Sam Halpert, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives

Hi Interested Public,

Lots of big stories this week, as the LSC and the White House release their (diametrically opposed) budget proposals for legal services in the United States and commentators analyze how DOJ might change with the departure of AG Bondi and how student debt may change with the myriad changes to federal student loan structures. More locally, an appeals court halted a contempt order against the San Francisco Public Defender in California, Nashville Tennessee reflected on the success of its right-to-counsel-in-eviction program, and a union in NYC prepares to strike to protect its employer-funded Legal Services Fund from cuts.

As always, these stories are in the links below. Solidarity,

Sam

Editor’s Choice(s)

• Comment re: Proposed Rule, DOJ “Review of State Bar Complaints and Allegations Against Department of Justice Attorneys” (Democracy Forward & Campaign for Accountability; 6 Apr 2026)

  “The civil service has long treated attorney positions as distinctive precisely because attorney hiring depends on professional qualification and bar membership rather than ordinary competitive examination. The proposed rule would impair that structure. In practical terms, it would allow the employer to step between licensed attorneys and the independent disciplinary systems that regulate every other lawyer. That shift away from external professional accountability and toward employer controlled review is contrary to law and bad civil service policy, especially at a moment when DOJ’s own treatment of career attorneys and ethics personnel is generating extraordinary concern.”

• LSC Seeks $2.14B As White House Pushes To Slash Funding (Law360; 6 Apr 2026)

Federal Restructuring & Funding

• Bondi’s Ouster Paves Way for an Even More Trump-Appeasing DOJ (Bloomberg Law; 2 Apr 2026)

• See where Trump is looking to make staffing cuts next year and where he wants to grow (Government Executive; 6 Apr 2026)

• DOJ Creates National Fraud Enforcement Division: What Actually Will Change—and What Remains to Be Seen (Mintz; 9 Apr 2026)

  “On April 7, 2026, the Acting Attorney General, Todd Blanche, issued a memorandum establishing the Department of Justice National Fraud Enforcement Division (NFED). The memo describes an ambitious, but perhaps redundant, vision for this standalone litigating division: a centralized, coordinated approach to investigating and prosecuting fraud against taxpayer dollars and taxpayer-funded programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. A close reading of the memo reveals that while certain organizational changes take effect immediately, many of the NFED's most consequential features—including its final scope, its relationship with the Civil Division, and its capacity to deliver on its prosecutorial ambitions—have yet to take shape.”

• Fewer federal employees are ‘thriving’ and more are ‘struggling’, according to new survey (Government Executive; 10 Apr 2026)

  “The Trump administration in 2025 nixed an annual survey of federal employee engagement and morale, but polls from other organizations provide insights.”

• DOJ Calls Immigrant Legal Aid Wasteful In Budget Push (Law360; 9 Apr 2026)

• The fight to pick RI's U.S. Attorney is about to get messy. Here's why. (The Providence Journal; 10 Apr 2026)

• After rocky first year, Chicago’s top federal prosecutor says he isn’t taking orders from Washington (Chicago Sun Times; 7 Apr 2026)

State & Local Restructuring & Funding

• As Legal Aid Groups Face Budget Cuts, San Francisco [CA] Awards 1 Group Millions (KQED; 7 Apr 2026)

  “City funding for organizations that provide civil legal aid is plummeting as San Francisco looks to narrow a more than $600 million budget deficit. That’s why Danielson and other groups were shocked to find out the city’s homelessness department awarded a $4.7 million grant without a competitive bidding process to a single nonprofit that also provides civil legal services.”

• Ohio AG awards $5 million to Cleveland State for new prosecutor training program (Cleveland19; 7 Apr 2026)

• Oregon DOJ probe into sanctuary law compliance at Salem courthouse faces legal hurdles (Oregon Capital Chronicle; 6 Apr 2026)

• Minnesota’s Immigrant Rapid Response Fund Deploys $12 Million: Hosts April 8 Briefing (Women’s Foundation of Minnesota; 6 Apr 2026)

• [KS] Governor Kelly Signs Bipartisan Bill Expanding Opportunities for Attorneys in Rural Areas (Governor of Kansas PR; 6 Apr 2026)

  “Governor Laura Kelly has signed Substitute for House Bill 2595 (Sub for HB 2595), establishing the Attorney Training Program for Rural Kansas Act to encourage and expand opportunities and incentives for licensed attorneys or Kansas law students to practice in rural areas. The bill also establishes the Attorney Loan Repayment Program for Rural Kansas.”

