By: Steve Grumm

Happy Friday, dear readers.  I offer abject apologies to regular readers (all four of you) for my skipping last week’s installment of the News Bulletin.  But it was nice to see so many folks at the NALP and Equal Justice Works events.  Today the Bulletin returns with a double issue.  There is much to catch up on, including:

• ABA’s Celebrate Pro Bono Week and related events;
• budget cuts take a toll on the nation’s DA’s, defenders, and court systems;
• an American Bar Foundation report looks state by state at access-to-justice frameworks;
• proposed DOJ antitrust field office closures cause a stir;
• a recap: the Equal Justice Works Conference and Career Fair;
• bad legal services funding news from the Treasure State;
• legal services volunteer programs for retiring Baby Boomer lawyers;
• ACLU of Montana takes to task the state’s indigent defense program;
• Michigan’s indigent defense program is under the microscope, too;
• the NLG lawyers looking out for the Occupy Wall Street…occupiers;
• ACLU of Pennsylvania takes to task Allegheny County’s (Pittsburgh) indigent defense program;
• a pro-se assistance center in Maryland goes statewide with a hotline;
• a novel, international-sustainable-development clinical program at Penn St.-Dickinson Law;
• progress in launching a new legal services program in Wyoming;
• the Shriver Center absorbs the Center for Legal Aid Education (CLEA). 

This week(s):

• 10.28.11 – the ABA’s Celebrate Pro Bono Week is coming to a close tomorrow.  We at PSLawNet were deluged with news stories about lawyers and law students throughout the country participating in clinics and other client outreach efforts.  Kudos to the thousands who’ve gotten involved.  We couldn’t begin to recap all the news we read, but here’s a link to the official Celebrate Pro Bono site.  Also, I was fortunate to participate in the ABA’s Pro Bono Summit, which convened here in DC on Monday and Tuesday.  119 very smart people exchanged thoughtful ideas (I was attendee number 120, and I held up my end with un-thoughtful ideas) about where pro bono fits into the larger access-to-justice scheme during hard economic times. I’m looking forward to seeing what the ABA produces as a result of the work done at the Summit.  Here are remarks delivered at the Summit by Attorney General Eric Holder, and here’s NLJ coverage of ABA President Bill Robinson’s Summit remarks.

• 10.26.11 – a well-reported AP piece looks at the toll taken by cuts to prosecutor, public defender, and court-system budgets throughout the country.  “Prosecutors are forced to ignore misdemeanor violations to pursue more serious crimes. Judges are delaying trials to cope with layoffs and strained staffing levels. And in some cases, those charged with violent crimes, even murder, are set free because caseloads are too heavy to ensure they receive a speedy trial.  Deep budget cuts to courts, public defenders, district attorney’s and attorney general offices are testing the criminal justice system across the country. In the most extreme cases, public defenders are questioning whether their clients are getting a fair shake.”  The piece looks specifically at goings-on in AL, CA, IA, NY, and elsewhere.  (The postal abbreviations may pose a challenge for our Millenial Generation readers who have never mailed a letter.  JKLOL!!)

• 10.25.11 – I just got word of an American Bar Foundation report, Access Across America, which reviews the access-to-justice infrastructure in each state and Puerto Rico.  Here’s a link to a summary on ABF’s website, here’s a link to the report, and here’s some language from the report’s executive summary: “Access Across America is the first-ever state-by-state portrait of the services available to assist the U.S. public in accessing civil justice. The report documents, for the nation as a whole and individually for the 50 states and the District of Columbia:
• Who is eligible for free civil legal information, advice or representation (civil legal assistance services);
• How civil legal assistance services are produced and delivered;
• How eligible people may connect with services;
• How civil legal assistance is funded;
• How civil legal assistance is coordinated
• How both no-fee and fee-generating limited-scope civil legal services are regulated.”

• 10.24.11 –some DOJ antitrust attorneys don’t trust DOJ’s decision to close four field offices.  From Government Executive: “Three weeks after the Justice Department proposed closing four of its antitrust division field offices, affected employees are calling for congressional hearings on the matter.  The closings, along with the department’s other budget-trimming proposals, are contingent on Congress, which must approve or fail to respond in order for the plans to move forward, according to attorneys who would be affected by the shuttering of the field offices in Atlanta, Dallas, Cleveland and Philadelphia.”  Incidentally, if you’re a law student or law school career counselor wishing to keep up with similar developments in federal government, I recommend joining Government Executive’s email distribution list.

