Those interested in working for detainee rights, this job may be right up your alley.

The Florence Project has an opening for a staff attorney on its Eloy team. The staff attorney provides pro bono legal services to detainees held in a 1,500 bed private contract facility near the town of Eloy, Arizona.

The staff attorney will work on a team of three (two staff attorneys and one legal assistant) providing group “know your rights” presentations, individual intakes, group and individual court counseling and prep sessions, and pro se services to immigrants facing removal proceedings before the Eloy Immigration Court. On a limited basis, the staff attorney will also fully represent detainees in merits proceedings before the Immigration Court and Board of Immigration Appeals.

To view the full job listing, go to PSLawNet (login required).

The Fair Food Standards Council (FFSC) is an exciting new organization hiring a Fair Food Program Attorney!  The FFSC is charged with overseeing all aspects of the historic Fair Food Program that the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) has established with the Florida tomato industry. The Fair Food Program is the result of almost twenty years of creative local and national organizing by the CIW that has resulted in a working partnership among tomato workers, tomato growers and large corporate purchasers of tomatoes.

The Program offers an unprecedented, worker-centered approach to socially responsible supply chains and the agricultural work environment; one in which participating corporate tomato buyers have committed to paying a Fair Food Premium for Florida tomatoes, with the premium passed through the payroll systems of participating growers as increased wages to tomato workers. The Program commits the industry to abide by a detailed Fair Food Code of Conduct that contains a worker-triggered complaint resolution mechanism, worker participation in health and safety protocols, and worker to worker education at the work site (and on the clock) on the rights and responsibilities associated with the Fair Food Program. The program further commits corporate purchasers to help enforce the Code through their purchasing decisions.

The Fair Food Standards Council seeks an attorney for its Sarasota office to help develop and monitor compliance with the Fair Food Program.

Responsibilities of this position include:

• Investigating complaints, both independently and with a team of investigators
• Developing and overseeing implementation of corrective action plans as necessary,
• Keeping current on applicable laws and regulations, and
• Helping to oversee the binding agreements with buyers and growers that are the foundation of the Fair Food Program.
• Developing working relationships at all levels of the industry to facilitate the day-to-day operations of the Fair Food Program.

To view the full job listing, go to PSLawNet (login required).

Sanctuary for Families’ Immigration Intervention Project is hiring a Staff Attorney.

Sanctuary for Families’ Immigration Intervention Project is a legal services project that represents over 1,000 victims of domestic violence each year in immigration matters. Representation is provided in-house, as well as through the mentoring of volunteer attorneys.

Additionally, through trainings and participating in the immigration and domestic violence advocacy communities of New York, the Staff Attorney educates the public, the social service and law enforcement communities, and politicians about issues pertinent to immigrant victims of domestic violence.

To view the full job listing, go to PSLawNet (login required). 

 The Law School Admissions Council (LSAC) is hiring an Assistant Director of Diversity Initiatives. Reporting to LSAC’s Executive Director for Diversity Initiatives, the assistant director will collaborate in the development of new and the administration of existing educational programs and activities initiated by LSAC. These activities are designed to increase the racial and ethnic diversity of law schools and the legal profession.

Candidates must be committed to encouraging students from diverse backgrounds to pursue college and graduate school degrees. Those applying must also possess some knowledge and understanding of issues affecting the educational attainment by students from diverse backgrounds, as well as diplomacy, self-motivation, resourcefulness, flexibility, and the ability to exercise discretion in handling sensitive and confidential information. And, for the globe-trotters out there, frequent travel is required!

To view the full job listing, go to PSLawNet (login required).

Chicago’s Domestic Violence Legal Clinic is seeking a Divorce Attorney…

The attorney will be responsible for providing marital dissolution and child custody services for domestic violence survivors.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Manage large caseload of divorce proceedings, from initial filing to trial
• Perform complete intake function including interviewing walk-in clients regarding divorce
• Provide in court representation for survivors of domestic violence obtaining orders of protection and divorces
• Ability to work empathetically with survivors of domestic violence
• Supervise volunteers including attorneys, students and interns
• Generate required statistics and reports for funders and agency documents
• Participate in agency legal and intake meetings, staff meetings and other required events

To view the full job listing, go to PSLawNet (login required).

¿Habla usted Español?

Legal Aid of Western Missouri’s downtown Kansas City office has an immediate opening for a full-time Spanish-speaking attorney for our Protecting Immigrant Families (PIF) Project.

