Here’s a message from our friends over at Equal Justice Works:

Has your student debt become a financial burden you are struggling to deal with? Are you worried about the amount you are borrowing to pay for college or graduate school and wondering if you will be able to repay it all? If so, Equal Justice Works is here to help.

We provide in depth information on loan repayment assistance programs and relief programs like Income-Based Repayment and Public Service Loan Forgiveness to help everyone pursue the career of their dreams. Our eBook, Take Control of Your Future, details the steps you need to take to manage your student debt now and in the future.

Every month, our free, live webinars also provide a comprehensive overview of the federal debt relief options available for students and graduates and provide viewers with the opportunity to ask questions. Click here to view a schedule of our webinars and to register for an upcoming session.

Our March sessions include:

Drowning in Debt? Learn How Government and Nonprofit Workers Can Earn Public Service Loan Forgiveness

Thursday, March 14, 3-4 p.m. EST

Thursday, March 28, 3-4 p.m. EST

A must attend for anyone with educational debt planning to work or currently working for the government or a nonprofit, this webinar explains how you can benefit from income driven repayment plans, including President Obama’s new Pay As You Earn program, and exactly how Public Service Loan Forgiveness works.

Finally, make sure you keep up with what’s shaping the student debt world by following our weekly U.S. News blog, the Student Loan Ranger. Last month let you know how to evaluate Loan Repayment Assistance Programs; looked at a report analyzing how the financial aid system can be revamped to support college access, affordability, and completion; and asked if the increased credit risk posed by student loans will affect borrowers’ credit scores in the future.

See you at the webinars!

Law school debt affects many elements of an attorney’s professional career, from the selection of a post-graduate employer to stressing about repayment options. Lack of proper debt management can have a wide range of consequences, not only on law graduates but on the public service organizations that employ them. As legal aid groups and non-profits face a dearth of available positions and the threat of funding cuts, it’s becoming more and more important to stay financially literate so your employees can afford to be advocates for marginalized communities.

For this reason, NALP has engaged Heather Jarvis to serve as our student debt expert to provide members with information, best practices and professional insight related to educational debt and repayment options for law students and graduates. Next Tuesday, March 12 at 2:00 pm she’ll be leading the webinar Recruit and Retain the Best and Brightest in Spite of Their Student Loan Debt: NALP’s Step-by-Step Guide for Public Service Employers.

If you are a public interest employer, please respond to this brief survey to help Heather Jarvis tailor her efforts to your needs!

Practicing public interest law can sometimes be a thankless job, so celebrate your favorite public interest lawyer by nominating them for Stanford Law School’s National Public Service Award!

Every year, Stanford Law honors an attorney who has demonstrated an outstanding commitment to public service and social justice in his/her career. They are looking for nominees who are leaders in their field, who embody the tradition of public service that Stanford Law seeks to develop in their own students. Nominees, however, don’t have to actually be Stanford Law School alumni. The award is open to all lawyers who are engaged in public interest or public service work, including litigation, education or advocacy in the non-profit and government sectors. Stanford Law welcomes nominations from everyone, including younger attorneys who have significantly advanced social justice in the past year.

The award is presented at the Annual Public Service Awards Dinner, taking place this fall. Past recipients include the Honorable Patricia M. Wald, for her lifetime of public service; Vernon E. Jordan, Jr. for his lifetime of public service; Bryan Stevenson, Executive Director of the Equal Justice Initiative; Debo P. Adegbile, the Director of Litigation at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.; and Shannon Price Minter, the Legal Director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights.

The nomination deadline is April 1, 2013.  More details are available online at the Stanford Law School Awards & Fellowships page.

Photo from law.duke.edu

If you’ll be in Washington, D.C. this summer and are interested in gaining a better understanding of U.S. and foreign policy, Duke Law School is currently accepting applications to participate in short courses at their new Summer Institute on Law & Policy. During the evening classes, Duke Law faculty will lead sessions on topics including Federal Policymaking, Health Care Law & Policy, National Security Law and Foreign Policymaking.

The program is open to students from other law schools, as well as upper-level college students, graduate and professional students, and professionals working in Washington D.C. Here’s some information from their website:

Duke Law’s new D.C. Summer Institute offers short courses taught by Duke Law faculty on topics of broad interest to college students and professionals working in D.C., such as constitutional and regulatory law, the legislative process, and the legal framework in which public policy is formulated and implemented. Evening courses offered during two, two-week sessions will focus on law and policy in specific areas such as national security, financial institutions, environmental law, and health care. The Institute is designed for those considering law school or careers in the public sector, professionals working in public policy, and others who are interested in how the law shapes policy and regulation in the United States.

The first session is from July 8 – July 18, 2013 and the second session is from July 22 – August 1, 2013.  Applications are available on the DC Summer Institute website, and should be sent in before April 15, 2013.

Advancement Project, a progressive civil rights organization dedicated to using innovative tools and strategies to strengthen social movements and achieve high impact policy change, has been working on ending the school-to-prison pipeline. This pipeline is used by many school systems to shut off academic opportunities and funnel troubled youth into the juvenile and criminal justice systems. Suspensions, expulsions and school-based arrests are being used more and more to deal with disciplinary and behavioral problems, pushing students out of school and into jail.