• 10.24.11 – the Blog of the Legal Times covered last week’s Equal Justice Works Conference and Career Fair: “Resumes in hand, more than 1,300 law students from across the United States attended this year’s Equal Justice Works annual conference, and more than 1,100 met with employers at the conference’s career fair. [It] brought in 117 employers from 27 states to meet with students on Friday and Saturday. Law students waiting on line for a chance to speak with employers all said they held no illusions about their job prospects right now. Although some students were lucky enough to get formal interviews, many more were taking their chances at the informal ‘Table Talk’ sessions, where students waited on line to get a few minutes alone with employers.”  I feel for public interest law students these days.  It’s perhaps trite advice, but persistence and fortitude in carrying forward with the job search are essential.  (This is true even in better economic times, because there are always more grads interested in public interest than there are job openings.)  Keep using PSLawNet, including the cover letter, resume, and interview tips on our Job Search Fundamentals page.  And email us at pslawnet@nalp.org if you’d have ideas about how we can help more. 

• 10.24.11 – rotten legal services funding news from the Treasure State.  The Missoulian reports: “Poor people seeking divorces in Missoula County will no longer be able to get free legal advice. Likewise for low-income renters who get crosswise with their landlords. The Montana Legal Services Association has laid off attorneys, paralegals and support staff statewide as part of an anticipated $500,000 budget cut in 2012. That’s 15 percent of its total budget.   ‘We are cutting into bone at this point,’ said Alison Paul, executive director of the agency that provides legal assistance in civil cases to low-income people.” 
   
• 10.24.11 – The civil legal services community cannot keep up with swelling demand for services.  Meanwhile, the Baby Boomer exodus from law practice has begun, as the oldest Boomers are at retirement age.  This being the case, what about providing public interest volunteer opportunities to  those lawyers who wish to leave fee-generating practice but also want to remain in practice?  The National Law Journal looks at D.C.’s Senior Attorneys Initiative for Legal Services (SAILS), a program which matches attorneys in or near retirement with pro bono cases (password-protected). SAILS isn’t the only program harnessing the experience and expertise of the profession’s elder statespeople.  In New York State, the Attorney Emeritus Program does something similar.  On the national level, the Pro Bono Institute’s Second Acts project facilitates the movement of retiring attorneys into volunteer work.

• 10.21.11 – more bad Montana news.  The Billings Gazette covers an ACLU report critical of the state’s public defense system:  “The…five-year-old…system is still plagued by mismanagement, with overworked and undertrained attorneys sometimes failing to provide the most basic help to their indigent clients, a new report by the ACLU of Montana says. The report, released this week by the rights organization whose lawsuit led to creation of the new system, said the system has ‘greatly improved’ public defense in some areas of the state. But overall, the system ‘continues to fall short of achieving its full potential’ because of ongoing management problems….”  The Gazette has an accompanying article about poor public defender pay compared to other state lawyers.

• 10.21.11 – Michigan’s embattled public defense system is going under the microscope.  From Interlochen Public Radio (great name!): “A state commission began work this week to ensure that everyone who is accused of a crime in Michigan gets an adequate legal defense. Michigan allows every county to handle its own public defender system. The system is frequently cited as one of the worst in the country. That’s because some counties do a good job of ensuring even people who cannot pay get a good lawyer. Other counties are more haphazard. There are also no training standards for public defenders.”  Here’s additional coverage from the Battle Creek Enquirer.

• 10.18.11 – The American Lawyer looks in on the “about 200 National Lawyers Guild members volunteering as legal observers on the scene at Occupy Wall Street.”

• 10.18.11 –  the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports on criticism of the local public defense program: “Poor management and lack of training for new lawyers in the Allegheny County [where Pittsburgh sits] public defender’s office are violating the constitutional rights of those accused of crimes and costing the county millions of dollars in extra jail costs, an ACLU report has concluded…. The ACLU report, entitled ‘A Job Left Undone,’ relies heavily on the research done in a 2008 study for the county by a team led by investigator Alan Kalmanoff of the California-based Institute for Law and Policy Planning, a nonprofit policy and research organization.”  Here’s a link to “A Job Left Undone.”