Job duties include maintaining a caseload of victims of domestic violence, representing clients to obtain Full Orders of Protection and other remedies under the Adult Abuse Act, including custody, child support and return of property.  The attorney will explain legal rights and provide education in self-advocacy.  The attorney will do out-reach work with shelters and victim service organizations, inform providers about legal issues regarding domestic violence, and participate in regional planning council for domestic violence and prevention

For more details, view the full listing on PSLawNet  (login required).

…because those two affinities are peas in a pod.  The World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the global conservation organization, seeks an attorney with excellent research, analysis, and communication skills to serve as Assistant General Counsel. The attorney will provide advice on legal requirements and best practices relating to overall operations, with a particular emphasis on outreach and fundraising activities.

The position’s based in DC.  To learn more, view the listing on PSLawNet (login required).

Application deadline: 4/08/11. 

Nice skyline, Chicago. Cubs still stink.

The PSLawNet Blog intended to cover this announcement out of the Windy City several days ago, but we succumbed to the flu last week.  So, better late than never…

From a March 11 announcement:

The University of Chicago Law School today announced a complete redesign of its Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP), making it the most generous program of its kind. The three most important changes to the program are that it now offers the opportunity for any graduate staying in public interest for ten years to go to law school for free, that all graduates who serve as judicial clerks will be eligible for the program, and that a generous $80,000 salary cap will make the program more inclusive than ever.

Hah – the law school’s communications department chose to refer to the new LRAP program as “dramatic.”  We’ve never thought of LRAPs as involving much drama.  That said, we describe the program as “kickarse,” so perhaps we shouldn’t appoint ourselves the modifier police.

We digress.  Here’s a voice of approval of Chicago Law’s new LRAP, emanating from North-side rival Northwestern Law.  Northwestern adjunct professor Steven Harper, an observer of legal industry goings-on, writes in The American Lawyer:

When law schools get it wrong, they deserve the scorn that comes with a public spotlight. When they get it right, they should bask in its warm glow. The University of Chicago Law School recently got it right. Really right.

…

A single line from the school’s website description says it all: “This means that a graduate who engages in qualifying work for ten years, earns less than the salary cap, and maintains enrollment in the federal Income-Based Repayment Program, will receive a FREE University of Chicago Law School education!

“Qualifying work” is public interest broadly defined as “the full-time practice of law, or in a position normally requiring a law degree, in a nonprofit organization or government office, other than legal academia.” It includes judicial clerkships.

The “salary cap” is $80,000 and doesn’t include spousal income. That combination seems to beat Harvard, Yale and Stanford. (Caveat: The differences across school programs can be significant and prospective students should consider their own circumstances, run the numbers, and determine which one produces the best individual result.)

Huzzah, U. of Chicago!

Save the Children’s DC office is hiring an Associate Director of Public Policy and Advocacy who will strengthen and increase the impact of agency policy and advocacy related to Livelihoods, Hunger and Malnutrition, and Education and Early Childhood Development.

The Associate Director will:

• Provide strategic vision and leadership;
• Design and lead implementation of policy and advocacy strategies for these sectors which include legislative strategies;
• Increase support in Congress and with other policy makers;
• Collaborate closely with Save the Children departments to develop key messages;
• Establish and maintain strong external relationships with key coalitions and non-governmental organizations;
• Conduct policy research and analysis for contribution to publications in connection with this advocacy;
• Plan and coordinate briefings or other events on Capitol Hill;
• Coordinate with other Save the Children International (SCI) hunger and education advocates;
• Support Save the Children’s annual Advocacy Day and support Save the Children’s efforts to build capacity in Public Policy and Advocacy

To learn more, view the listing on PSLawNet (login required).

The PSLawNet blog financed his summer public interest internships by relying on an $8/hour Federal Work Study award.  And eating a lot of peanut butter.  For lunch and dinner.  Sometimes breakfast.  So we’re generally happy, but also a little jealous, to learn about the recent summer grant awards that UVA Law’s Public Interest Law Association has bestowed on 1Ls and 2Ls.  They won’t be rich by law-firm summer associate standards, but they will make ends meet this summer.

From the Virginia Law Weekly:

Public Interest Law Association (PILA) has awarded over $377,500 in the form of eighty-one fellowships to law students who will work in public interest positions during the summer of 2011. This year’s distribution included forty-four 1L and thirty-seven 2L summer grants.First-year students receive $3,500 and second-year students receive $6,000 to supplement the costs of taking a public interest position.

Good stuff, PILA!  The organization is able to raise this kind of cash through a diverse array of funding sources (which is a wise set-up):

Fellowships are funded through the Law School Foundation, the Dean’s Office, the Law & Public Service Program, and student, faculty and community sponsors. This year, PILA’s own fundraising events netted $88,000 — an increase from the $82,000 raised in the 2009-10 calendar year.