Civil Society

• Former DOJ Lawyers Discuss Duty, Integrity, and Public Service During Stanford Law Panel (Stanford Lawyer; 7 Apr 2026)

• Black-led nonprofits didn’t see the lasting funding boosts promised after 2020’s racial reckoning (AP; 7 Apr 2026)

Student Debt & Other Student Concerns

• Thousands of student-loan borrowers in public service are facing a harder road to debt relief (Business Insider; 9 Apr 2026)

• Law Schools Face Enrollment ‘Wake-Up Call’ Following Landmark SCOTUS Case (Above the Law; 9 Apr 2026)

  “LSAC flags ongoing decline in first-gen student enrollment as Supreme Court ends affirmative action.”

• Grad Students Face Costly Private Loans After Federal Cuts (Bloomberg; 7 Apr 2026)

• They Couldn’t Escape Student Debt—So They Left the Country Instead (Parriva; 6 Apr 2026)

• Student loan forgiveness for public servants could be pricier to access, after new changes (CNBC; 9 Apr 2026)

Conflicts Over Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility

• A hiring rule meant to help people with disabilities get federal jobs instead left them more vulnerable to DOGE mass firings (Government Executive; 9 Apr 2026)

• [Ed Note: I also refer readers out to NALP’s Weekly Industry News Digest, which has separate coverage of this topic]

Access to Justice

• Appeals court stays contempt sanction against San Francisco [CA] public defender (Cal Lawyer; 9 Apr 2026)

• Wisconsin moves to UBE to ease access-to-justice woes (ABA Journal; 10 Apr 2026)

• Nashville [TN]'s Eviction Right to Counsel program paid off, study finds (AOL; 10 Apr 2026)

• Strike Looms as NYC Residential Building Workers Demand Legal Aid for Immigrants (Documented NY; 7 Apr 2026)

• Gallatin County [MT] Attorney clarifies no policy restricting ICE cooperation, seeks [MT] AG opinion (Daily Montanan; 6 Apr 2026)

Sam Halpert, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives

Hi Interested Public,

Huge amount happened last week; catching you up on it all now. Big stories include the President’s invocation of a national security rationale to direct federal spending on government payroll during a lapse in Congressional appropriations, the sudden end of Pamela Bondi’s tenure as Attorney General of the United States, a report suggesting that 40% of college borrowers may not qualify for newly-necessary (standard) private education loans, a new Executive Order tightening restrictions on DEI initiatives for federal contractors (and sub-contractors), and much more. As always, these stories are in the links below. Solidarity,

Sam

Editor’s Choice(s)

• Trump says he’ll pay all DHS workers after House again fails to end 48-day shutdown (Government Executive; 2 Apr 2026)

  • Liberating the Department of Homeland Security From the Democrat-Caused Shutdown (White House Presidential Memoranda; 3 Apr 2026)

    “As President of the United States, I have determined that these circumstances constitute an emergency situation compromising the Nation’s security. Accordingly, I hereby direct the Secretary of Homeland Security, in coordination with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, to use funds that have a reasonable and logical nexus to the functions of DHS to provide each and every employee of DHS with the compensation and benefits that would have accrued to them if not for the Democrat-led DHS shutdown, consistent with applicable law, including 31 U.S.C. 1301(a).”

• Millions of student-loan borrowers risk being driven into a 'shadow' market of costly private lenders, a new report says (Business Insider; 31 Mar 2026)

• Trump fires U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi (CBC; 2 Apr 2026)

  • Bondi successor faces 'impossible' standard for attorney general role: ex-prosecutor (Raw Story; 3 Apr 2026)

  • “Irreparably broken”: Former DOJ lawyers advocate for stronger protections from executive overreach (The Stanford Daily; 3 Apr 2026)

  • Reports: DOJ Civil Rights chief Harmeet Dhillon to be promoted amid department shakeup (Democracy Docket; 5 Apr 2026)

Federal Restructuring & Funding

• Trump Again Wants to Cut Legal Aid Funder Seeking $2.1 Billion (Bloomberg Law; 3 Apr 2026)

  “The Legal Services Corp. has asked Congress to nearly quadruple its budget to more than $2 billion next fiscal year, even as President Donald Trump’s administration is again seeking to scrap the federally funded legal aid organization.”

