explosion of these orders will bring Legal Aid Alberta to the precipice of our impending financial difficulties much sooner,’ said Suzanne Polkosnik, Legal Aid’s president and CEO. ‘It could cause us very quickly to be in a negative-cash position this year.'”  (Edmonton Journal)

August 14, 2014 – “The Mississippi Center for Legal Services will celebrate its 40th anniversary.”  “On July 24, 1974, Congress passed the Legal Services Act. The Mississippi Center for Legal Services (MCLS) believes it is essential that the 40^th anniversary of the passage of this important legislation be celebrated.”  “The Mississippi Center for Legal Services represents low-income people in 43 central and south Mississippi counties in civil legal matters including family law, housing and foreclosure, consumer issues and income maintenance. Legal Services also assists military families and provides civil legal assistance to victims of disasters.”  (Mississippi Business Journal)

August 18, 2014 – “Columbia Law School has received a $3.5 million gift from the Andrew Sabin Family Foundation to bolster its Center for Climate Change Law.  That center, which develops legal avenues to fight climate change and trains lawyers in those techniques, has been renamed the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law. The money will allow the center to hire a full-time executive director and help pay for an annual Sabin Colloquium on Environmental Law Scholarship.”  (National Law Journal) (subscription required)

August 18, 2014 – Suffolk University Law School has closed the Rappaport Center for Law and Public Service, and this summer graduated the center’s last class of Rappaport public service fellows.  “With the closure of the Rappaport Center, Suffolk will transfer the remaining money from the original endowment to the law school that continues on with the Rappport programs, said [Phyllis] Rappaport. The foundation now is talking with other law schools in the area to find a new home for the program, she said, and the plan is to have a new Rapport center program up-and-running at another law school by the end of September.”(Boston Business Journal)

August 19, 2014 – “The University of Ottawa has announced it will launch its Business Law Clinic in September, a program it says will benefit both the university and the business community.  The clinic will offer pro bono legal services to entrepreneurs, small businesses and non-profit organizations in both official languages.”  (Ottawa Business Journal)

August 19, 2014 – “Low-income Durham residents who need a lawyer but can’t afford one will get a boost from Duke Law School as it launches a Civil Justice Clinic.  The clinic will partner with Legal Aid of North Carolina, a nonprofit law firm with an office in Durham, that provides free legal services to those in poverty in civil matters such as housing and employment.  The clinic will welcome its first class of students next week. It will provide them real-world experience as they work directly with clients and enhance their litigation skills, according to Duke law professor Charles Holton, who directs the new clinic.”  “Housing matters involving tenant-landlord disputes will be a top priority at the clinic, Holton said.”  (The Herald-Sun)

Spotlight on Outstanding Public Servants: 

Chicago-Kent College of Law’s Public Service Day.  Incoming first year students have the option to volunteer at three locations, mainly helping out some schools with set-up for the start of the year. Students can also volunteer with the Center for Disability and Elder Law, with one of the school’s alumni. There students prepare Illinois Statutory Powers of Attorney for Health Care and Property, as well as Illinois Living Will Declarations for residents at several facilities.

Fordham Law School’s Public Service Day is in its 9^th year.  The event is coordinated by our Public Interest Resource Center, the home of student initiated public service.  Each project is organized by student groups, in partnership with community partners—some of which are legal services providers.   Faculty, administrators and staff are invited to attend (via school wide email) and each year between 2 and 5 members of that community join us.

During USC School of Law’s 6^th Annual Incoming Law Student Community Service Project, the Class of 2017 will be joined by members of the faculty and staff and lead by their peer mentors as they strive to make a difference in 14 locations around the Midlands.  During the afternoon the teams will paint apartments, sort food and clothes, landscape, move furniture, reshelf books and a variety of other tasks. Law students volunteer throughout the year with a number of these organizations to help address legal issues, but for this one afternoon they will not be relying on their professional skills. Instead they will be making a difference with a totally different set of skills- strong backs and a willingness to get dirty!  The Incoming Law Student Community Service Project is a joint effort sponsored by the Office of Student Affairs, the Pro Bono Program and the SBA.

Georgetown University Law Center’s Orientation Community Service Project will visit six sites this year.  One of the highlights of Orientation Week is the opportunity for students to spend a morning or afternoon giving back to the DC community by participating in a 1L Orientation Service Project. For many 1Ls, this event also serves as a way to meet classmates, staff and faculty, explore Washington DC, and learn about the wealth of service and pro bono opportunities available at Georgetown Law.

