Sam Halpert, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives

Hello, interested public! The major story this week concerns a failed US Congressional vote on a bill that would have dramatically impacted nonprofits’ operations. In other news, New York City legal groups say that the city government has delayed contractual payments to a degree that threatens their operations, and the Chief Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court addressed her state’s lawyer shortage in recent remarks. As always, these stories and more are in the links below.

If you’re interested in the issues we cover in this Digest, consider attending NALP’s Public Service Conference, which will be held virtually via Zoom on December 10th & 11th. Hope to see you there!

Take care,

Sam

Editor’s Choice

• House narrowly rejects bill to give U.S. new power to vet nonprofits (The Washington Post; 13 Nov 2024)

Student Loans & Student Debt

• What Will Trump Do With the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program? (NYTimes; 14 Nov 2024)

• With Trump's win, student debt relief is in question. Here's what to know (CBS; 13 Nov 2024)

• 30% of student loan borrowers have gone without essentials, like food and medicine, CFPB finds (CNBC; 13 Nov 2024)

Non-Profit & Government Management & Hiring

• Feds brace for return of Trump personnel policies (Government Executive; 6 Nov 2024)

• What Trump’s win means for the federal workforce (Government Executive; 6 Nov 2024)

• Nonprofits Face Backlash for “Controversial” Work, Report Warns (Nonprofit Quarterly; 12 Nov 2024)

• Legal Aid Groups Accuse NYC Of Payment Delays (Law360; 14 Nov 2024)

  • NYC’s immigrant and tenant legal groups say contract delays put them in financial peril (Gothamist; 13 Nov 2024)

Access to Justice – Civil & Economic

• Alabama legal services contracts stall amid dispute between senator, ABC Board (Alabama Reflector; 11 Nov 2024)

• [FL Supreme] Court approves CLE credit for pro bono service (Jacksonville Daily Record; 13 Nov 2024)

• Amid Trump’s deportation threat, here’s how Colorado immigration lawyers and advocates are working to protect undocumented immigrants (Summit Daily; 14 Nov 2024)

Access to Justice – Criminal

• Wisconsin Chief Justice Challenges Lawmakers to Help Solve Lawyer Shortage (Maciver Institute; 13 Nov 2024)

• Additional Investments [in NL] to Modernize and Enhance the Justice System (Newfoundland & Labrador; 13 Nov 2024)

• [NM] Contracted public defenders are seeking better pay. What does that mean? (Las Cruces News; 15 Nov 2024)

Sam Halpert, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives

Hello, interested public! Lots of news this week; I’ve done my best to pull a few threads for you related to our shared corner of the world. I hope you and yours are doing alright in yours.

Take care,

Sam

Student Loans & Student Debt

• Trump's win brings uncertainty to borrowers hoping for student loan forgiveness (AP; 8 Nov 2024)

• What The Election Results May Mean For Student Loan Forgiveness, Repayment And Relief Programs (Forbes; 6 Nov 2024)

• Advocates Vow to Protect the Tens of Millions of Americans with Student Debt from Trump’s Anti-Borrower Policies (Student Borrower Protection Center; 6 Nov 2024)

Non-Profit & Government Management & Hiring

• House Dems join push to create AI-focused civil rights offices across government (Government Executive; 4 Nov 2024)

• ABA walks back plan to remove 'race and ethnicity' from law school diversity rules (Reuters; 4 Nov 2024)

• Utah considers allowing law grads to choose apprenticeship rather than bar exam (ABA Journal; 7 Nov 2024)

• [Canadian] Federal 'Black Class Action' lawsuit points out flaws in EDI policies, data (Canadian HR Reporter; 5 Nov 2024)

Access to Justice – Civil & Economic

• No Matter Tomorrow’s Outcome, Keep the Momentum Going on Counsel for Kids and Parents (The Imprint; 4 Nov 2024)

