If you are a 2L looking to work for the government this summer, then this post is for you! The following government programs have 2L deadlines coming up in the next few weeks:

Fall

• Federal Communications Commission – Wireless Telecommunications Bureau Student internship Program (Unpaid, Deadline 08/31/12)
• City of Houston Legal Department – Student Externships (Unpaid, Deadline 08/31/12)
• Illinois Attorney General’s Office – Law Clerk Program (Unpaid, Deadline 09/01/12)
• Department of Commerce – Office of General Counsel Legal Internship Program (Paid & Unpaid, Deadline 09/15/12)

Spring

• Department of the Interior – Office of the Solicitor legal Internship/Externship Program (Unpaid, Deadline 09/01/12)
• Office of the District Attorney Denver, CO – Legal Internship Program (Unpaid, Deadline not yet established was 09/06/11)
• Executive Office of the President – Council on Environmental Quality Legal Clerkship Program (Unpaid, Deadline 09/07/12)

Summer

• Environmental Protection Agency – Office of General Counsel Summer Honors Program (Paid, Deadline 08/24/12)
• Environmental Protection Agency – Region 9 Volunteer Intern Program (Unpaid, Deadline early Sept.)
• Government Accountability Office – Office of General Counsel Summer Associate Program (Paid, Deadline 09/01/12)
• Department of State – Office of the Legal Advisor (Civil) Summer Intern Program (Unpaid, Deadline 09/01/12)
• U.S. Dept. of Justice – Summer Law Intern Program (Paid, Deadline 09/04/12)
• Federal Trade Commission – Bureau of Consumer Protection 2013 Summer Law Clerk Program (Paid & Unpaid, Deadline 09/14/12)
• Central Intelligence Agency – Office of General Counsel Summer Law Clerk Program (Paid & Unpaid, Deadline 09/15/12)
• Environmental Protection Agency – R7 Summer Legal Intern Program (Paid, Deadline 09/15/12)
• Federal Trade Commission – Bureau of Competition Intern Program (Paid, Deadline 09/15/12)
• Department of Health & Human Services – Office of Counsel to the Inspector General Summer Law Clerk Program (Paid, Deadline not yet established was 09/16/11)

For more information on these listings and more, check out The University of Arizona College of Law’s 2012-2013 Government Honors & Internship Handbook. Please note that the Handbook is available to subscribers only. Don’t worry, though – most law schools are already subscribed. Just talk to your Career Services counselor for your school’s username and password.

By: Steve Grumm

We’ve got great news for law students and lawyers on public interest career paths, as well as the organizations that hire them.  On August 27^th, PSLawNet will become PSJD, a redesigned website that retains all of PSLawNet’s content but that adds easier navigation, enhanced searching, and new tools for job-seekers and employers alike.  PSLawNet users will be able to log in to PSJD with existing PSLawNet login credentials, and our job-seeker “email alerts” will continue uninterrupted.  We at NALP (who administer the PSLawNet/PSJD site) are very happy to launch this next-generation career center as a free resource for the public interest legal community.  As of August 27 PSJD will be found at http://www.psjd.org (not live yet).   

For blog readers, this means that we’ll be moving to blog.psjd.org (not live yet).  But this blog URL will redirect you as well. 

For more information contact me at sgrumm@nalp.org, or PSLawNet PSJD Fellow Ashley Matthews at amatthews@nalp.org.  You may also reach us at 202.296.0076.

Applications are open for Summer Law Internship Programs within the United States Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security, and the deadlines are approaching fast!

The Department of Justice is offering the “experience of a lifetime” to qualified law students, with opportunities to intern at U.S. Attorneys’ Offices in multiple locations. According to the their website, most successful applicants intern the summer between their second and third year of law school; however, graduating law students who will enter a judicial clerkship or a full-time graduate law program may intern following graduation.  Part-time law students are also eligible to apply. The application period ends on September 4, 2012 at midnight.

The Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the General Counsel is also accepting applications to intern at their headquarters located in Washington D.C. The competitive program is seeking applicants with high academic achievement (GPA of 3.0 or higher or top 1/3 of the class is preferred) and exceptional research, writing, and analytical skills. In addition, a demonstrated involvement in activities beyond required coursework is encouraged. The deadline to apply is October 1, 2012 for 2Ls and 3Ls. The application period for 1Ls is December 1 – December 16, 2012.

Don’t miss out on these great opportunities! For more information on government jobs and internships, be sure to read PSLawNet’s Federal Government Resources page. View the job posting for DHS and DOJ at PsLawNet.org (log-in required).