Each year the University of Pennsylvania Law School’s Toll Public Interest Center sponsors a half day of hands-on service in Philadelphia for Penn Law students, faculty, and staff.  This year, five sites will benefit from their work.  More than half of the incoming class signs up a to get to know the community they’ll be part of for the next three years.  Students will clean neighborhoods, spruce up schools, work in urban farms/gardens, and sort food/clothes among other projects. Current students, staff and faculty are also invited.

Super Music Bonus!  We start our tribute to staff alma maters this week with one of Fred’s picks – the USC Fight Song.

The following is a message from Equal Justice Works and an announcement about their next student debt webinar.

Relief for Underwater Student Borrowers Act

On July 29, Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI) and Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-FL) introduced the Relief for Underwater Student Borrowers Act (H.R. 5239). This bill would prevent borrowers who earn forgiveness after 20 or 25 years of consistent repayment in the Income-Based Repayment (IBR) and Pay as You Earn (PAYE) repayment plans from having to pay taxes on the amount forgiven. Millions of borrowers currently face the possibility of having to deal with this potentially devastating tax liability. We urge you to call your Congressperson and Senators to support this bill!

To learn more about IBR, PAYE and Public Service Loan Forgiveness (tax-free forgiveness you earn by working at a wide range of qualifying public service jobs for ten years!) please attend our free webinar, Drowning in Debt! What Law Students & Lawyers Need to Know About Managing Student Debt & Earning Loan Forgiveness, on Wednesday, August 27 from 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM EDT. If you register but cannot attend, you will receive a recording of the webinar you can view anytime.

If you have recently watched one of our webinars, please forward this information on to anyone you think might benefit from it. Our student debt webinars are tailored for law students and lawyers, but the information is accessible and applicable to anyone who needs help managing their student debt.

Equal Justice Works is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to creating a just society by mobilizing the next generation of lawyers committed to equal justice. To stay up to date, follow us on Twitter (@EJW_org, #studentdebthelp) and on Facebook.

Isaac Bowers
Associate Director, Law School Engagement & Advocacy
Equal Justice Works

ibowers@equaljusticeworks.org | www.equaljusticeworks.org

by Christina Jackson, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives & Fellowships

Happy Friday everyone!

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

Here are the week’s headlines:

• Indiana University Maurer School of Law receives gift for clinical endowed chair;
• Winning apps at Hackcess to Justice help in variety of ways;
• Iowa Legal Aid receives grant;
• Groups concerned about Toronto mega-clinics;
• ABA House of Delegates urges law schools to establish veterans clinics;
• Spotlight on Public Service Servants: Professional Development staff at the University of Louisville Louis D. Brandeis School of Law and the University of Miami School of Law;
• Super Music Bonus!

The summaries:

August 8, 2014 – “The Indiana University Maurer School of Law has received $3.25 million to establish an endowed clinical professorship and provide scholarship funds for Indiana high school graduates attending the law school.  Glenn Scolnik, JD’78, and his wife, Donna, have made a $2 million gift to establish the Glenn and Donna Scolnik Clinical Chair, to be held by the director of the Conservation Law Center. The Scolnik Chair is the first endowed chair for a clinical law professor in the history of Indiana University. Led by professor W. William Weeks, JD’79, the Conservation Law Center provides legal counsel without charge to conservation organizations, works to improve conservation law and policy, and offers law students clinical experience in the practice of conservation law.”  (IU Bloomington Newsroom)

August 8, 2014 – “A disaster-relief mobile app that provides individuals with legal information, resources, and forms for assistance. An interactive tool that calculates whether a user is eligible for indigent legal services, as well as how much prison time criminal defendants face. A game that determines whether a user is in need of legal representation. A website that guides Massachusetts residents through the state’s divorce process. An iOS app that creates legally binding health care proxies and non-binding living wills.  All these tools were created on Thursday and Friday by lawyers and developers participating in the inaugural “Hackcess to Justice” legal hackathon. Held at Suffolk University School of Law in Boston in conjunction with the ABA Annual Meeting, the hackathon’s main purpose was to use technology to create tools that would expand access to justice for individuals who might not otherwise know whether they needed help and how they could obtain legal representation.”  (ABA Journal)