• 10.17.11 – The Baltimore Sun reports that a pro-se assistance center in one Maryland county has opened a phone line that will allow its lawyers to connect with Marylanders statewide: “The center has helped more than 10,000 people since it opened. However, a lack of space and tight budgets made adding walk-in centers in other District Courts out of the question.  But those in need of advice can now chat online with the center’s four lawyers. Users can remain anonymous and there are no income restrictions….In its first month of hosting live chats, 850 people have used the service. In comparison, the self-help center assisted a record 626 people in August. Officials said chats have been initiated by people in every county except Kent and Somerset.”
   
• 10.17.11 – the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports on a new Penn State Dickinson School of Law sustainable development operating in cahoots with engineering and business students:  “Designed as an interdisciplinary collaboration between Penn State’s law school, its College of Engineering and Smeal College of Business, the clinic promises experiential learning through work with real humanitarian projects as part of a team for law students seeking international experience, said Jeff Erickson, professor at Penn State and the clinic’s director…. Mr. Erickson said that, to his knowledge, no other schools are using interdisciplinary project teams to launch international humanitarian efforts in the same manner. What makes the Penn State clinic the first of its kind is the clinic’s humanitarian mission — that its projects are internationally and not locally focused — and that students will design and develop projects themselves.” 

• 10.16.11 – an Asbury Park Press editorial bemoans sharp state funding cuts to legal services in New Jersey: “Under [Governor Chris] Christie, state funding for Legal Aid has dropped from $29.6 million in 2010 to $19.9 million in 2011 to $14.9 million in 2012. That is unconscionable. Decency and fairness demand a restoration of most of those funds and the institution of a formalized program in which lawyers volunteer hours of service to Legal Aid or make a donation….  By next June, there will be only half as many staff attorneys as there were in 2008 to give free help to qualifying low-income New Jerseyans with civil cases.”

• 10.15.11 – K2 Radio reports on the development of Wyoming’s new legal services program: “Officials say the new Wyoming Center For Legal Aid should be up and running in a year or two.  The program was established a year ago after the Wyoming legislature passed the Indigent Civil Legal Services Act during the 2010 budget session.   The center’s goal is to provide legal services for Wyoming residents who fall below 200 percent of the federal poverty line. The center was officially established in April, and the Wyoming Center For Legal Aid Board of Commissioners recently hired a new law school graduate as its first employee.” 

• 10.14.11 – from the Chicago Tribune, news of a merger in the legal services community: “Legal-aid charities have felt the impact of the economic downturn with declining funding and increasing demand. After revenues fell by 50 percent, the Boston-based Center for Legal Aid Education began considering a merger as a way to cut costs, reduce duplication of services and expand its reach. Its search has culminated in an acquisition by the larger Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law, based in Chicago…. One of the gaps in [the Shriver Center’s] offerings was providing training to public-interest lawyers who want to work on complex litigation… The Center for Legal Education has been providing legal training in the New England region for years. When the economy crashed in 2009, the center lost about half of its revenues because many clients that provide legal services lost some of their funding.”  So this makes sense on both ends.  And the piece raises the question of whether more legal services mergers may/should follow.

by Kristen Pavón

The Immigrant Legal Resource Center is offering two free webinars on November 9 and 15. Topics include marriage-based immigration, LGBT couples and best practices for working with and representing LGBT immigrants.

Check ’em out here.

by Kristen Pavón

The White House’s Champions of Change program honoring legal leaders in closing the justice gap was inspiring and I got some wonderful advice about public service and pro bono work, and learned a great deal about issues I was unfamiliar with.

Here are a few of my notes/thoughts/questions/tips from the program:

1. Get some perspective. Evaluate the difference in value between what you’ll give and receive from participating in pro bono opportunities and forgoing these opps to get an A instead of a B+ in Torts.

2. Reaching unreachable clients. Is video conferencing an option for your organization to reach clients who live in rural areas and would otherwise not have legal representation?