• Trump’s budget calls for 2027 pay freeze (Government Executive; 3 Apr 2026)

• Critics argue new federal workforce rules increase the risk of politicization, not accountability [opinion] (Government Executive; 2 Apr 2026)

• Trump plan to shift student loan oversight to Treasury draws Senate Democrats' backlash (Government Executive; 3 Apr 2026)

• DOL, HHS Must Face Unions' Claims In DOGE Data Suit (Law 360 UK; 1 Apr 2026)

  “The U. S. Departments of Labor and Health and Human Services must continue facing claims that they illegally gave Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency access to employee records[.]”

• The loophole that keeps a Trump loyalist serving as L.A.’s top federal prosecutor (Los Angeles Times; 4 Apr 2026)

  “Across the country, President Trump has installed handpicked loyalists as top federal prosecutors. Several have been pushed out after legal battles because they lack Senate confirmation to serve as U.S. attorneys. But in Los Angeles, Bill Essayli wields the power of a top prosecutor under a lesser title: ‘first assistant.’”

State & Local Restructuring & Funding

• Connecticut may issue student loans to offset Trump limits (The College Fix; 31 Mar 2026)

  “Connecticut may create a new taxpayer-subsidized graduate student loan program to offset upcoming federal limits on certain borrowing.”

• Montana AG demands Gallatin County attorney rescind ‘policy’ that doesn’t recognize ICE (Daily Montanan; 3 Apr 2026)

  “Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen on Thursday demanded the Gallatin County Attorney rescind what Knudsen says is an illegal “policy” refusing to recognize U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as a criminal justice agency and share confidential information. But County Attorney Audrey Cromwell refuted the AG’s characterization of a policy and said in a statement Knudsen was conflating an individual instance involving a civil matter with a county policy.”

• [NC] Lawyers Trying to Overhaul State Bar Discipline System Say They ‘Will Not Be Bullied’ (The Assembly; 2 Apr 2026)

  “After broadly outlining his recommendations—one of which was to allow voluntary pro bono work, or free legal services, to count toward the required hours—Dietz focused on the aftermath.”

• Seattle [WA] ramps up legal services, small grants for immigrants and refugees (Northwest Asian Weekly; 31 Mar 2026)

• Republicans OK report criticizing attorney general over privately funded legal fellows (Wisconsin Public Radio; 1 Apr 2026)

  “Republican state lawmakers say Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul sidestepped state law in order to bring on several attorneys whose pay was bankrolled by private foundations. But Kaul and other Democrats have defended those agreements and accused GOP lawmakers of staging a “partisan stunt” during a year in which Kaul is seeking reelection.”

Civil Society

• 6 Minnesotans sue ICE after agents broke into their homes without judicial warrants (Minnesota Public Radio; 3 Apr 2026)

• American Bar Association backs Trump-targeted law firms in US Court of Appeals amicus brief (Canadian Lawyer Mag; 5 Apr 2026)

• [NJ] Attorney General Davenport Co-Leads Amicus Brief Against Trump Administration’s Targeting of Law Firms (NJ Dept. Law & Pub Safety; 3 Apr 2026)

• 19 House Dems File Amicus to Support Law Firms in EO Appeal (Law.com; 2 Apr 2026)

• Legal Organizations Re-File Amicus Brief in Support of Targeted Law Firms (ACLU DC; 3 Apr 2026)

• In-House Counsel Come Out In Support Of Biglaw Firms Fighting The Trump Administration (Above the Law; 3 Apr 2026)

• 2 New Orleans [LA] city attorneys resign after ChatGPT was used to help prepare federal court filing (CBS Local; 2 Apr 2026)

Student Debt & Other Student Concerns

• US education department ‘not dead but being dismantled’ (Times Higher Education; 30 Mar 2026)

• Connecticut may issue student loans to offset Trump limits (The College Fix; 31 Mar 2026)

  “Connecticut may create a new taxpayer-subsidized graduate student loan program to offset upcoming federal limits on certain borrowing.”