August 11, 2014 – “A $15,000 grant from the Mid-Iowa Health Foundation will help Iowa Legal Aid assist low-income people in Greater Des Moines by providing free civil legal assistance to low-income people facing health problems. People struggling with health problems and financially often need legal help to deal with issues such as substandard housing, domestic violence, lack of utility service or inappropriately denied public benefits. Iowa Legal Aid is a statewide, not-for-profit organization that has been serving the legal needs of low-income Iowans for more than 37 years. The program’s Health and Law Project has been in operation in Greater Des Moines since 2006.”  (Business Record)

August 11, 2014 – “As Toronto’s legal clinics prepare to consider a merger, some groups are raising concerns about the pending proposal to have only three mega clinics in the city.  ‘In particular, we are concerned that this amalgamation does not reflect a model of community lawyering that responds to the needs of low-income people,’ said the Law Union of Ontario in a recent letter to Legal Aid Ontario chief executive officer Bob Ward and the Ministry of the Attorney General.”  “In response to the criticism, LAO noted it’s the Toronto-area clinics themselves that are leading what it calls the transformation project.”  “The merger proposal follows several years of discussions about changing the way legal clinics work. The efforts culminated with a 2013 report by six east Toronto clinics aimed at finding more efficient ways to deliver services.” (Canadian Lawyer Magazine)

August 11, 2014 – “The ABA House of Delegates has adopted a policy urging all law schools to create veterans law clinics to ensure veterans’ legal needs are met. Resolution 104A (PDF) further states that ‘where a particular law school lacks the necessary resources to create a stand-alone veterans law clinic, the school is urged to meet those legal needs of qualifying veterans through an existing legal clinic.’  The proposal was sponsored by the Young Lawyers Division.”  (ABA Journal)

Spotlight on Outstanding Public Servants: 

Louis D. Brandeis School of Law Orientation Community Service Day!  Each year, Louisville’s law school community plans and participates in a day of collective public service. The initiative, which was launched on April 5, 2008, arose from the student body’s input into the university’s strategic planning process. The purpose of this event is to highlight the law school’s commitment to community service, provide significant services, have fun, and make new acquaintances.

The annual HOPE Day of Service is  University of Miami School of Law’s commitment to starting off each year in the community, marking the school’s pro bono ethic and emphasis on service.  Before students even enter the classroom, Miami Law’s HOPE Public Interest Resource Center will send hundreds of law students to sites across Miami-Dade County through the Annual HOPE Day of Service on Thursday, August 14th. HOPE will kick-off the day on the Bricks at the law school (1311 Miller Drive) at 8 a.m. New and returning law students will travel to over a dozen sites across Miami-Dade County. Students will engage in a day of service, repairs, clean-ups and renovations and coordinate activities with children, elderly, and homeless families.

Super Music Bonus! 

by Christina Jackson, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives & Fellowships

Happy Friday everyone!  With abundant gratitude, we say good-bye this week to our summer interns and our PSJD Publications Coordinator.  What outstanding work they provided, and they greatly enriched the site.  The 2014 Federal Legal Employment Opportunities Guide is now available on PSJD and the 2014 Comprehensive Fellowship Guide will be available for purchase in the NALP Bookstore very soon.  Thank you to our wonderful summer assistants!

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

Here are the week’s headlines:

• NALP seeks nominations for the 2014 PSJD Pro Bono Publico Award;
• Missouri public defenders have excessive caseloads;
• Duke Law opens 10th legal clinic;
• Hackcess to Justice 2014 begins Aug.7 in Boston;
• Humanist charities raising funds for unaccompanied migrant childrens’ legal aid;
• SF public defender hires first immigrant-only attorney;
• Spotlight on Public Service Servants: Law School Pro Bono coordinators;
• Super Music Bonus!

The summaries:

August 1, 2014 – The 2014 PSJD Pro Bono Publico Award is open to all 2Ls and 3Ls at PSJD subscriber law schools.  The Award recognized the significant contributions that law students make to underserved populations, the public interest community, and legal education by performing pro bono work.  To find out more information on how to nominate a deserving student, check out the PSJD site.  The deadline for nominations is Friday, August 29, 2014.