Advancement Project invites those who are currently engaged in community-based efforts to dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline to apply to their 2013 Action Camp 2.o. Groups including youth, people of color, LGBTQ-identifying persons, and people with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply. As stated on their website:

ActionCamp 2.0 Goals

There are three goals for ActionCamp 2.0:

1. Achieve a shared understanding of the School-to-Prison Pipeline.
2. Arm participants with strategies and tools for dismantling the School-to-Prison Pipeline at the local, state, and national levels.
3. Broaden and strengthen the community-led grassroots movement against the unfair discipline and criminalization of students.

What Will be Covered at ActionCamp 2.0?

ActionCamp 2.0 is designed as a deeper dive into the skills and strategies necessary to dismantle the School-to-Prison Pipeline with a new focus on action planning. The curriculum is designed to both share the best practices as defined by the ActionCamp Training Team and take advantage of the collective experience and knowledge of participants. We will offer a range of workshops including:

1. Base building, Mobilization, & Direct Action – Bringing supporters to your campaign and organizing them to create change
2. Strategic Communications –Using media and communications tools to advance your campaign
3. Alternatives and Solutions to the School-to-Prison Pipeline – Examining the alternative models for school discipline
4. Alliance and Coalition Building – Best Practices for building local, state, and national coalitions
5. Data & Policy Analysis  – How to interpret and use data on school discipline for your campaign and understand current and potential policies
6. Talking to Policy Makers  & Power Analysis – How to identify those with the power to help your cause and strategies for talking with policy makers about school discipline issues
7.  Popular Education: The School-to-Prison Pipeline in Historical Perspective –Tools for educating communities on the School-to-Prison Pipeline with a focus on connecting it with the various historic systems of oppression.
8. Grassroots Fundraising –Strategies for securing the resources to keep your work viable

Make sure you check out the Action Camp Tumblr page for a little more information about the program. The New Orleans Action Camp will take place during the spring, from April 19 – 21, 2013. The Denver Action Camp will take place during the summer, from June 28 -30, 2013. Click here to apply!

Interested in standing out from crowds of job applicants, but in ways other than a cover letter or resume? Try attending one of the below public interest conferences or career fairs to add a few influential names to your networking circle, or apply for the chance to win a legal writing competition centered around human rights law:

1. 2013 Public Interest Environmental Law Conference

Held at the University of Oregon School of Law, the 31st Annual Public Interest Environmental Law Conference claims to be one of the world’s most important environmental legal gatherings. The goal is to inspire renewed commitment to collaboration and outreach among attendees. Spanning four days (February 28 – March 3, 2013), the conference usually brings in more than 3,000 activists, attorneys, students, scientists, politicians, authors, philosophers and concerned citizens. Registration is still open.

2. 2013 Lavender Law Conference & Career Fair

The National LGBT Bar Association’s annual Lavender Law Career Fair was created specifically with LGBT candidates in mind. Conference attendees will speak directly with LGBT-friendly recruiters from law firms, government agencies, LGBT rights groups, and corporate legal departments. The National LGBT Bar Association will host two live, interactive webchat sessions before the Career Fair to answer any questions. The Career Fair will take place in San Francisco from August 22-24, 2013. You can register here.

3. Trinity Law School’s Center for Human Rights Law Writing Competition

The 2nd Annual Center for Human Rights Law Writing Competition invites the submission of scholarly papaers on the topic of “Evolving Tension between the Freedom of Expression, Freedom of Religion, and Hate Speech and Blasphemy Laws”. Specifically, the Center for Human Rights Law would like essays to address this growing tension in a way that best expresses the depth and scope of the continually evolving issue. Prizes range from $500 – $3,000, and include expedited consideration for publication in the 2013/2014 Trinity Law Review. The deadline to submit papers is March 25, 2013.

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Don’t forget to check out our Public Interest Career Fair Calendar, located in PSJD’s Resource Center, for even more career fairs!

The Institute for Justice,  the nation’s only libertarian public interest law firm, engages in cutting edge litigation and advocacy on behalf of individuals whose rights are denied by the government. Their four pillars of litigation are private property, economic liberty, free speech and school choice.

Every summer, the Institute for Justice hosts its three-day Law Student Conference at the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. The conference offers a unique approach to public interest litigation that centers around the Institute’s four pillars:

The annual conference covers the Institute for Justice’s four litigation pillars: First Amendment rights, school choice, economic liberty and private property rights.  These topics are taught alongside others rarely discussed in law school, such as: natural rights theory, public interest litigation tactics, cutting-edge constitutional theories, media skills, and the use of social science research. The faculty combines IJ attorneys and staff members with leading law professors and legal experts including Randy Barnett, Roger Pilon, and Todd Zywicki. The conference’s keynote speaker is always a distinguished jurist, who offers a view of public interest law from the bench. After attending this crash course in public interest law, the IJ Way, participants are able to recognize and seize public interest opportunities in the future.