• Stu­dent loan shuffle leaves bor­row­ers in limbo (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel; 5 Apr 2026)

• When Will Wage Garnishments For Defaulted Student Borrowers Resume? It's Unclear (Investopedia; 2 Apr 2026)

• Lucky few Americans whose student debt was forgiven: ‘I hit the lottery’ (Guardian; 2 Apr 2026)

• How Long It Really Takes To Repay Student Loans, By Loan Type (The College Investor; 2 Apr 2026)

Conflicts Over Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility

• Trump signs executive order asking federal contractors to eliminate DEI (Reuters; 26 Mar 2026)

  “The latest executive order signed on Thursday requires certain federal contracts to include a clause ​prohibiting contractors and their subcontractors from engaging in DEI, ​the White House said…It also directs agencies to cancel, terminate, or suspend ​contracts – and to ​suspend or ⁠debar contractors – for failure to comply, according to the White House.”

  • ADDRESSING DEI DISCRIMINATION BY FEDERAL CONTRACTORS (White House Executive Orders; 26 Mar 2026)

• [Ed Note: I also refer readers out to NALP’s Weekly Industry News Digest, which has separate coverage of this topic]

Access to Justice

• Millions of Americans continue to lack meaningful access to justice. What can be done about it? [opinion] (ABA Journal; 1 Apr 2026)

  “At LawFi, our new legal fee-lending model takes a different approach, offering regulated point-of-need consumer loans that pay lawyers directly. In this model, clients finance the cost of the legal services needed and repay the loan over time in predictable, affordable monthly installments. Repayment of the legal fee loan is not based on the outcome of a case; it is repaid like any other installment loan used to finance other products or services. The borrower takes out a loan to pay for legal services and agrees to repay it over time. Unlike litigation funding, the legal fee lending model can be applied across a broad range of legal matters, including administrative, transactional, civil and commercial cases. Currently, payment options for these types of cases have been limited to credit card financing.”

• Feds Broke State Law By Targeting People Near Chicago [IL] Courts, Public Defender Says (Block Club Chicago; 3 Apr 2026)

• Report finds immigrant legal services under stress in New York (City & State NY; 30 Mar 2026)

• N.B. giving millions to justice services, increasing various fees (Law360 Canada; 2 Apr 2026)

• [US] Pub­lic defender short­age ripples across legal sys­tem (Democrat and Chronicle; 6 Apr 2026)

• [OR] Public defender shortage is leading to hundreds of criminal cases being dismissed (Wausau Pilot & Review; 31 Mar 2026)

• [WA] Counties worry about long-term funding under state’s public defense mandate (Salish Current; 2 Apr 2026)

  • Spokane [WA] municipal courts strained as public defender limits tighten (CBS Local; 2 Apr 2026)

  • Spokane [WA] may need to hire dozens of public defenders (The Center Square; 31 Mar 2026)

• [MS] Office of State Public Defender receives bump in budget (Magnolia Tribune; 3 Apr 2026)

• Pa.’s first-ever investment in public defense allowed offices to hire attorneys, improve case management (Spotlight PA; 1 Apr 2026)

• Public Defender’s Office in Madison County [WI] stalled amid legal concerns (WAFF 48; 31 Mar 2026)

  “The Madison County indigent defense board met Tuesday afternoon to discuss the creation of the Public Defender’s Office. The board previously voted in favor of creating the office but had to reverse course after legal challenges from local attorneys.”

  • [WI] Supreme Court candidates discuss absentee ballots, public defender shortage (CBS Local; 1 Apr 2026)

• [CA] Public defenders relaunch motions back to ease workload pressures (Cal Lawyer; 31 Mar 2026)

• Massachusetts Offers Incentives to Address Public Defender Shortage (Boston Today; 5 Apr 2026)

  “Massachusetts is addressing a shortage of public defenders by offering a temporary pay incentive program. Some courts in the state have been operating without any defense attorneys present to take on the backlog of cases for indigent defendants. The Committee for Public Counsel Services is offering a one-time $500 payment to attorneys who take on additional cases in Suffolk and Middlesex counties through June 30.”