August 1, 2014 – “The American Bar Association yesterday unveiled the findings of a report that uses a data-driven approach to quantify the time Missouri public defenders are able to dedicate to cases compared with the time they need. The association says the research shows defenders here have excessive caseloads. The excessive caseloads identified in “The Missouri Project” report deny indigent defendants the constitutional right to effective counsel, the bar said in a statement. The association also said the research done here can be used as a national blueprint for public defender workload studies.”  (Columbia Daily Tribune)

August 2, 2014 – “Duke Law School’s 10th legal clinic promises to build students’ civil litigation skills while serving the – legal needs of low-income North Carolinians. The Civil Justice Clinic, which will welcome its 1st class of students in August, represents a unique partnership between Duke Law & Legal Aid of North Carolina (LANC). Under the – supervision of clinic Director Charles R. Holton ’73, a litigator & partner at Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, as well as lawyers in LANC’s Durham office, students will handle civil matters, working directly with clients.”  (southcarolinasc)

August 2, 2014 – “Technology has taken a firm hold in the legal industry. Every day legal professionals use technology-enabled tools for discovery, litigation support, document assembly and information needs. But the promise of technology has been fleeting when it comes to the access to justice arena. Last year the Legal Services Corporation produced a seminal report outlining five key ways that technology can expand access to justice, especially through computers and mobile devices. The ABA is challenging lawyers,  law students developers, coders and others interested in improving access to justice through technology to devise a technology-enabled solution to one of the five areas outlined in the LSC report at two-day, judged hackathon.”  Prize money will be rewarded to the top 3 hacks.  (hackcess to Justice)

August 2, 2014 – “The nation’s largest humanist charity is raising funds to offer legal assistance to the unaccompanied immigrant children flooding over the border.  The Humanist Crisis Response program will donate the funds to two organizations that provide attorneys for minors in immigration hearings — the Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project in Arizona, and Kids in Need of Defense, which operates in California and Texas.  The Humanist Crisis Response Program is a joint effort of two humanist organizations, Foundation Beyond Belief, and the American Humanist Association.”  (Phoenix NewTimes)

August 6, 2014 – “For the first time in his office’s history, San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi has hired an attorney to work full-time representing noncitizens facing deportation or other legal issues.  Francisco Ugarte, who previously worked at Dolores Street Community Services, joined Adachi’s team this week and will advise other attorneys in the office on the mind-bogglingly complicated terrain of immigration law and represent some undocumented clients in federal immigration court.”  “Adachi said his office would handle only cases in which the undocumented children are entangled in the local criminal justice system for some other reason. But Adachi is consulting with Supervisor David Campos, who in early September will ask his fellow supervisors to approve an undetermined amount of money to fund legal representation for these kids – including paying nonprofit and private attorneys.”(SFGate)

Spotlight on Outstanding Public Servants:  Can you believe it’s already time for some law schools to go back to school?  This week we’re honoring those law school professionals who put together service projects as part of 1L Orientation Week.  This week we celebrate one example – Jen Tschirch and The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law.  Their Orientation Week is coming up next week, and I’m told they’re expanding to 5 sites.  It is a lot of work for one person to coordinate, but we all know how dedicated you all are and how you gladly do this for your students.  Check out news and pics from last year.  Good luck to you and your students.

Are you doing a great project or have you expanded your reach to new members of your community?  I’d love to recognize your efforts this month.  Please forward your stories to cjackson@nalp.org.  We’d love to include pictures as well.  Thank you all for the amazing scope of work that gets accomplished both this month and the inspiration to keep it going that you inspire in all law students.

Super Music Bonus! This week brings us an interesting interpretation/cover.

2 New Resources

in the Government Careers Section of PSJD’s Resource Center!

The 2014-2015 Federal Legal Employment Opportunities Guide (FLEOG) is now available for download on PSJD!  FLEOG offers a broad-based review of different career opportunities and paths to employment for law students and graduates who are interested in federal legal careers.  A big thank you to our Publications Coordinator, John Bain, for all his hard work on this very valuable resource.

The 2014 Public Defender Handbook is now available. This publication is ideal for students looking for public defender internships and postgraduate jobs.  The Handbook is divided into three main sections, (1) Frequently Asked Questions about public defender careers (2) a listing and brief descriptions of the major public defender offices that regularly hire post-graduate attorneys and (3) a listing of capital defense offices that hire entry-level attorney. The Handbook also includes an appendix with very specific examples of hypothetical interview questions and interviews with leaders at public defender agencies.

Thanks to our friends at NYU, and especially Rachel Peckerman, Esq., Associate Director, Public Interest Law Center, NYU School of Law. for sharing the Defender Handbook.

by Christina Jackson, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives & Fellowships

Happy Friday everyone!  Can you believe it’s August already?  Soon it will be time to return to school.  Check out PSJD for all your back-to-school job search needs.