By: Steve Grumm

From a Legal Services Corporation release:

Washington DC – According to a recent survey conducted by the Legal Services Corporation (LSC), local legal aid programs expect to reduce staffing by nearly 750 employees in 2012, including 350 attorneys, because of funding cuts. This represents a reduction of eight percent of full-time-equivalent (FTE) positions from the end of 2011.

Nationwide, programs receiving grants from LSC reported significant reductions in funding, staffing, and operations.  Eighty-seven percent of the respondents report that their total (LSC and non-LSC) funding in 2012 will decrease significantly from 2011.  Eighty-two percent of the programs with reserves expect to use those funds in 2012 to continue operations.  One hundred thirty-three of the 134 LSC grantees responded to the survey.

As of December 2011, LSC-funded programs employed 9,185 FTE staff—including 4,360 attorneys—a reduction of 6.7 percent (661 positions) since December 2010.  Over the two-year period from 2010 to 2012, LSC-funded programs expect to lose 14 percent of their staff, including 591 attorneys (nearly 13 percent) and 320 paralegals (18 percent).   Sixteen percent of respondents expect to close offices in 2012.

Of the programs reporting decreases in their total funding from 2011 to 2012, 91 percent (87 programs) expect to serve fewer clients and accept fewer cases, and 73 percent (70 programs) will restrict the types of cases accepted.  Twenty-nine percent of programs expect to cut back services on foreclosure-related issues and services to victims of domestic violence.

There’s no making lemonade out of this.  It’s terrible news for legal services lawyers and (more signifcantly) for clients.  Nonetheless, we know that law students come to the PSLawNet Blog for info on career options.   We are still posting legal aid job listings from throughout the country everyday on PSLawNet.  So  the upshot is that you have to be the best job candidates you can possibly be in this tight job market.  Use our Job Search Fundamentals tools to work up great cover letters and resumes, and to learn how to ace interviews.

On a related note, we encourage law students to volunteer with civil legal aid providers this year.  Resources within these organizations are depleting but client demand from poor people and families continues to rise.

If you’re a public interest minded law student, then you’ll definitely want to be in Washington, DC on October 26-27 for the Equal Justice Works 2012 Conference & Career Fair! Registration opened today for job-hunting law students and recent graduates. Over 125 public interest employers will be in the building, and the weekend is packed with skill-building workshops and career advising sections with the nation’s leading experts.

The Equal Justice Works website posted these important dates to remember:

For more information, visit the EJW Conference & Career Fair information page.

The Central Regional Office of Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation seeks a staff attorney for its  Long Term Care Ombudsman Program.

Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation is a non-profit organization providing free legal services to low-income individuals and to senior citizens in civil cases through five (5) offices in central and southern Illinois.  The program has a long history of high quality and innovative advocacy for our clients.  The Central Regional Office is located in the St. Louis metropolitan area.

The staff attorney will :

• Represent residents in long term care facilities and assisted/supportive facilities in a 7 county area.
• Provide a full range of legal services to residents to prevent and remedy elder abuse and exploitation.
• Provide a regular presence in all facilities, and investigate all resident complaints when received.
• Assist the Regional Ombudsman in providing information, assistance and education to the community regarding long term care issues.

View the full job posting here (login required).

The Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago (LAF) is seeking a staff attorney in the area of Education Law, who will work in the Children and Families Practice Group at LAF. The attorney will handle cases for clients who have issues involving access to education, special education, expulsions, and suspensions. Many of these clients will be children and adolescents in foster care, whom LAF represents through a contact with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.

Responsibilities include representing clients at school special education meetings, administrative due process hearings pursuant to the Individuals with Education Disabilities Act, administrative expulsion hearings and state or federal court proceedings. The attorney will work with and train DCFS caseworkers, private agency caseworkers, foster parents, and court personnel to help them learn to identify and refer foster children who need LAF’s services.

The attorney should be able to drive and be willing to travel frequently throughout Cook County, often on short notice, to meet with clients, school personnel and others. Travel expenses will be reimbursed and other responsibilities adjusted to accommodate travel demands. The attorney will collaborate and advocate for LAF’s clients with other service providers in Illinois and with community-based organizations that serve children and families living in poverty. The attorney will share the work of screening, advising, representing and referring individuals seeking assistance with other attorneys, a paralegal, and a supervisory attorney.

The application deadline is August 28th.  View the full listing on PSLawNet (login required). 

