Sam Halpert, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives

Hi Interested Public,

Several major stories stacked up during a brief hiatus; I’ll try and sort through them for you in the links below. In Editor’s Choices, the trend within the federal government of replacing experienced legal workers with more early-career professionals has grown pronounced enough for the New York Times to focus on it–and draw a direct response from President Trump. Meanwhile, journalists are also chronicling the reaction from the judiciary to this change in the federal legal workforce. In the area of civil legal services, you can find stories in the Civil Society section covering new federal policies targeting immigration services legal providers (to which those providers have reacted with alarm). At the state & local level, a number of public defenders offices are struggling with high caseloads and low levels of funding. As always, these stories and more are in the links below. Solidarity,

Sam

Editor’s Choice(s)

• Trump Administration Sees Striking Exodus of Legal Talent (NY Times; 31 May 2026)

  “‘A lot of people my age are asking, ‘Is it worth getting a job, and will that help career wise — having one year of Trump administration experience on your résumé?’’ said Matthew Duray, who described himself as a conservative Republican and just finished his first year at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School. ‘Or will that hurt? And that’s the question I guess everyone’s asking, and that’s the bet you have to make ahead of time. But it’s hard to know long term.’”

• Trump responds to New York Times article, says it’s ‘very good’ administration is losing legal talent (The Hill; 31 May 2026)

• The federal government shed 385,000 employees last year. Now the Trump administration is on a blitz to hire Gen Z workers (Fortune; 31 March 2026 [older story included for context])

  “A year after firing thousands of probationary employees, the Trump administration indicated it needs more early-career workers to sustain the federal workforce.”

• Losing Trust in Justice Dept., Judges Call Out Its Lawyers’ Behavior (NY Times; 1 Jun 2026)

• Trump’s inexperienced federal prosecutors are running into trouble in court (Politico; 12 Jun 2026)

  “Trump has repeatedly filled those jobs with people who have never worked as prosecutors before — and many of those people have either been disqualified, reprimanded by judges for inappropriate conduct, or seen their cases fall apart.”

Federal Restructuring & Funding

• Trump Tightens Grip on Federal Workers Even in Scaled-Back Form (Bloomberg Law; 4 Jun 2026)

  • Trump signs order moving thousands of federal employees into Schedule F (Government Executive; 3 Jun 2026)

  • Partnership for Public Service statement on executive order reclassifying federal employees (Partnership for Public Service; 3 Jun 2026)

    “This executive order has flung open the door to a new spoils system within our federal government. Nonpartisan public servants who swore an oath to the Constitution are now vulnerable to politically motivated removal with no explanation or right of appeal.”

• House panel rejects bid to keep military lawyers focused on military work (Government Executive; 5 Jun 2026)

• DOJ Opinion Calls Disparate Impact Theory Unconstitutional (SHRM; 11 Jun 2026)

• [40 State AGs] Urge[] Congress to Continue Funding Legal Services for Low-Income Americans and Vulnerable Communities (CA OAG; 11 Jun 2026)

• How the Trump Administration Plans to Politicize Federal Grants (Time; 3 Jun 2026)

  “The Trump Administration has proposed what could be the biggest overhaul in years of how the federal government distributes billions of dollars in grants, requiring senior appointees to conduct “pre-issuance reviews” that critics say pave the way for political interference in what should be independent research funding.”

• Justice Department urges judge not to block ‘anti-weaponization’ fund that it says is already dead (NBC; 5 Jun 2026)

State & Local Restructuring & Funding

• Gov. Sherrill expands legal resources for immigrants facing detention, deportation amid Delaney Hall concerns (The Setonian; 10 Jun 2026)

• San Francisco immigration court shuts down, striking at heart of historic advocacy (NPR; 10 Jun 2026)

• A new bill is helping East Baton Rouge [LA]'s public defender's office avoid a funding crisis (ABC local; 5 Jun 2026)

• [Jackson MS] Supervisors boost public defender salaries with unused water tower project funds (WLBT; 1 Jun 2026)

• Louisiana Legislature passes bill to take money from Orleans DA, give more to other districts (NOLA.com; 3 Jun 2026)

• Federal government refuses to release evidence sought in metro surge probe, Hennepin County Attorney says (ABC Local; 5 Jun 2026)

  “The county attorney released a statement late Friday afternoon indicating it had finally heard back from the U.S. Department of Justice, and the DOJ is continuing to refuse to hand over the disputed evidence. “It’s very abnormal,” said Rachel Moran about missing the deadline. Moran teaches at the University of St. Thomas Law School and is researching how the DOJ’s relationship with state and local governments is changing. “Unfortunately, we’re seeing it happen much more frequently with the Department of Justice,” she said of missed deadlines…“A year and a half ago, I would have said it’s extremely rare,” she said.”

Civil Society

• Trump Wants Lawyers’ Files On Migrant Children (The Lever; 5 Jun 2026)

  “As immigration courts accelerate deportation proceedings, the Trump administration is withholding funding while pressuring legal aid groups to disclose sensitive data about vulnerable children.”

  • Legal Groups That Help Migrant Children Say Law Enforcement Visits Were Attempt at Intimidation (AP; 12 Jun 2026)

    “Organizations that give legal assistance to children who came to the U.S. alone said agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Health and Human Services tried to enter their offices in what the groups described as part of a campaign to intimidate legal services providers.”

• DHS memo directs ICE to ramp up asylum-related fraud cases (CBS News; 26 May 2026)

  “In a memo dated May 26 and obtained by CBS News, DHS General Counsel James Percival instructed ICE attorneys within the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor to develop "anti-fraud policies" designed for "robust enforcement" of existing federal anti-fraud law. The memo said that any effort "should include enforcement against immigration attorneys filing false asylum claims in immigration court." …The sweeping directive asserted that asylum claims are meant for "unique and narrow circumstances," but that it has become "standard practice" for immigration lawyers to argue that "virtually every illegal alien" faces persecution or torture in their home country because of a protected characteristic such as race or political opinion.”

