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

Happy Friday!

Here are the week’s headlines:

• Virginia Attorney General announces legal aid for veterans;
• Case Western Reserve University School of Law launches a human trafficking clinic;
• Best Places to Work in the Federal Government report now available – NASA still number one;
• Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP announces creation of Pro Bono Partner position;
• Maryland Judiciary launches mobile app to improve access to justice;
• Spotlight on Public Service Servants;
• Super Music Bonus!

The summaries:

December 7, 2015 – “Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring came to Norfolk Monday morning to announce his office is launching pro bono veterans legal clinics around the state. Herring’s program will give low-income veterans free help in three areas: creating wills, power of attorney and advanced medical directives. ‘These are folks who have served our country in times of need and we owe so much to them this is a way we can begin to repay that,’ said Herring.”  “Herring hopes to help about 100 veterans at each clinic. This will be on a first come first served basis. In order to be eligible for services, veterans and their spouses must fill out a questionnaire on the Attorney General’s website. Paper copies will also be available at local Virginia Department of Veterans Services Benefits Center.” (WAVY)

December 7, 2015 – “Case Western Reserve University School of Law, with a grant from the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, will launch a human trafficking law clinic in which students, under faculty supervision, will represent victims of human trafficking and sexual assault. Professors Judith Lipton and Maureen Kenny will serve as co-directors of the Human Trafficking Project, which will provide legal services to survivors of human trafficking and education and awareness to service providers, educators, students and the general public on this important issue.” “Lipton said the state grant will support the creation of a Human Trafficking Law Clinic. Meanwhile, the grant enables Case Western Reserve law students to immediately represent victims of human trafficking through the Criminal Justice Clinic.” (newswise)

December 8, 2015 –  The headline reads “NASA is the best place to work in government, Homeland Security is the worst – again.”  The Best Places to Work in the Federal Government report is out for 2015.  “The level of job satisfaction among federal employees at agencies with similar missions in areas such as law enforcement and public health varies widely, according to a new analysis of the ‘Best Places to Work in the Federal Government.’ For the first time, the authors of the report – which is based on data from the Office of Personnel Management’s annual Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey – grouped 75 federal organizations by six mission areas: energy and environment, financial regulation, law enforcement, national security, oversight and public health.” “Agencies that were at the top and bottom last year occupied those slots in 2015 too. For the fourth consecutive year, NASA was the No. 1 place to work among large federal agencies, with a job satisfaction and commitment score of 76.1 (out of 100) among employees. The intelligence community, departments of Justice, State and Commerce rounded out the top five. The rankings include 391 federal agencies and their subcomponents.” (Government Executive)

December 8, 2015 – “Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP today announced the creation of a Pro Bono Partner position at the firm.  Dan Brown, a partner in the Firm’s Business Trial Group and current Chair of the firm’s Pro Bono Committee, will fill that role.” “Brown will devote the majority of his time to managing the firm’s pro bono program, while continuing to litigate for his and other firm clients.  As Sheppard Mullin’s pro bono Chair, Brown was responsible for leading a firm-wide initiative to rejuvenate and expand the role of pro bono within Sheppard Mullin, resulting in pro bono and billable hours being treated the same for associates, and pro bono becoming a factor in the annual partner compensation review process.” (Sheppard Mullin Press Release)

December 9, 2015 – “The Maryland Judiciary unveiled a new free mobile app designed to improve access to justice. The Maryland Law Help app, released Wednesday, aims to help citizens better understand and navigate the court system, and make legal information readily available on smartphones and tablets. App users can access the Judiciary’s most popular resources including finding a lawyer or mediator, self-help videos on how to use the courts, locating proper forms, learning about Maryland law, and chatting with an attorney at the Maryland Courts Self-Help Center, which is operated by Maryland Legal Aid. ‘The new mobile app brings court access into the digital age,’ Maryland Court of Appeals Chief Judge Mary Ellen Barbera said in a release. ‘With this innovation, we are improving access to justice by using technology to facilitate people meeting their legal needs.'” (ABC2 News)

Spotlight on Outstanding Public Servants:

The Children’s Law Center in Washington, DC held a special reception at Covington’s DC office recently to honor Covington litigator Tony Herman and his commitment to pro bono. CLC executive director Judith Sandalow first met Tony at a soccer field watching their sons play together. They bonded over their shared experiences as adoptive parents. After Judith learned about Tony’s commitment to legal aid and closing the justice gap, she eventually asked him to join CLC’s board. That long involvement culminated in Tony serving as CLC board chair for four years, a position from which he stepped down a couple of months ago. CLC also announced that several Covington attorneys chose to honor Tony’s service by establishing the Anthony Herman Adoption Litigation Fund, which will allow CLC to support more adoptive families with legal advocacy. (Bisnow)

Super Music Bonus!  Music pick from the PSJD Fellow Eulen Jang. And a bonus track from FLOTUS!