• Fear of Trump's 'mass deportation' pledge reverberates for immigrants, advocates across North Bay (The Press Democrat; 7 Nov 2024)

• Texas Organization Urges Migrants to Seek Legal Aid As Trump Victory Sets The Stage For Mass Deportations (The Latin Times; 7 Nov 2024)

Access to Justice – Criminal

• Colorado Supreme Court rejects effort to let judges restrict defense lawyers' work on postconviction claims (Colorado Politics; 4 Nov 2024)

• Oregon needs to do more to ensure that everyone has access to justice (Oregon Capital Chronicle; 5 Nov 2024)

• D.C. Witness Investigation Finds Lawyers For The Indigent Beset by What the Court Calls, ‘An Exceptional Circumstance’ (DC Witness; 6 Nov 2024)

Sam Halpert, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives

Hello, interested public! A number of interesting stories this week, including some novel research from the Journal of the American Medical Association about the health effects of the tenant right-to-counsel movement. You’ll find that story and others in the links below.

Take care,

Sam

Editor’s Choice

• Tenant Right-to-Counsel and Adverse Birth Outcomes in New York, New York (Journal Amer. Medical Assn.; 28 Oct 2024) “Question Was eviction prevention via free legal representation in housing court (right-to-counsel) in New York, New York, associated with birth outcomes in Medicaid-insured birthing parents?

  Findings In this cohort study including 260 493 live births, right-to-counsel was associated with a statistically significant 0.96–percentage point absolute reduction in adverse birth outcomes among Medicaid-insured birthing parents.

  Meaning These findings suggest that right-to-counsel programs may lead to improvements in key population health indicators.”

Student Loans & Student Debt

• New Student Loan Application Gives Overlooked Borrowers A Shot At Loan Forgiveness (Forbes; 29 Oct 2024)

• Boomers shoulder the heaviest student loans—but not for themselves (Fast Company; 26 Oct 2024)

• Why Two Old Student Loan Repayment Plans Are Coming Back From The Dead (Investopedia; 25 Oct 2024)

Non-Profit & Government Management & Hiring

• Pro Services Contract Nixes NJ Public Defender's Pension (Law360; 31 Oct 2024)

Access to Justice – Civil & Economic

• Georgia Launches Committee To Take On 'Civil Justice Gap' (Law360; 31 Oct 2024)

• Little Rock [AR] law school working to inspire rural lawyers (KARK.com; 31 Oct 2024)

• Jabbour & Quintero unveil Hoboken [NJ] housing platform that includes right-to-counsel (Hudson County View; 30 Oct 2024)

  • Coalition Releases Report on Unjustified Evictions in New Jersey (Rutgers Law School; 29 Oct 2024)

• Will Generative AI Actually Expand Access To Justice? (Above the Law; 31 Oct 2024)

• K&L Gates Looks to Extend Gen AI Expertise to Access to Justice Fight (Law.com; 30 Oct 2024)

• Legal spending cuts by [ON] Human Rights Legal Support Centre is hurting litigants, lawyers say (LawTimes News; 29 Oct 2024)

• A New Approach To Narrowing The Texas Civil Justice Chasm (Mondaq; 28 Oct 2024)

Access to Justice – Criminal

• Prosecutors, defenders ask for pension upgrades to aid recruitment, retention (Indiana Capital Chronicle; 29 Oct 2024)

• Milwaukee County postpones hundreds of cases due to public defender shortage (ABC WISN; 31 Oct 2024)

• Pretrial investigations mount in Champaign [IL] as public defender caseloads rise in first year of Pretrial Fairness Act (CU-Citizen Access; 29 Oct 2024)

• Benton County [WA] prosecutor speaks out amid ongoing public defender shortage (KEPR; 30 Oct 2024)

  • Benton County [WA] appoints new public defense director amid statewide shortage (NonStop Local; 25 Oct 2024)

• Washington state legal system faces challenge with public defender caseload reduction proposal (Apple Valley News Now; 30 Oct 2024)