3. Experience. During your first year in law school — visit a court! This is critical. You need to see firsthand what goes on in the courts.

4. Changing our structure. Legal services professionals need to think about ways we can change the legal services delivery structure to be more efficient and effective.

5. Recognize, reward and support. This is how law schools can best encourage pro bono work among students.

Were you at the Champions of Change program at the White House? Did you catch the webcast? What did you take away from the Champions?

by Kristen Pavón

Now that our  annual Public Service Mini-Conference is over, we will now resume our regularly scheduled program here at the PSLawNet Blog!

The conference was a great success! On Wednesday, we hosted the Public Interest Advising 101 program for new or newish law school career advisors.

During our 101 program, panelists talked about student debt (by the wonderful Heather Jarvis), how to use PSLawNet to find PS jobs and career resources, and common challenges a public interest advisor faces in their first years on the job. In addition to the useful tips and information, the program was a fab opportunity for advisors to meet colleagues from across the country.

After PIA101, some attendees braved the nasty weather and kept the party going at the Round Robin Networking Dinners — at Zengo, Old Ebbitt Grill and Matchbox — to nosh with colleagues. Zengo got particularly high marks for tastiness and ambiance! (We’ll see, I have a reservation for tonight!)

Yesterday, at Arnold & Porter, LLC, more than 150 law school professionals and attorneys gathered for public service-focused programming.

The day started with introductions, NALP’s Public Service Section Workgroup updates, and NALP & PSLawNet updates.

Then, after presenting Felicia Cantrell, ASU Law 3L, with the 17th Annual Pro Bono Publico Award and Deb Ellis with NALP’s Award of  Distinction, groups broke out for sessions on labor & workers’ rights careers, teaching professionalism and advocating public service programs within law school administrations.

After the breakout programming, everyone reconvened for a “whirlwind tour” of hot topics affecting public interest career professionals. Panelists let attendees in on some techie secrets (topsy.com, google news alerts for your name and Klout.com), talked about student debt, Uncle Sam’s attempt to streamline the federal attorney application process, best practices for employer outreach, and ABA accreditation standards.

Finally, at the end of the day, federal legal recruiters joined us for a networking reception to mix and mingle with law school career services professionals.

Were you at the mini-conference? What did you think about the programming?

By: Steve Grumm

In a 2pm ceremony today, the White House and the DOJ’s Access to Justice initiative are recognizing 12 outstanding public interest advocates for their extraordinary work in narrowing the civil justice gap.  We at NALP are especially proud that longtime NALP member Deb Ellis of NYU Law is among the honorees, as is Todd Belcore, who as a 3L in 2009 won our PSLawNet Pro Bono Publico Award.  Congrats, Deb and Todd!

Join in on the fun.  The Champions ceremony is being webcast live at 2pm Eastern.  You can view it at http://www.whitehouse.gov/live. 

And for more on the Champions themselves (we assume the website will be updated today to highlight the newest group of Champions – UPDATE: the website will feature the Champions on Monday, 10/17) go to http://www.whitehouse.gov/champions.

We’re delighted to announce that Felicia Cantrell, a 3L at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University, has been recognized as the 2011 PSLawNet Pro Bono Publico Award winner!

Felicia, a third-year law student, is described as a leader, change-maker and fearless optimist when it comes to her zealous advocacy against sex trafficking. As a 1L, Felicia founded the student organization, 13 – Advocacy Against Sex Trafficking (13 being the average age of child sex workers in the U.S.). As a result of her leadership, the group has collaborated with various organizations and has facilitated victim advocate trainings and educational programming for hundreds of law students, attorneys, judges, social workers, teachers and the public-at-large. Additionally, Felicia and the more than 100 students who make up Felicia’s organization volunteer their time to providing legal assistance and screening for domestic violence and human trafficking situations at a local clinic.  Currently, Felicia is representing abuse victims in civil legal matters as a student-attorney with the law school’s Family Protection Legal Clinic. She plans on becoming a prosecutor of sex crimes and hopes to found a human trafficking law school clinic.

We will be delighted to honor in person Felicia during NALP’s 2011 Public Service Mini-Conference in Washington, DC.