How do we fit all of this into a weekend?  Check out the sample conference agenda.

The Institute for Justice’s 2013 Law Student Conference will be held Friday, July 26 to Sunday, July 28, 2013 at The George Washington University in Washington, DC.

Click here for the application. The deadline to apply is April 1, 2013.

Since 1899, the National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL) has served as an educational forum and active voice for the concerns of women lawyers around the world. Through their continuing efforts to support the social, political and professional empowerment of women, this association provides tools for women to advance and prosper their legal careers. Part of this effort is the Selma Moidel Smith Law Student Writing Competition, an annual contest that encourages and rewards original law student writing on issues concerning women and the law.

Here’s a snippet of the rules:

Entrants should submit a paper on an issue concerning women’s rights or the status of women in the law. The most recent winning paper was “All Things Being Equal, Women Lose. Investigating the Lack of Diversity Among the Recent Appointments to the Iowa Supreme Court” written by Abigail Rury, Michigan State University School of Law.

Essays will be accepted from students enrolled at any law school during the 2012-13 school year. The essays must be the law student author’s own work and must not have been submitted for publication elsewhere. Papers written by students for coursework or independent study during the Summer, Fall or Spring semesters are eligible for submission. Notwithstanding the foregoing, students may incorporate professorial feedback as part of a course requirement or supervised writing project.

FORMAT: Essays must be double-spaced in 12-point font, Times New Roman font type. All margins must be at least one inch. Entries must not exceed fifteen (15) pages of text, excluding notes, with footnotes placed as endnotes. Citation style should conform to The Bluebook – A Uniform System of Citation. Essays longer than 15 pages of text, excluding notes, or which are not in the required format may not be read.

JUDGING: NAWL Women Lawyers Journal® designees will judge the competition. Essays will be judged based upon content, exhaustiveness of research, originality, writing style, and timeliness.

QUESTIONS: Questions regarding this competition should be addressed to the chair of the Writing Competition, Professor Jennifer Martin at jmartin@stu.edu.

The deadline to submit essays is May 1, 2013. In addition to getting published in NAWL’s Women Lawyers Journal this summer, the winner will be awarded a $500 cash prize. Good luck!

Are you a Latina public interest attorney interested in improving your leadership skills for the sake of the communities you serve? Check out this opportunity presented by the Hispanic National Bar Association:

The Hispanic National Bar Association’s Commission on the Status of Latinas in the Profession is sponsoring a Public Interest Latina Leadership Workshop to inspire and train the next generation of diverse leaders in public interest law. In 2010, the Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA) commissioned a national study, “La Voz de la Abogada Latina: Challenges and Rewards in Serving the Public Interest.” The research findings suggest that Latinas are not well represented in leadership positions in public interest and government organizations and that there is a need to create programs to help minimize barriers to promotion and professional success. The research conducted by the HNBA provides the foundation for this innovative and ground breaking training for Latinas working in the public interest sector.

The Latina Leadership Program is open to attorneys who have been in practice for 5 or more years at legal services, public interest nonprofit organizations, and government positions, including military personnel. Space is limited, so we encourage interested individuals to apply without delay. Additional requirements for eligibility include (a) Good standing in the bar of your current state of admission; and (b) Confirmed membership in the Hispanic National Bar Association- to become a member of the HNBA, click here.

To download the application, click here.
The deadline to submit application is February 8, 2013.
All applicants will be notified by February 15, 2013.

Any questions? Contact the Public Interest Latina Leadership Workshop at latinaleadershipworkshop@yahoo.com!

Want to talk to LGBT-friendly recruiters from law firms, government agencies and LGBT rights groups? Check out this information about the upcoming Lavendar Law Conference & Career Fair in San Francisco:

The National LGBT Bar Association’s annual Lavender Law® Career Fair is designed to achieve a sense of community and inclusion for LGBT candidates within the legal profession’s recruiting efforts. By participating in this career fair, candidates will talk directly to LGBT-friendly recruiters from law firms, government agencies, LGBT rights groups, and corporate legal departments.

• Candidates are encouraged to discuss their identity and their aspirations to become part of a bias-free work environment.
• Sponsors are encouraged to take this opportunity to showcase their diversity efforts to top level law students and lateral candidates from around the country.

Please note that the National LGBT Bar Association will be hosting two webchat sessions in advance of the Career Fair.  These live, interactive web-based discussions are designed to help law students efficiently and effectively navigate the Career Fair and Conference.  During the chats students can ask questions of experienced Lavender Law career advisors and LGBT Bar staff.

The Lavender Law® Career Fair kicks off with a panel of legal practitioners with experience working in government, non-profit, small and large firms. The panel will be guided by a law career services professional will discuss the tools, considerations and critical aspects to find, research and evaluate LGBT-friendly employers in each of these legal arenas.

Over 450 candidates and 160 recruiters representing law firms, government agencies and non-profit organizations interested in diversity were present at the 2012 career fair in Washington, DC.

Visit the Lavendar Law Career Fair website for more information on registration and recruitment, including tips on how to get the most out of your experience!