Civil legal aid openings in the Nutmeg State:

Greater Hartford Legal Aid, Inc. (GHLA) provides free legal representation to low-income residents of Hartford County in housing, family/domestic violence, employment, senior, AIDS, government benefits, health, education, and disability matters. 

GHLA will accept applications from attorneys with experience in one or more of GHLA’s practice areas and from law school graduates from the class of 2012. Admission to the Connecticut bar or ability to waive in is preferred for experienced attorneys.

 View the full job posting on PSLawNet (login required).

Law & order in the Grand Canyon State. Here’s an entry-level opening for a prosecutor in Glendale, AZ, nearby Phoenix.  Although the job is “open until filled,” application review began on July 20.

Job Elements:

• Prepares and appears for arraignments, tries jury and non-jury trials and arranges and conducts pre-trial conferences with defendants and/or attorneys.
• Reviews the file on each case including police reports, previous convictions and motions from defense attorney; prepares any necessary correspondence and prepares for the pre-trial conference.
• Reviews cases forwarded by the Glendale Police Department and Code Enforcement and make the determination whether to prosecute.
• Provides assistance to the general public regarding pending cases and responds to questions from Glendale Police Department and Code Enforcement officials; meets with victims and explains court procedures prior to trial.
• Researches case law writes appellate briefs and provides written responses to motions.
• Argues motions before the court.
• Reviews dismissed cases for possible re-filing.
• Gathers and prepares statistical data on office workload.
• Provides daily update of cases going to trial.
• Records daily public message regarding cases going to trial.
• Files and retrieves case files.

Qualifications
Requires graduation from an accredited school of law and demonstrated working knowledge of the principles of civil and criminal law, rules of evidence, the methods and practices of pleadings, judicial procedures and the principle methods, practices and references utilized in legal research.

And the salary range starts in the high $50s.  Not so bad.  See the full listing on PSLawNet (login required).

By: Steve Grumm & Maria Hibbard

Lisa Abrams, Director of Career Services at the University of Chicago, contributed a terrific article to the August edition of the NALP Bulletin.  The article, “Ten Ways Law Students Can Be More Persuasive in Interviews,” offers solid advice for students and recent grads alike.  At its core, the article is a reminder that even though an interview is a real-time experience requiring job-seekers to think and speak on their feet, pre-interview preparation is critical.  We all perform better in these settings when we’ve thought through what we want to say, what questions we may expect to be asked, and how we may answer those questions in a way that puts our best professional foot forward.  Abrams’s ten tips begin…

1. Thoroughly and thoughtfully research the organization.
2. You must be able to answer the question “Why did you go to law school?”
3. To show you’re a valuable candidate, be able to identify your strongest skills (at least three and give up to three examples of each from your educational experience or work history.
4. Be able to tell the firm, government agency, or public interest organization what you think is special about them….

Check out the full article here to read the rest of the tips. Our takes:

Rising 2L (Maria here): I’m reminded especially of what I’ve learned through my background as a musician when reading this article. I wouldn’t dare go into an audition or major performance without hours and hours of practice and some time spent in mental preparation – as I search for jobs for my second law school summer and beyond, I’m reminded that I need to apply this same kind of diligence to my preparation for interviewing. One of Lisa’s tips focuses on the need to practice answers to interview questions out loud – although I’ve spent thousands of hours practicing presentations, solos, or other types of performances, I don’t think I’ve ever practiced verbally articulating answers to interview questions!

Lisa’s second tip focuses on the need to have a succinct answer to “Why did you go to law school?” – although I could ramble on and on about the myriad of experiences that led me to the legal profession, after reading Lisa’s tip I want to edit this answer down to a type of “newspaper headline,” saying “I went to law school because of ____ and ____.” One sentence can convey all of the important information, but this idea, or “theme” can be elaborated if needed.

Employer (Steve here): as noted above, interview prep is vital.  In doing background research, job seekers should not just memorize facts and figures from an organization’s website.  Talk to your career services office to find out if alumni of your school work(ed) with the organization.  While it may not be appropriate to reach out to current employees of an organization, it could be useful to reach out to former employees for their take on the organization’s culture, how they carry out their mission, etc.  Also, perform Google News searches to see if and why the organization is making headlines.  You must be able to convey why you want to work with this organization during the interview.  Gathering as much background info as possible will help you to do that.

I could write on and on about this topic but Lisa’s article succinctly captures the key tips.  Good luck on the job hunt!

Bonus: check out PSLawNet’s interview tips  tailored specifically for public interest jobs.