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

Here are the week’s headlines:

• Legal Services Corp. celebrates 40  years;
• MD cut back on spending for criminal defense for poor;
• Naiyareh Karimimanesh Bahá’í Service Fellowship established at Tahirih Justice Center;
• Texas Civil Rights Project returns to Austin offices;
• Denver City Council approves municipal defender office;
• Travis Co. (TX) accepts state funding to create private defender’s office;
• USPTO adds more schools to Clinic Certification Pilot Program
• Spotlight on Public Service Servants: U.S. Servicemembers;
• Super Music Bonus!

The summaries:

July 24, 2014 – “The Legal Services Corporation (LSC), the single largest funder of civil legal aid in the country, marks its 40th anniversary on July 25.  LSC will commemorate this milestone beginning with a three-day event bringing together a wide range of legal, government, corporate, and philanthropic leaders to shine a light on the challenges and opportunities facing civil legal aid in America. The 40th Anniversary Kick-Off will be held Sept. 14-16 at the Omni Shoreham hotel in Washington, DC.”  Congratulations on 40 years very well done and to many, many more.  (LSC)

July 24, 2014 – “Spending on criminal defense for the poor fell 7.9 percent in Maryland from fiscal 2008 to fiscal 2012, compared to a national decrease of 4.3 percent, according to a recent Justice Department study.  The Maryland Office of the Public Defender has felt the impact of budget cuts, as the size of the support staff shrank and attorneys dealt with heavy caseloads in recent years, said Maryland Public Defender Paul DeWolfe.”  Spending may increase in future years after the Maryland Court of Appeals found a constitutional right to representation in the early stages of a criminal case, but how much remains to be seen. (LegalTimes)

July 28, 2014 – “Tahirih has received significant support of its Bahá’í Service Fellowship Program to honor the memory of a young lawyer who was passionate about the legal profession and the Bahá’í Faith.  The Naiyareh Karimimanesh Bahá’í Service Fellowship honors the memory of Naiyareh Karimimanesh, a 27-year-old lawyer who passed away in 2007 after a car accident. Naiyareh had a profound impact on those she left behind.”  “The Naiyareh Karimimanesh Bahá’í Service Fellowship will fund three fellowships in 2014 and provide overall support to the program. The Fellowship is designed to engage fellows in service to humanity, promote the equality of women and men, and provide an opportunity for fellows to learn from the work of a well-established, Bahá’í-inspired, nonprofit organization. Fellows are Bahá’ís, and work in a variety of staff roles assisting Tahirih’s clients to achieve justice while also being of service in the local Bahá’í community. They commit to serving Tahirih for a one-year period, and receive a stipend and health insurance for their service.”  (Tahirih Justice Center)

July 28, 2014 – The Texas Civil Rights Project “celebrated the grand reopening of its Austin location Friday night. Last October, an electrical fire destroyed one office in the building and caused heavy smoke damage.  Another legal aid organization let the Texas Civil Rights Project work out of its offices. Now nine months later, the group is glad to have their own space back.”  (Austin News)

July 29, 2014 – “Travis County commissioners have unanimously voted to accept more than $717,500 in state money for the creation of a private defender’s office.  Judges, court officials and defense lawyers must now work on an official contract for approval next month. But the decision Tuesday signals the county’s commitment to fund the initiative, which proponents aim to fully implement by January.”  “Defense lawyers say they have started the process to establish the new nonprofit that will oversee the appointment of attorneys to cases in the $8.5 million indigent defense system.”  (statesman.com)

July 30, 2014 – “The U.S. Department of Commerce’s United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) today announced the selection of 19 law schools that will join the USPTO’s Law School Clinic Certification Pilot Program this fall. Five law schools will join both the Patent and Trademark portions of the Program, four law schools will join the Patent portion of the Program, and ten law schools will join the Trademark portion of the Program.  These law schools join the 28 law schools currently participating in the Program.  The selection committees chose these schools based on their solid IP curricula, pro bono services to the public, and community networking and outreach.  The Program enables law students to practice patent and/or trademark law before the USPTO under the guidance of an approved faculty clinic supervisor. ”  (uspto.gov)

Spotlight on Outstanding Public Servants:  I had the honor this week of attending a friend’s promotion ceremony.  It reminded me once again of the commitment service requires of both the military person and their family.  There are absolutely days you are saying goodbye to your family before going to work where you may never return.  On this day in history, World War I was erupting, Hilter becomes fuhrer in 1934, and many events since have contrived to send nations to war.  Regardless of how you feel about those events, it is universally true that men and women every day willingly put themselves in harms way.  Please join me in saying thank you and working towards making their return easier.

Super Music Bonus!