• ICE denies having a protester database. But a letter to Congress sheds more light (NPR; 10 Jun 2026)

  “In a previously unpublicized letter sent to members of Congress in April, recently departed acting ICE director Todd Lyons acknowledged the agency gives itself wide latitude to collect information on individuals suspected of potential violations of law, including interference with ICE operations or officer safety matters, and maintains records on people who were never arrested.”

• Southern Poverty Law Center asks judge to weigh sanctions against DOJ for sending unsigned copy of indictment to media (CBS; 4 Jun 2026)

• Republicans need to crack down on the corrupt ‘NGO sector’ NOW [Editorial] (NY Post; 6 Jun 2026)

  • House Judiciary Committee Examines Conduct of Southern Poverty Law Center (C-SPAN; 9 Jun 2026)

    “Bryan Fair, the interim president and CEO of SPLC, testified under oath and denied the allegations, and declined to comment on specific matters as litigation played out in court. He was supported by the committee's Democratic lawmakers, who said Republicans' allegations against the SPLC were politically motivated.”

Student Debt & Other Student Concerns

• New Bill Would Aim To Make Larger Student Loans Accessible For Specialized Graduate Students (Forbes; 10 Jun 2026)

  “The latest of these recent efforts is a bill to be introduced in the Senate that would restore higher federal student loan caps for some specialized graduate school programs, like nursing, public health and social work.”

• New PSLF Rules Break Promise to Borrowers [opinion] (Inside Higher Ed; 8 Jun 2026)

• Millions of student-loan borrowers risk facing debt collectors who were penalized for 'misleading' behavior (Yahoo Business; 6 Jun 2026)

  “As President Donald Trump transfers federal student loans from the Department of Education to the Treasury Department, defaulted borrowers will be routed through the Treasury's "Cross-Servicing program," which uses private contractors to collect federal debts. Two agencies in that system, Pioneer Credit Recovery and Transworld Systems, were previously sued or fined by federal watchdogs for "misleading" or "abusive" practices.”

• Judge Questions Terms Of Student Loan Forgiveness Change (Law360; 3 Jun 2026)

  “A Massachusetts federal judge considering whether to block a new Trump administration rule that could kick millions of public sector and nonprofit employees out of a student loan forgiveness program repeatedly pressed a government lawyer [] on the precise criteria the U.S. ”

Conflicts Over Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility

• ‘Architect’ of Law Firm DEI Programs Dissolves (FTC; 5 Jun 2026)

  “Diversity Lab LLC, a for-profit diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) consultancy, has permanently ceased operations following a Federal Trade Commission investigation.”

• Trump's Education Department is backing away from addressing civil rights for Black students (ABC; 3 Jun 2026)

• Lawsuit claims DOJ is retaliating against employees with disabilities who request telework (Government Executive; 3 Jun 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

• Detroit’s right to counsel program will soon run out of money. Experts say it’s saved the city millions (Outlier; 4 Jun 2026)

• New Supreme Court Commission to Tackle Legal Deserts — But Public Couldn't Watch Online (Cops & Congress [substack]; 7 Jun 2026)

  “According to the court system, the commission was formed to study ways to expand access to legal services, particularly in “legal deserts” — counties with fewer than one attorney per 1,000 residents. Court officials say 48 of North Carolina’s 100 counties now meet that definition…The commission’s work could have far-reaching implications. According to the Supreme Court announcement, members will examine alternative licensing models used in other states, evaluate the role of paralegals and paraprofessionals, and consider whether regulatory changes could help address unmet legal needs while protecting consumers.”

• Threat of strike looms as [NYC] public defender unions call for more funding (Queens Daily Eagle; 11 Jun 2026)

• MA Inspector General issues report on state’s ‘broken’ public defender system (Boston Herald; 10 Jun 2026)

• Philadelphia public defender’s office flat-funded in city budget (KYW News Radio; 11 Jun 2026)

  • Philadelphia’s top public defender warns of service cuts if city budget passes unchanged (The Philadelphia Inquirer; 10 Jun 2026)

• NYC public defender unions push to get funding in the city budget (AM NY; 10 Jun 2026)

• California Public Defenders Launch ‘Motions Bank’ Amidst Workload Crisis (Davis Vanguard; 8 Jun 2026)

• Ignoring Georgia’s Public Defender Crisis, and the Obvious Way to Fix It [opinion] (Filter; 4 Jun 2026)

  “Similar to how Georgia’s prison overcrowding and understaffing could be resolved through the simple and cost-effective option of parole, there is one obvious way to address the problem of too many indigent defendants and not enough public defenders. In February, Oregon dismissed more than 1,400 cases due to its shortage of public defenders. Georgia has yet to consider this option.”

• Solano County [CA] reaches labor agreement with public defenders, prosecutors (Vallejo Sun; 5 Jun 2026)

• Spokane County [WA] public defenders challenge their caseloads in court and at the bargaining table (Inlander; 4 Jun 2026)

• Closing the Rural Justice Gap (Winston College of law; 3 Jun 2026)

  “The University of Tennessee Winston College of Law’s 2026 Orr Symposium, “Closing the Rural Justice Gap: Innovation and Regulatory Reform,” sponsored by the Tennessee Supreme Court Access to Justice Commission, the Legal Clinic at Winston Law, and the Tennessee Law Review, gathered national experts, scholars, judges, and lawyers to examine the causes of legal deserts and discuss practical solutions…The 2026 Orr Symposium is free to view on demand.”