We also extend our congratulations to this year’s Pro Bono Publico Award runner-up and those who received honorable mention.  It is truly heartening to see so many talented law students doing such tremendous work to help those on society’s margins.  Read our announcement to learn more about the entire slate of honorees.

Hello, PSLawNet Blog readers.  Please spread the word far and wide among nonprofit and government law offices.  Our survey response deadline is extended to Friday, 9/30.  Here’s some more detail:

The National Association for Law Placement (NALP) is conducting a brief, anonymous survey of nonprofit and government public-interest law offices throughout the country about 1) recent law student and attorney hiring and 2) hiring expectations for the immediate future. We will use the data to produce a report about what the public interest employment market looks like now and how it may change in the near future.  NALP will release the report later this fall. The report will be made freely available online. The report will NOT identify any responding organizations by name. We hope the report will benefit the public interest legal community as well as law students and attorneys who are on public interest career paths.  Please participate in the brief, online survey by clicking here.  Please contact Steve Grumm with any questions: sgrumm@nalp.org.

by Kristen Pavón

If you don’t already know, National Pro Bono Week is October 23 to October 29. Lots of great educational events are planned across the country to celebrate efforts to meet the legal needs of our most vulnerable populations.

Have you decided what you’ll do during the Pro Bono celebration?

If not, the ABA Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service has a comprehensive list of the events by state here.

Also, remember to join the national conversation on pro bono! Today’s question is: What suggestions do you have for law schools that would result in the graduation of students committed to access for all?

Here’s my response: First, law schools can offer more public interest-related courses, including poverty law, affordable housing and civil rights. Also, access to justice issues should be discussed and covered in every law school course, similar to requiring an international component to curricula. Additionally, law school career counselors should have specialized knowledge and training in public interest advising. Finally, law schools should make pro bono work a priority; students’ pro bono accomplishments should be widely promoted throughout the school and community.

Add your thoughts here!

Also, let us know below what you’ve got going on for Pro Bono Week.

Please note that we’ve extended the nomination deadline to Monday, 9/19 at 5pm Eastern.

NALP is accepting nominations for the 2011 PSLawNet Pro Bono Publico Award, which recognizes the extraordinary contributions that law students make to under-served populations, the public interest community, and legal education by performing pro bono or public service work.

 Eligibility: The Pro Bono Publico Award is available to any second- or third-year law student at a PSLawNet Subscriber School. The recipient will be honored during an Award Luncheon at NALP’s Public Service Mini-Conference on Thursday, October 20, 2011 at the Washington, DC office of Arnold & Porter, LLP. The Award recipient will receive transportation to Washington, a one-night stay in an area hotel, a commemorative plaque, and a small monetary award.

Award Criteria: Law students are judged by the extracurricular commitment they have made to law-related public service projects or organizations; the quality of work they performed; and the impact of that work on the community, their fellow students, and the school. Though a student’s involvement in law school-based public interest organizing and fundraising is relevant, actual pro bono and public interest legal work will be the primary consideration.

Nominations must be received by Monday, September 19^th at 5pm Eastern Time. View/download the nomination form here.

NALP is accepting nominations for the 2011 PSLawNet Pro Bono Publico Award, which recognizes the extraordinary contributions that law students make to under-served populations, the public interest community, and legal education by performing pro bono or public service work. 

Eligibility: The Pro Bono Publico Award is available to any second- or third-year law student at a PSLawNet Subscriber School. The recipient will be honored during an Award Luncheon at NALP’s Public Service Mini-Conference on Thursday, October 20, 2011 at the Washington, DC office of Arnold & Porter, LLP. The Award recipient will receive transportation to Washington, a one-night stay in an area hotel, a commemorative plaque, and a small monetary award.

Award Criteria: Law students are judged by the extracurricular commitment they have made to law-related public service projects or organizations; the quality of work they performed; and the impact of that work on the community, their fellow students, and the school. Though a student’s involvement in law school-based public interest organizing and fundraising is relevant, actual pro bono and public interest legal work will be the primary consideration.

Nominations must be received by Thursday, September 15, 2011 at 5pm Eastern Time. View/download the nomination form here.